Marlins dump on reeling Mets as Mets' playoff hopes hinge on Reds tiebreaker

The Marlins handed the Mets a crushing defeat Friday night, 6-2 at Citi Field, a result that deepened New York's slide in the National League's final wild-card race. With two games remaining, Cincinnati's tiebreaker edge over the Mets left New York's playoff chances hanging by a thread and increased the pressure as the teams moved toward the finish.

New York briefly built a 2-0 lead, only to see Miami seize control in the middle innings. Mets slugger Pete Alonso bobbled a ground ball to start the shift, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Miami catcher Agustin Ramirez then stole second and third, the former without a throw and the latter with Ronny Mauricio playing way off the bag, enabling Ramirez to score on a single. Connor Norby followed with a two-run homer to extend the Marlins' lead. By the time the night ended, the Mets had not recorded a hit after the third inning, unable to recover against Miami's pitching and defense.

On the Marlins' broadcast, Kyle Sielaff said, "I don't think there's any doubt in my mind, the last time that the Marlins and Mets have gotten together, the Marlins have flat-out been the better baseball team. They have wanted every single game more. They are a better team. And Mets fans can disagree, but the proof has been in the pudding. They have flat-out wanted it more and they are a better team. And I know that's a tough pill to swallow when you have a $400 million payroll." The SNY broadcast echoed the frustration, with Ron Darling saying of the disastrous fifth inning, "You might take your whole travel ball team off the field if something like that happens." Keith Hernandez added, "They have made a lot of mental errors over the past 9-10 games."

With two games left, the Mets could miss the playoffs as Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker. They will face Miami again on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. local time to finish the series and attempt to stay alive in the wild-card race.