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**Drucifer** · 18-May-2019, 09:41 PM

Mets Face Marlins as Cloud Hangs Over Manager Callaway

MIAMI, FL -- The Miami Marlins will be looking for their first sweep of the season and their first three-game winning streak of the year when they play host to the New York Mets on Sunday.

New York, meanwhile, may be playing for manager Mickey Callaway's job.

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who is new to the team this year, inherited Callaway as his manager and speculation is rampant that Van Wagenen could replace him if the team's four-game skid were to continue.

Van Wagenen came to town confidently stating that the Mets were the team to beat in the National League East, but offseason deals for Robinson Cano, Jeurys Familia, Jed Lowrie, Justin Wilson and Keon Broxton have failed to produce. His failure to bring in Gio Gonzalez and his decision to return Travis d'Arnaud to the roster, only to cut him a month later, look dubious.

Yet, Callaway is the one on the hot seat, and Van Wagenen did little to release the pressure when asked about his manager this weekend.

"Mickey has been accountable for what we all want," the GM said. "We have played well at times. I think Mickey knows what's in front of us."

What's in front of the Mets on Sunday is that they will be desperate for a strong performance from veteran right-hander Noah Syndergaard (3-3, 4.74), who has great stuff but is having his most inconsistent season and has produced the highest ERA of his career.

Syndergaard threw a complete-game shutout to beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 on May 2. He also beat the Washington Nationals in his most recent start, earning a 6-2 win on May 14 by allowing just two runs in eight innings.

However, Syndergaard has not thrown consecutive quality starts this season. In fact, he has allowed at least four earned runs in six of his nine starts.

This will be his first matchup against Miami this year, but in eight career starts against the Marlins, he is 6-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Syndergaard, who has reached 100 mph on the radar gun, will match up on Sunday against Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara, who throws just as hard.

Alcantara (1-4, 5.11 ERA) will be making his 15th career major-league start. He has pitched reasonably well in four career starts against the Mets - 1-2, 2.92 ERA. This year, though, he is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA against the Mets. He faced New York last Saturday, allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

One concern for Alcantara is that he seems to be regressing. In six starts last year, he went 2-3 with a 3.44 ERA. This year, in his three most recent starts, he has a 6.19 ERA.

Alcantara will likely be without his starting catcher, Jorge Alfaro, who had three RBIs, two hits and one homer in Friday's 8-6 win over the Mets but left Saturday's game due to a strained left calf. The Marlins would miss his power bat and strong arm if he is put on the injured list.

Even so, Friday's win "relaxed" the Marlins, according to Jon Berti, who homered and then walked and scored Miami's second run in Saturday's 2-0 win.

"It helped loosen us up," Berti said on Saturday. "Guys were pressing, myself included. With a win like that, it eased tensions."

**Drucifer** · 18-May-2019, 09:42 PM

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**Drucifer** · 18-May-2019, 09:43 PM

Top of 1:
Mets first. McNeil grounded out, second baseman Castro to first baseman Walker. Davis grounded out, pitcher Alcantara to first baseman Walker. Canó lined out to left fielder Granderson.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 1:
Marlins first. Granderson popped out to third baseman Davis. Cooper grounded out, second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso. Anderson flied out to right fielder Nimmo.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 2:
Mets second. Alonso fouled out to third baseman Anderson. Nimmo grounded out, shortstop Rojas to first baseman Walker. Hechavarría struck out, catcher Wallach to first baseman Walker.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 2:
Marlins second. Walker grounded out, third baseman Davis to first baseman Alonso. Castro grounded out, second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso. Rojas flied out to right fielder Nimmo.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 3:
Mets third. Lagares grounded out, pitcher Alcantara to first baseman Walker. Nido struck out. Syndergaard struck out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 3:
Marlins third. Wallach flied out to right fielder Nimmo. Herrera struck out. Alcantara struck out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 4:
Mets fourth. McNeil lined out to right fielder Cooper. Davis singled to left. Canó grounded into a double play, catcher Wallach to shortstop Rojas to first baseman Walker, Davis out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Bottom of 4:
Marlins fourth. Granderson struck out. Cooper grounded out, second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso. Anderson flied out to right fielder Nimmo.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 5:
Mets fifth. Alonso struck out. Nimmo grounded out, second baseman Castro to first baseman Walker. Hechavarría fouled out to first baseman Walker.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 5:
Marlins fifth. Walker singled to center. Castro grounded into a double play, pitcher Syndergaard to second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso, Walker out. Rojas walked. Wallach grounded into fielder's choice, shortstop Hechavarría to second baseman Canó, Rojas out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Top of 6:
Mets sixth. Lagares struck out. Nido popped out to second baseman Castro. Syndergaard struck out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 6:
Marlins sixth. Herrera doubled to right. Alcantara hit an infield single to shortstop, Herrera to third. Granderson grounded into a double play, second baseman Canó to shortstop Hechavarría to first baseman Alonso, Herrera scored, Alcantara out. Cooper was hit by a pitch. Anderson fouled out to right fielder Nimmo.
Runs: 1, Hits: 2

