After a flood of emotional games over the weekend, the New York Mets will play host to the Miami Marlins on Monday afternoon.
Monday's game, which was rescheduled after both the Mets and Marlins declined to play at Citi Field on Thursday as part of MLB's social awareness movement, comes after the Mets played five games in three days across town against the New York Yankees.
The Marlins, meanwhile, returned home from New York to face the Tampa Bay Rays this past weekend before flying back to New York for the one game Monday. The Marlins then will travel back home for a pair of games against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Perhaps all that flying won't bother them. The Marlins are just 1-8 at home this season and 13-7 on the road.
"I can't explain home, why we haven't played as well (at home)," Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters. "... On the road, you have nothing else but going to the ballpark. You're stuck in a hotel. The only time you get out is when you've got to go to the ballpark. It's the one time you have a little freedom."
Monday's game will mark yet another outing against the Marlins for Mets ace right-hander Jacob deGrom (2-0, 1.80 ERA). Each of his last three starts have come against the Marlins.
On Aug. 9, he earned the victory over Miami after allowing two earned runs over five innings. He then skipped a start because of a mild neck injury, before delivering two more solid starts against the Marlins.
The Mets won all three of those deGrom starts, with the two-time defending National League Cy Young Award winner going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in the stretch, adding 27 strikeouts over 18 innings.
In 25 career starts against the Marlins, deGrom is 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA over 156 innings. It is his highest career ERA against any NL East opponent.
After a doubleheader sweep of the Mets on Tuesday, the Marlins are on a four-game losing streak. The Miami offense was shut out in each of the first two games while getting swept by the Rays before scoring seven runs in Sunday's defeat.
Miami will send left-hander Trevor Rogers (0-0, 0.00) to the mound Monday for his second career appearance. He delivered four scoreless innings in Game 2 against the Mets on Tuesday.
After going 5-0 earlier this month in their return from a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak, the Marlins are 7-14 since. Miami is now 14-15, the first time it has been under .500 this season.
The Marlins are 3-6 against the Mets this season with Monday's game the last on the regular-season schedule between the teams.
The Mets swept a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Friday, but lost the last three games of the series, including a Yankees sweep on Sunday with both games going into extra innings.
"You never like to lose, especially when you're winning a ballgame and end up giving it up late, it hurts," Mets right-hander Rick Porcello said after the Game 1 defeat. "But this is something that you play baseball long enough, you deal with on more than one occasion and you know how to respond."
The Mets revealed Sunday that both left-hander Steven Matz (shoulder) and right-hander Dellin Betances (lat) were headed to the 10-day injured list. Both pitchers are headed for further evaluations Monday.
--Field Level Media
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