Kodai Senga cruised through four innings in his return to the mound before Miami broke through in the fifth, sending the New York Mets to a 5-2 loss against the Miami Marlins on Friday night at Citi Field. The defeat dropped the Mets to 47-64, while the Marlins improved to 56-55 after limiting New York’s offense for most of the evening.
Making his first appearance in 13 days after the Mets scratched Freddy Peralta ahead of the trade deadline, Senga retired the first six batters he faced and struck out four through four scoreless innings. The right-hander ran into trouble in the fifth, issuing back-to-back walks before Jakob Marsee’s RBI double ended his night. Xzavion Curry inherited two runners and allowed both to score on Joe Mack’s two-run single before surrendering another RBI hit later in the inning as Miami built a 4-0 lead. Curry ultimately logged five innings of relief, allowing two runs while helping preserve the bullpen.
The Mets didn’t record a hit until Carson Benge doubled in the fourth and finally broke through in the fifth when A.J. Ewing lined a two-out RBI single. Francisco Lindor followed with a base hit to load the bases, but Bo Bichette popped out to end the threat. Lindor later answered Kyle Stowers’ solo homer with one of his own in the seventh, but New York couldn’t draw any closer as five Marlins pitchers combined to hold the Mets to seven hits. Janson Junk earned the win with five innings of one-run ball before Pete Fairbanks recorded the save.
The Mets continue their series against the Marlins on Saturday at Citi Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m., with Zac Thornton (2-1, 2.43 ERA) set to face Miami right-hander Tyler Phillips (2-5, 3.52 ERA).
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.