Top of 7:
Mets seventh. McNeil popped out to shortstop Rojas. Davis singled to right. Canó grounded into a double play, second baseman Castro to shortstop Rojas to first baseman Walker, Davis out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Bottom of 7:
Marlins seventh. Walker doubled to center. Castro grounded out, shortstop Hechavarría to first baseman Alonso, Walker to third. Rojas hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Lagares, Walker scored. Wallach singled to right. Herrera flied out to center fielder Lagares.
Runs: 1, Hits: 2

Top of 8:
Mets eighth. Alonso walked on four pitches. Nimmo struck out. Hechavarría safe at first on fielder's choice plus throwing error by pitcher Alcantara, Alonso to second. Smith pinch-hitting for Lagares. Smith grounded into a double play, shortstop Rojas to first baseman Walker, Hechavarría out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 8:
Marlins eighth. C.Gómez in as center fielder. Lugo pitching. Alcantara struck out. Granderson homered to right on a 1-2 count. Cooper struck out. Anderson lined out to center fielder C.Gómez.
Runs: 1, Hits: 1

Top of 9:
Mets ninth. Rosario pinch-hitting for Nido. Rosario struck out. Ramos pinch-hitting for Lugo. Ramos popped out to first baseman Walker. McNeil lined out to left fielder Granderson.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

**Drucifer** · 18-May-2019, 09:44 PM

Alcantara Pitches 2-hitter, Miami Beats Reeling Mets 3-0

by STEVEN WINE

MIAMI, FL -- The New York Mets aren't hitting, and another lapse by slugger Robinson Cano raised questions about how hard they're trying.

None of which helps the shaky job security of manager Mickey Callaway.

Sandy Alcantara needed just 89 pitches to throw a two-hitter in a duel with Noah Syndergaard, and the lowly Miami Marlins beat the reeling Mets 3-0 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

A day after being shut out on one hit, the Mets dropped their fifth in row. And for the second time in three games, Cano failed to run hard after hitting a ground ball.

The latest unsightly defeat against a team with the worst record in the majors is sure to intensify speculation about Callaway's status as the team returns to New York. The Mets (20-25) have their longest losing streak of the year and are a season-worst five games under .500.

"I understand that everybody is disappointed - the fans, the ownership, myself, the team - because this is not who we are," Callaway said.

Callaway again found himself defending Cano, who failed to run when he hit a grounder that bounced off the dirt behind home plate and rolled a few feet fair. Cano stood at the plate questioning the call while the Marlins completed a 2-6-3 double play.

"I saw the ball hit and it didn't even hit the plate, it hit behind the plate," Cano said. "I thought it was a foul ball."

On Friday, Cano jogged to first when he grounded into an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play, and later told Callaway he thought there were two out.

"Things are piling up on Robbie right now," Callaway said when asked about Cano's latest bad look. "Come one, let's face it - the ball lands foul and spins into fair territory. He saw it hit foul, and by the time he looked back up the ball had spun into fair territory and the play was over. Stuff happens like that when things are going bad."

Syndergaard (3-4) allowed two runs in seven innings, and afterward defended Callaway, who is in his second year as manager.

"I respect the hell out of Mickey," Syndergaard said. "It's kind of bull what's going on right now with the speculation that there could be a change, because we're still early in the season and just one small step from putting this all together. It's certainly not on him."

Part of the Mets' problem was Alcantara (2-4), who struck out eight, walked one and retired the last six batters for the Marlins' first complete game shutout since Edinson Volquez tossed a no-hitter against Arizona in June 2017. It was the first complete game for Alcantara, a 23-year-old righty acquired from St. Louis in a trade for Marcell Ozuna before last season.

"I felt great," Alcantara said. "I felt like a superstar about my complete game."

He also had a bunt single to set up the first run, and made a nifty behind-the-back grab of J.D. Davis' one-hopper in the first inning.

The Marlins (13-31), who came into the series with a seven-game losing streak, have their first three-game winning streak of the season. Their bandwagon is growing - the crowd of 15,983 was the biggest at Marlins Park since opening day.

Miami became the first team to hold its opponent to three hits or less in consecutive shutouts since Philadelphia limited Atlanta to three hits on Sept. 1-2, 2014.

The Marlins won with six hits. Curtis Granderson hit his fifth homer for their final run in the eighth.

MATCHUP

Alcantara has made five of his 15 career starts against the Mets, and has an ERA of 2.14 with a 2-2 record.

PACE OF PLAY

The game took 1:59 to play. The first 19 batters went down in order, and the first three innings took only 31 minutes.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mets: LHP Luis Avilan (left elbow) is expected to begin playing catch soon.

Marlins: C Jorge Alfaro (left calf strain) might return to the lineup Tuesday. ... INF-OF Jon Berti (strained left oblique) was scratched from the lineup and is day to day.

UP NEXT

Mets: They begin a four-game series against Washington at home Monday with the starting pitcher to be announced.

Marlins: Following an off day, LHP Caleb Smith (3-1, 2.25) is scheduled to start Tuesday when Miami begins a seven-game trip in Detroit. Opponents are batting .180 against him, which ranks second among National League starters.