NEW YORK (AP) — Harrison Bader hit an early two-run homer, Starling Marte and Francisco Lindor also went deep, and the New York Mets took advantage of shoddy defense by the last-place Miami Marlins in a 10-4 victory Wednesday night.
Tyrone Taylor went 4 for 5 for his second career four-hit game and Francisco Alvarez had two RBIs in his second game back from the injured list as the Mets (29-37) won for the seventh time in 11 games following a 4-15 skid.
Marte and Bader both knocked in two runs and scored twice. Marte has a 1.093 OPS in his last 19 games. Bader was bumped up to second in the batting order against left-handed starter Braxton Garrett.
“I think our lineup is very dynamic,” Bader said. “I think you could put a lot of guys in that position and they’d be successful.”
Alvarez and J.D. Martinez each delivered an RBI single as New York took a 5-2 lead in a three-run second inning aided by two errors on the infield and a wild pitch from Garrett (2-2).
“I think we had a good approach as a team,” Taylor said. “That’s like, part of the momentum in baseball. To be able to come through after those big mistakes is huge.”
Dedniel Núñez retired all seven batters he faced in relief of starter David Peterson (2-0), striking out a career-high five, and walked off the mound to a standing ovation.
“It was incredible. It was something that I couldn’t believe,” a smiling Núñez said through a translator. “Just to see how the fans kind of embraced me in that moment, it was really special.”
Núñez, probably New York’s best reliever of late, threw 23 of 29 pitches for strikes but is an unfortunate candidate for a trip back to the minors Thursday when closer Edwin Díaz comes off the injured list because the rookie is one of the few members of the bullpen with minor league options left.
“Whatever decision that they have to make, that’s in the team’s hands,” Núñez said. “I don’t have any control over that.”
Peterson allowed four runs and eight hits over five innings in his third start this season after returning from left hip surgery.
“The good thing is he got ahead, but he had a hard time putting hitters away,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Garrett was pulled after Marte’s solo shot into the second deck in left field gave the Mets a 6-4 lead with two outs in the fifth. He permitted four earned runs and seven hits.
“He pitched better than I think his line probably shows,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “I think Brax is fine, we just have to play defense behind him.”
Miami yielded 10 runs for the fifth time this year.
“Creating momentum offensively is big for us,” Bader said. “Just a good night for us. We got 14 hits. Anytime you do that, you put yourself in a good position to win.”
