The Mets head back to Florida with a chance to make life harder for the Marlins, and the timing lines up perfectly for a team that has already been a thorn in Miami’s side this season.
New York is 65-78 and Miami sits at 72-72, still hanging around the Wild Card chase despite choosing not to add at the deadline and even dealing Liam Hicks to the Rays. The Marlins are four games out of the final postseason spot in the National League, but they still have a long climb ahead of them with the Diamondbacks, Padres and Cardinals standing in front of them, and the Pirates lurking close behind.
This matchup also carries some recent baggage. The Mets have lost six of 10 to Miami this year, including all three games at loanDepot Park in May.
New York did sweep the Marlins at Citi Field in May before later dropping three of four there in the summer. The Marlins, meanwhile, just put up 10 runs in a win over the Cubs to avoid a sweep from the Wild Card leaders.
For Mets fans, the Florida trip comes with an ugly sense of familiarity. Miami knocked New York out of the postseason picture last year by taking two of three at loanDepot Park on the final weekend of the regular season.
The Marlins also played spoiler in the final game of the regular season in both 2007 and 2008, eliminating the Mets at Shea Stadium. This time, New York has nothing to play for in September, but it can still land a blow on a division rival trying to reach its first playoff berth since 2023.
The Mets arrive with some momentum after taking a series from the Giants. They blasted eight home runs over three games, including five in Friday’s 10-6 win.
Francisco Alvarez hit two homers in that one. The Giants answered on Saturday with a 9-5 win of their own, hitting five home runs and getting a Mets homer from AJ Ewing, his first RBIs since July 31.
On Sunday, New York trailed 2-0 heading into the eighth before Brett Baty homered and Bo Bichette followed with a three-run shot to swing the game in a 4-2 Mets win.
That gave New York back-to-back series wins after a three-series skid. It also pushed the Mets to 65 wins, one shy of the 66 wins the 2003 club finished with, the franchise’s low-water mark since the turn of the millennium.
Monday’s opener features Jonah Tong against Eury Pérez at 1:10 PM EDT on SNY. Tong is set to return to the rotation for the first time in 2026 after three relief outings earlier in the year, when he allowed six runs, four earned, over 10 innings with seven strikeouts and seven walks.
He has had a rocky run in Triple-A, posting a 4.54 ERA in 23 starts for Syracuse, though he’s been much sharper lately with a 0.84 ERA over his last four starts. That stretch included an August 29 outing in which he came one out shy of a seven-inning no-hitter.
Tong’s major league debut and first win both came against the Marlins, when he allowed four runs, one earned, over five innings.
Pérez has seen his ERA climb by a half-run over his last two starts. Over that span, he has thrown 7 2/3 innings and allowed 11 earned runs on 11 hits, taking one loss and a no decision.
Even with that rough patch, he’s still put together a strong year after missing all of 2024 following Tommy John Surgery and then posting a 4.25 ERA in 2025. In 2026, he’s worked 135.1 innings with 145 strikeouts, 59 walks, 17 homers allowed, and a 3.72 ERA.
Tuesday’s game brings Sean Manaea against Sandy Alcantara at 6:40 PM EDT on SNY. Manaea was hit hard again in his last outing, giving up five earned runs on a season-high 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings.
He struck out two, walked one and allowed one home run. It marked his fourth straight start allowing at least four earned runs and his second in a row giving up at least five.
His ERA has climbed from 4.13 to 4.70 during that run, though he has continued to work deep enough to reach the sixth inning for the eighth straight start.
Alcantara is in the middle of one of the better seasons on the Miami staff. He leads NL starters with 30 starts and 195 2/3 innings, but he has also allowed the most hits in the league, 181.
The former Cy Young winner has a club option for 2027, so he could be nearing the end of his run in Miami. This has been his best season since his 2022 All-Star year, when he led all NL pitchers in WAR, complete games and innings pitched.
He has lost each of his last five starts, and in his last two he allowed four earned runs over six innings each time while striking out just five total.
The series closes Wednesday with Robert Stock opposite Janson Junk at 6:40 PM EDT on SNY. Stock is not officially confirmed, but he appears lined up to pitch with Nolan McLean set for Friday at Yankee Stadium.
Stock threw one-third of an inning in relief in Friday’s win over the Giants. Before that, he picked up his first career victory since 2019 with 5 1/3 shutout innings against the Rays, allowing five hits, striking out four and walking none.
Junk is coming off a solid outing that ended in a loss. Against the Cubs, he allowed one earned run on three hits over five innings, with one walk and four strikeouts.
In his start before that, he gave up one earned run over 4 2/3 innings against the same line of work: four hits, two walks and two strikeouts. He beat the Mets on July 31, when he pitched five innings and allowed one unearned run on three hits.
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