When it rains, it pours for the Mets, whose game Thursday against the playoff-hopeful Miami Marlins was suspended after a blown save and a lengthy weather delay.
Rain intensified moments after Mets reliever Anthony Kay surrendered back-to-back run-scoring hits in the ninth inning, giving Miami a 2-1 lead at Citi Field.
A three-hour, 17-minute rain delay followed, with the game’s resumption possibly taking place Monday.
The Mets are eliminated from postseason contention, but the Marlins hold a half-game lead for the third and final NL Wild Card spot over the Chicago Cubs, who lost Thursday to the Atlanta Braves.
This weekend will determine whether the Mets-Marlins’ series finale needs to be completed, with Buck Showalter saying the teams are awaiting league approval to play Monday.
“Usually it comes to fruition, but I’ll let them announce it,” the Mets manager said.
Miami is scheduled to begin a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Friday. The Cubs are set to play three games in Milwaukee this weekend. The Marlins possess the tiebreaker over the Cubs after winning their season series.
The Mets and Marlins explored multiple restart times before Thursday’s game was suspended, Showalter said.
“We kept looking for a window, getting the tarp on, getting the field ready,” Showalter said.
The game likely would’ve ended without a rain delay had the Mets converted the ninth-inning save. But leading 1-0, Showalter turned to Kay with one on and one out, replacing Grant Hartwig, who had pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.
Kay, a Long Island native, gave up an RBI double to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and an RBI single to Yuli Gurriel, the first two batters he faced.
“Hartwig presented himself well,” Showalter said. “We pushed him a little bit that second inning. Really didn’t want to take a chance with him much further. He pitched yesterday.”
When the stoppage occurred, Mets reliever Reed Garrett had entered to pitch against the Marlins, who had two on and two out in the ninth.
The Mets and Marlins split a doubleheader Wednesday after rain left the field unplayable Tuesday.
Thursday’s bullpen implosion followed a stellar start by the Mets’ David Peterson, who hurled seven shutout innings and struck out eight. It was tied for the longest start of the season by the left-hander, who spent more than a month at Triple-A Syracuse during the season’s first half.
“I was sent down to get back to who I am, and I think I came back up and kind of showed I was able to get back to that and able to build off success,” Peterson said.
Peterson, who entered with a 5.37 ERA, traded zeroes throughout the night with another lefty, Miami’s Jesus Luzardo, who struck out 10 over 7.1 innings.
The Mets wasted the eighth-inning heroics of Rafael Ortega, whose RBI single against reliever Andrew Nardi broke a scoreless tie. Ortega had entered the game in the fifth inning for Brandon Nimmo, who dove awkwardly in center field.
Nimmo suffered an injury to the AC joint in his right shoulder and is set to undergo an MRI on Friday to see if there’s “any rotator damage,” Showalter said.
“The initial stuff they did and X-ray looked good,” the manager said, adding he doesn’t expect Nimmo to play again this season.
The surprising Marlins, who won fewer than 70 games in both of the past two years, are seeking their first playoff berth since 2020, when they went 31-29 during the COVID-shortened season. Their last time making the playoffs after a full regular season was 2003, when they won the World Series over the Yankees.
The Mets are scheduled this weekend to host a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, who have clinched the top NL Wild Card. There’s more rain in the forecast Friday.