MIAMI
FIRST PITCH: After an ugly game in the series opener, the Mets look to rebound Tuesday in Game 2 of their series against the Miami Marlins.
Jonathon Niese (7-10, 3.48 ERA) opposes right-hander Brad Penny (1-0, 5.40) at 7:10 p.m.
With Philadelphia no-hitting Atlanta on Monday, the Phillies (63-74) again are only a half-game behind the Mets (64-74) for fourth place in the NL East. So some scoreboard watching may be in order at Marlins Park.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Josh Edgin and Daisuke Matsuzaka are expected to have their pitching elbows examined by team doctors. Edgin has bone spurs, and it is possible he will learn those need to be surgically removed. Terry Collins is unsure whether Edgin will return this season.
Tuesday’s news reports:
• The Mets committed six errors, one shy of matching the franchise record, and lost to Miami, 9-6, on Labor Day at Marlins Park. The Marlins scored three eighth-inning runs while producing only one hit in the frame. Jeurys Familia had two errors and a run-scoring wild pitch that inning. Erik Goeddel walked in a run in his major league debut. Dilson Herrera had his first major league homer and also a two-run triple, but committed two errors. Zack Wheeler allowed five runs (two earned) and lasted only 4 2/3 innings because of a high pitch count.
Collins bluntly said afterward that the team’s showing did not resemble a “big-league baseball game.”
“They are not mental errors. They are just execution errors,” David Wright, who had one of the errors, told reporters postgame. “That is not an excuse for them, and obviously you’re not going to win games committing six errors, but they happen, and a lot of times they happen in bunches.”
Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Newsday, Times, Star-Ledger, Record and at MLB.com.
• Read more on Wheeler in the Post.
• Clark Spencer in the Miami Herald chronicles Penny’s feud with the Mets during the right-hander’s first tour of duty with the Marlins, back in 2001. It stemmed in part from Tsuyoshi Shinjo touching the plate after a homer and also swinging at a 3-0 pitch in a rout. The feud escalated with Todd Zeile barking at Penny after a subsequent homer. Writes Spencer:
When the pitcher and hitter came face to face in subsequent showdowns, Penny often threw behind Zeile’s back as a warning. Though [Mike] Redmond declined to be interviewed for this article, he has said previously that Zeile turned to him after one of Penny’s warning shots and said, “Is this ever going to end?”
• The Brooklyn Cyclones were eliminated on the final day of the regular season despite a 3-1 win against Staten Island. First-round pick Michael Conforto, promising shortstop prospect Amed Rosario and third baseman Jhoan Urena were promoted to Savannah after the Cyclones’ elimination. Las Vegas, Binghamton and Savannah open the playoffs on Wednesday. Read the full minor-league recap here.
• Bronx-raised T.J. Rivera finished with the top batting average among Mets minor leaguers at .349, while Cyclones right-hander Marcos Molina won the organization’s ERA crown at 1.77. View the organization’s final minor-league statistical leaders here.
• Rafael Montero should get a late-season start with the Mets.
• Bobby Parnell expects to get on a mound after Christmas.
• Lynn Worthy in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin profiles 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo.
BIRTHDAYS: Hitting coach Lamar Johnson turns 64. ... The late Marv Throneberry was born on this date in 1933. ... Minor-league right-hander Jake Kuebler is 25.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Closing out summer the American way, at an @MLB game. Or at least a close approximation with #Marlins hosting #Mets. pic.twitter.com/0k05o3uXhH— HH57 (@HH57) September 1, 2014
YOU’RE UP: Should the Mets seek retribution on Tuesday for Brad Penny’s 2001 antics against Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Todd Zeile?