NEW YORK _ The conditions at Citi Field Saturday night were, let's say, not ideal for baseball. The temperatures, 55 degrees at first pitch, dipped with the sun. The Miami Marlins stretched pregame in winter hats more suitable for a Thanksgiving game of two-hand touch than batting practice. And each time they took the field in their 8-1 win over the New York Mets, most did so in skin-tight long sleeves.
But not Adam Conley. The Miami lefty, bare forearms and all, sliced his way through the New York lineup for five innings, allowing one run and striking out six in his first start of the year.
Conley didn't allow a baserunner until the fourth, when he walked Yoenis Cespedes with two outs. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth, when Lucas Duda homered with two outs.
Conley lost his command a bit from there _ walking a pair of Mets, bringing his total to three _ but got Curtis Granderson first-pitch swinging for routine fly ball to center. That pitch, his 85th, was his last.
The sharpness, particularly through the first 42/3 innings, was significant for Conley, who struggled at times in the Grapefruit League and was the last pitcher named to the Marlins' rotation at the end of spring training. He gave manager Don Mattingly just enough length Saturday to set it up perfectly for the team's top relievers.
Brad Ziegler, Kyle Barraclough, David Phelps followed with scoreless innings, but closer A.J. Ramos's services were not needed when the Marlins blew it open late. Jose Urena pitched the ninth.
The offense backed Conley with lone runs in each of the first three innings, followed by a bunch of extras in the later innings. Giancarlo Stanton drove in Miguel Rojas in the first with one of his three hard-hit ground-ball singles. In the second, Marcell Ozuna homered _ a projected 437 feet, well into the second deck in left field _ and Rojas's sacrifice fly in the third scored J.T. Realmuto.
Receiving an unofficial assist on the third Miami run was the Mets center fielder, Granderson, who misplayed Realmuto's line drive into a triple. Granderson ran in too far, and the ball went right over his head and rolled to the wall.
Ozuna added a single to go 2 for 4 with a walk. Realmuto went 3 for 6, dropping his average on the season to .556.
