Marlins Look To Smash Mets Again
MIAMI (AP) -- One-third of the Miami Marlins' victories have come against the New York Mets.
The Marlins are in position for their first sweep of the season, but they'll be up against Matt Harvey in Sunday's series finale in Miami.
Miami (15-41) is 5-3 against New York (22-31) and 10-38 against everyone else after winning 8-1 on Saturday. Marlins starter Jose Fernandez threw seven scoreless innings to match the effort the night before by Jacob Turner in a 5-1 victory.
The starter in the spotlight Sunday, however, will be Harvey (5-0, 1.85 ERA). He's one of three NL pitchers with at least 10 starts that is still undefeated, joining Arizona's Patrick Corbin and Cincinnati's Mat Latos - who also both pitch Sunday.
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Harvey leads the majors in opponent batting average (.172) and WHIP (0.82) and owns five career starts in which he has struck out at least 10. He's the first Mets pitcher with that many such outings in his first 21 major league starts since Dwight Gooden recorded eight such starts in 1984.
This will be the hard-throwing right-hander's second look at a Miami team averaging a major league-low 2.9 runs. Harvey lasted a season-low 5 1-3 innings and allowed one run with seven strikeouts in a 4-3, 15-inning road loss April 29.
He's won one of his last seven starts, yielding one run over eight innings with 10 strikeouts and not receiving a decision in Tuesday's 2-1 home victory over the Yankees.
"Matt Harvey, what can you say? He's been in every game he's pitched and if we scored him some runs he'd be 9-0," manager Terry Collins said.
The Mets were riding high entering this series after sweeping four games from their Subway Series rivals while the lowly Marlins had dropped a season-high nine straight entering this weekend.
New York, though, has totaled 12 hits and two walks with 15 strikeouts in the first two games.
David Wright is 0 for 8, John Buck is 1 for 7 with four strikeouts and Daniel Murphy is 2 for 8. That trio has combined for one RBI in this series after combining for 15 in the first six meetings between these NL East rivals.
The Mets have had problems with rookie Marcell Ozuna, who is 6 for 14 against them with a three-hit effort Friday. Chris Coghlan was Saturday's hitting star with three hits and two RBIs.
The Marlins are trying for their second three-game win streak and first since April 28-30 when two of the wins came over the Mets.
Miami will try to break a four-game skid in starts by Kevin Slowey (1-5, 3.59), who is 0-3 with an 8.00 ERA in that span. He gave up four runs over 5 1-3 innings on Tuesday, failed to hold onto a two-run lead and did not get a decision in a 7-6 defeat to Tampa Bay.
"You're disappointed anytime your team gives you the lead and you can't hold on to it," Slowey said.
Slowey is 0-3 with a 3.67 ERA in six home outings, and 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two overall in his career against the Mets. Buck is 3 for 11 against the right-hander, and Wright is 2 for 6 with a homer.
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