The Miami Marlins handed Humberto Mejia a big task Friday. The 23-year-old starting pitcher had never played above the Class A Advanced level of minor league ball.
Now, here he was, at Citi Field as a steady stream of rain fell on the ballpark, making his MLB debut in the series opener against the New York Mets as the Marlins piece together a new starting rotation after three of their original five pitchers in the group went on the injured list following the club's COVID-19 outbreak that infected 18 players.
"This wasn't something that really we envisioned before everything kind of went sideways pretty fast on us," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said pregame. "We'll see."
Mejia held his own and got enough support from his offense before turning the game over to the bullpen.
The end result: A 4-3 Marlins win over the Mets, their fourth consecutive one-run win that also extended the team's win streak to six games. At 7-1, the Marlins continue their hold at the top of MLB's standings (when going off win percentage). The record is also tied for the best eight-game start in franchise history, matching what the team did in 2009, 2004 and 1997.
And it came despite an impromptu start from Mejia, who had an impressive night giving the situation he was thrown into on Friday.
He only lasted 2 1/3 innings but held the Mets (5-9) to one run (a Dominic Smith solo home run in the second). Six of Mejia's seven outs were strikeouts.
Mejia's main problem: Long at-bats. Seven of the 11 batters he faced saw at least seven pitches. Of his 67 pitches, 43 went for strikes. More than half of those strikes (23) were foul balls.
"He's a guy that we like," Mattingly said. "We like his stuff. He didn't pitch much this spring, but when he did, he handled himself fine. Obviously, he's getting some big-league experience tonight."
Mejia is the eighth Marlins player to make his MLB debut this season. The others: pitchers Nick Neidert, Jordan Holloway, Alex Vesia, Sterling Sharp and Jorge Guzman; outfielder Monte Harrison; and infielder Eddy Alvarez.
Mejia and the Marlins' pitching staff received all the support they needed from the offense in the second inning. Catcher Francisco Cervelli opened scoring with an opposite-field, three-run home run. Jonathan Villar, who has hits in all five games since the Marlins returned to the field following their eight-day layoff, drove in Magneuris Sierra with an RBI double.
Justin Shafer (two innings), Stephen Tarpley (two innings), James Hoyt (2/3 inning), Richard Bleier (1/3 inning), Nick Vincent (1 2/3 innings) held the Mets to two runs over the final 6 2/3 innings to secure the win. The bullpen at one point retired 13 consecutive Mets hitters.
