NEW YORK -- Nothing went right for Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez in a 19-9 loss to the Mets at Citi Field on Friday night.
It was so rough that Pérez had to be pulled from the game after throwing 39 pitches and recording only two outs in the first inning. He faced the first five hitters in New York’s lineup and was unable to retire any of them. Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo highlighted the scoring with homers, which gave the Mets an early 5-0 lead.
It wasn't until his 34th pitch of the inning that Pérez was able to record his first out, when he got Starling Marte to line out to shortstop Otto Lopez. After Pérez got Brett Baty to fly out to center fielder Jakob Marsee, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough decided to take him out of the game in favor of Tyler Zuber.
“Pérez didn’t throw enough strikes, and when he did, he was hit hard,” McCullough said. “It was not a good night. I feel for him. It was tough for everyone. He didn’t have a whole lot coming out today as far as any real command and execution. They made him pay.”
Pérez had a feeling before the game that he was not going to have a good outing. He was feeling uncomfortable. His pitching hand was dry and he didn’t have any control of his secondary pitches. Pérez said when his hand is moist, he has a better grip on his pitches. It turned out to be one of those games he would like to forget.
“I know it’s not an excuse, but it was a bad day for pitchers,” Pérez said through interpreter Luis Dorante. “It was a bad outing, but you have to learn from the mistakes. Sometimes you need outings like [this one] so you can learn and make the adjustments. That’s what we are going to do. We are going to make the adjustment and continue [to pitch] the next one.”
It may have been a bad day for Pérez, but the Mets' No. 4 prospect, righty Jonah Tong, made his Major League debut and won his first big league game. Miami made him work for over five innings, as he allowed four runs (one earned) while striking out six. By the time he was done, Tong threw 97 pitches, 63 for strikes.
“He has a real fastball,” Marlins left fielder Troy Johnston said about Tong. “I faced [Brewers right-hander Jacob] Misiorowski and Tong. I would say Misiorowski is one and Tong is two. [Tong’s] changeup played really well off his fastball. That was one of his weapons. If he can develop that curveball and put it in a little better spot, he is going to be a top 10 pitcher here in the future.”
While Tong had a nice showing, things would get worse for the Marlins. Zuber replaced Pérez and had a tough time getting outs. When it was over, he allowed seven runs in one inning.
But right-hander Valente Bellozo stopped the bleeding, allowing one run over 4 1/3 innings and preventing the Marlins from having to use a handful of relievers. His only blemish was allowing a solo homer to Brandon Nimmo in the sixth inning.
“That was huge,” McCullough said. “... Great job by Valente to do what he did tonight. He has done a lot of good things for us, and tonight he was able to go out there and really suck down some innings for us and calm the game down.”
The game turned ugly in the later innings, when both teams used position players on the mound to save their respective bullpens. Infielder/outfielder Javier Sanoja made his seventh appearance on the hill for the Marlins this season, allowing six runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Mets catcher Luis Torrens started the top of the ninth and was touched up for four runs before right-hander Ryne Stanek stopped the bleeding and ended the game.
“The good thing is, [the game] is over,” McCullough said. “We’ll come back tomorrow and have [Edward Cabrera] on the mound. We are ready to go for that. Yeah, tough night.”