Game #57: Marlins 2, Mets 1 (20)

Unlike the game that took twice as long to finish, I'll keep this recap short and sweet.

The Mets got 13 hits but couldn't plate more than a single run, falling to the Marlins 2-1 in a marathon 20-inning affair.

The Bad Stuff:

• Let's try "one run in 20 innings" and see if that sticks.
• Oh, you want something more? Try 0-19 with RISP and 22 men left on base. That's right, the Mets came three runners short of leaving an entire major league roster on base.

The Good Stuff:

• Matt Harvey was once again phenomenal on the mound, going seven innings and allowing one run on six hits and no walks, striking out six. He was removed from the game before the 8th inning could start due to injury concerns, but the cautious move seems to have paid off as he is not expected to miss his next start.
• Shaun Marcum took the tough loss in what turned out to be a de facto start. Marcum entered the game in the 13th inning and finished up eight frames of one-run, five-hit, seven-strikeout ball with a far-from-deserved L. At least this solves the dilemma of having him miss a start due to the recent rainouts.

Final Analysis:
Usually I try to put a positive spin on things, but I can't bring myself to mince words tonight. That was a pitiful excuse of an offensive performance. To score one run against the lowly Miami Marlins, a team that has gotten half their wins against New York, in a little more than two games' worth of innings is downright unacceptable. I don't know how he is going to manage it, but Terry Collins must find a way to get more offense out of this group of men who supposedly represent the top 0.1% of baseball players in the world. Otherwise today's paying Citi Field crowd of 20,338 is going to end up being the attendance ceiling, not the floor.

MM