Mets Pummel Marlins, Cabrera Leaves Game With Thumb Injury
NEW YORK (AP) — Asdrubal Cabrera doubled to spark a five-run first inning against fill-in starter Odrisamer Despaigne, then joined the New York Mets' long injury list when he hurt his left thumb and was forced to leave an 11-3 rout of the Miami Marlins on Saturday night.
Jay Bruce drove in three runs with a pair of doubles, and Michael Conforto forced home runs with a pair of bases-loaded walks as the Mets won for the sixth time in eight games. Miami has lost nine of 11.
A sloppy evening included a 39-minute rain delay after Cabrera landed on his thumb diving for Marcell Ozuna's ground single through the shortstop hole in the third inning.
"I don't know how bad it is, but he's certainly hurting," Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Marlins first baseman Justin Bour and third baseman Martin Prado botched easy grounders for errors that led to five unearned runs. Prado let another grounder hit the heel of his glove, losing the chance for an inning-ending double play as New York went on to score three runs in the eighth.
Ozuna dropped a fly to left for another error and overran a single on a miserable night for the Marlins' defense, which had committed an NL-low nine errors coming in.
Robert Gsellman (2-2) allowed home runs to Giancarlo Stanton and Ozuna but won his second straight start, pitching out of near-constant trouble to allow three runs and five hits in five innings. Stanton's solo shot in the second was his 18th at Citi Field, five more than any other visiting player.
Before the game, the Mets said Noah Syndergaard will not throw for six weeks because of a torn muscle behind his right shoulder, a timetable that means the star pitcher won't return until after the All-Star break. New York was expected to contend with its pitching but began the night with the second-highest ERA in the NL.
Despite the loss of Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda and Travis d'Arnaud from their batting order, the Mets have scored seven or more runs in five straight games for the first time since September 2007.
It was not immediately clear whether Cabrera would join them on the disabled list. The Mets said X-rays were negative and he will have an MRI on Sunday. A long absence could cause New York to bring up top shortstop prospect Amed Rosario from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Despaigne (0-1) came up from the minor leagues to make his first big league start since Sept. 13, 2015, for San Diego at San Francisco. Pitching in place of injured Wei-Yin Chen, he allowed eight runs — three earned — five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. Despaigne settled down to retire 11 consecutive batters before he was chased in the fifth.
Facing the Mets on July 20, 2014, Despaigne came within four outs of the first no-hitter in San Diego's 46-year major league history when he allowed Daniel Murphy's double.
This time, he struggled through a 38-pitch, five-run first inning that began when Bour allowed Conforto's grounder to bounce off his glove and into right field for an error. Cabrera and Bruce hit run-scoring doubles, resurgent Jose Reyes singled in a run, Kevin Plawecki had a sacrifice fly and Conforto walked with the bases loaded.
PLUNKED
Four batters were hit by pitches, two on each team, raising the series total to eight — including five Marlins.
STILL SPEEDY
Ichiro Suzuki, at age 43, hustled down the first-base line to avoid a double play on his fourth-inning grounder to shortstop. Mets second baseman Neil Walker was slow with the turn.
GLOVE GEMS
Mets center fielder Curtis Granderson ran in for a sliding catch on Adeiny Hechavarria in the eighth, then ran a long distance for a backhand grab of J.T. Realmuto's drive to the warning track.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: CF Christian Yelich missed a start for the first time this season. "He got a little bit of a tight hammy last night and felt kind of the same today," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "You don't want to lose him for four to six weeks, so we're going to try to give him a day, resolve this and then get him back in there tomorrow if everything's OK."
UP NEXT
Matt Harvey (2-2) enters Sunday's series finale after giving up six or more runs in consecutive starts for the first time in his big league career, a pair of losses to Atlanta that raised his ERA from 2.84 to 5.14.
Jose Urena (0-0) is to make his first start of the season for Miami after six relief appearances.
(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
