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Koehler chased early; Marlins can’t recreate magic
- Updated: September 28, 2016
MIAMI — It will take weeks, months, even years for the Marlins to recover from the death of Jose Fernandez. In some ways, they never will. But they at least attempted to restore a sense of normalcy on Tuesday night at Marlins Park, where the Mets scored a 12-1 victory in a game bursting with National League Wild Card implications.
Making his first start since catching a case of strep throat last week, Noah Syndergaard struck out eight over six innings, while Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes backed him with two-run homers. The win temporarily moved the Mets a game ahead of the Giants for the NL’s top Wild Card spot, and two games ahead of the Cardinals.
For the Marlins, the loss evaporated any margin for error they had left in their postseason chase. They must win all of their remaining games to qualify — and even that is unlikely to be enough.
The 19 hits allowed by Miami are a season high, topping the 18 at Milwaukee on May 1.
Marlins starter Tom Koehler struggled early, walking four batters and allowing six hits, including both Mets home runs. New York then piled on late, putting the game away on a Curtis Granderson two-run single and a Lucas Duda bases-clearing double in the eighth. Duda reached base in four of his five plate appearances.
All throughout, memories of Fernandez remained close at hand. The Marlins kept Fernandez’s No. 16 painted on the back of the pitcher’s mound, while a memorial outside the park continued to grow with flowers, signs and signatures.
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDBack to the grind: Originally slated to start Saturday against the Phillies, Syndergaard came down with a case of strep throat severe enough to push his outing back three days. …
