MIAMI — Boos resonated throughout LoanDepot Park after Friday night’s fifth inning, but this wasn’t an indictment on the home team.
No, these jeers were from Mets fans — who comprised the majority of the crowd, as usual, for their team’s visit to South Florida — venting displeasure at this ugliness placed before them.
Brandon Sproat got knocked around before he could even complete his second turn through the batting order, Gregory Soto dumped kerosene on the fire, and the Mets lineup couldn’t touch Sandy Alcántara after the first inning.
And now, with this 6-2 loss to the Marlins, the plot has again thickened.
The Reds (82-78) won 3-1 in Milwaukee and reclaimed the lead for the National League’s third and final wild card based on holding the tiebreaker against the Mets (82-78).
“We put ourselves in this position,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We have got to win the next two and see what happens, but we did it ourselves.”
Pete Alonso was asked if it felt evident the Mets’ season might end without a postseason appearance.
“Good thing it’s not over yet, so we’ll figure that out later on,” Alonso said. “Hopefully, we can win [Saturday] and we don’t have to face that reality.”
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS
Adding to the Mets’ misery, Brett Baty departed the game in the second inning with a right oblique injury, putting the remainder of his season in jeopardy.
Sproat carried a 2-0 lead into the fifth, but departed before getting the final out in the inning with the Mets behind. Overall, the right-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk. It was a second straight start in which Sproat failed to last five innings and surrendered four earned runs.
“They put a couple of hits together and it didn’t go my way,” Sproat said.
Francisco Lindor homered leading off the game for the 11th time this season, crushing a 94-mph sinker from Alcántara over the fence in right-center. Alonso’s RBI double in the first inning extended the Mets’ lead to 2-0 after Juan Soto singled and stole second.
Before the bottom of the second began, Baty was removed from the game with oblique soreness. Baty appeared in discomfort on a swing in the first inning, but remained in the game to play defense. Ronny Mauricio replaced him for the bottom of the second.
“I obviously want to play,” Baty said. “There’s only two days left, so if there’s any possibility of me playing, I am going to play.”
Heriberto Hernández stroked a two-run triple against Sproat in the fifth that tied it 2-2 before a Jakob Marsee grounder to first base deflected off Alonso’s glove — the ball was grabbed by Jeff McNeil, who flipped to Alonso for the out — allowing the go-ahead run to score.
“[Hernández] is going on contact and it’s a tough one, but I am happy I could get an out in that situation,” Alonso said. “If I would have fielded it cleanly, I would have thrown home, but I am still happy we could get an out there in that spot.”
After Agustín Ramírez singled and stole second and third against Gregory Soto (the lefty failed to step off the rubber both times with Ramírez as a sitting duck), the Marlins took a 4-2 lead on Xavier Edwards’ RBI single. Connor Norby followed with his first career pinch-hit homer, extending the Marlins’ lead to 6-2.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“It looked like they had something on Soto there; he’s a left-handed pitcher with the runner in front of him,” Mendoza said. “And for them to take off like that and for us to not step off and give him a free base there, it’s kind of an inning changer.”
The Mets got the tying run to the plate in the eighth after a Marlins fielding error, but pinch-hitter Mark Vientos was retired for the final out to leave the bases loaded.
Alcantara allowed two earned runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts over seven innings.
“We did a great job early,” Alonso said. “But we have got to figure out a way to get Sandy out of the game.”