Mets Survive Sloppy Pitching, Robert Jr. Delivers Late Heroics

The New York Mets scraped past the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Thursday night at Citi Field in a game that exposed more problems than it solved, even in victory. This wasn’t the Mets playing stellar baseball. This was the Mets winning ugly, leaning on late-inning heroics to overcome their own pitching incompetence and a Marlins team that simply couldn’t get out of its own way.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Michael Petersen‘s catastrophic 0.2 inning appearance for Miami. One-third of an inning. Three hits. Two runs. This is the kind of start that makes you wonder what Clayton McCullough was thinking leaving his guy out there, or if there were injury concerns forcing the quick hook. Either way, it set a terrible tone for a game the Marlins should have won on paper.

Kyle Stowers gave Miami a brief lifeline with a solo homer in the fourth inning, his 15th of the season. A solid swing, a well-struck fly ball to right field, and suddenly the deficit was 2-1. Then Jakob Marsee tied things up with his own solo shot in the seventh, a line drive to right-center that got Miami fans thinking upset. The Marlins had fought back. They were still in this thing.

But here’s where Thursday night revealed the real story. The Mets’ pitching staff, particularly the late-game arms, was simply superior when it mattered most. Brooks Raley came out of nowhere to earn the win, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings, and Devin Williams was absolutely filthy in the ninth with his save situation, striking out two in a single inning of work. This is the kind of bullpen depth that wins playoff games in October.

Robert Jr. Ends It Late

The Mets broke through against Miami’s tired bullpen in the eighth inning when Luis Robert Jr. delivered a ground ball single to left field that scored both Bo Bichette and Carson Benge. Robert Jr. picked up two RBIs on a play that wasn’t flashy, wasn’t complicated, but was exactly what the Mets needed at the exact right moment. Francisco Lindor had earlier driven in Francisco Alvarez in the sixth to keep the Mets alive, proving once again that he’s worth every penny of his contract.

The ABS Circus

Let’s not ignore what everyone watching Thursday night saw: the automated strike zone review system was a complete disaster. Six different challenges? Ball 1 overturned? Strike 3 reversed? This is what happens when you implement technology without proper vetting. The game became a sideshow of stoppages and reviews that had nothing to do with actual baseball. Andy Green’s postgame comments probably included some choice words about the system, as they should have.

The Mets weren’t brilliant Thursday night. They were opportunistic. They took their chances when Miami’s pitching faltered early, and they held on when it mattered late. That’s not always how championship teams play, but it’s absolutely how they win games they have no business winning. For a franchise that’s had too many Thursday nights go the wrong way, this one felt like progress, even if it was messy as hell.