NEW YORK (AP) — Costly errors by first baseman Pete Alonso and left fielder Brandon Nimmo helped the Miami Marlins score three unearned runs in the seventh inning of a 7-4 victory Thursday night over the sloppy New York Mets.
Nimmo hit a two-run double in the first and Alonso launched a two-run homer in the fifth, tying it 4 with his 30th longball this season. But the Mets made three errors in all that led to five unearned runs, halting their momentum following a three-game sweep of NL East-leading Philadelphia.
New York fell five games behind the Phillies, who routed Atlanta 19-4 at home, with 28 remaining. The second-place Mets are four games in front of Cincinnati for the final National League wild card.
Otto López had a pair of RBI singles for the Marlins (63-71), who bounced back in the opener of a four-game series after getting outscored 23-3 at home by the Braves over the previous two days.
Cade Gibson (3-5) struck out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Calvin Faucher pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save.
Mets starter Clay Holmes went five innings and committed a costly error of his own. He dropped a throw he had to reach for from Alonso while covering first base with two outs in the third, leading to two unearned runs.
Key moment
Jakob Marsee opened the seventh with a single off Gregory Soto (1-5) and advanced to second when Alonso flubbed Liam Hicks’ easy grounder. Marsee scored the go-ahead run when Nimmo bobbled Agustín Ramírez’s single.
Key stat
New York dropped to 10-15 in August and 4-3 against Miami this year.
Up next
Prized pitching prospect Jonah Tong makes his major league debut Friday night for the Mets against Marlins RHP Eury Pérez (6-3, 3.44 ERA).