MIAMI _ During the Marlins' 5-2 win Saturday afternoon over the Mets, Miami right-hander Pablo Lopez quickly got a taste of both sides of the major leagues during his debut.
Lopez's start began about as well as he could have wished, with an overpowering strikeout of leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo. The next pitch shattered any cheerfulness ushered in by Lopez's career-starting strikeout as Jose Bautista blasted a solo home run.
But the rest of Lopez's first major-league appearance was less eventful and the 22-year-old Venezuelan delivered a strong opening statement in his first start with the Marlins. He completed six innings, allowing just two runs and striking out five Mets in front of 10,523 at Marlins Park.
"I'm extremely happy with the way it went, with the atmosphere on the field, the atmosphere in the clubhouse with all the teammates," Lopez said. "I'll take everything from the experience and it's something I will cherish for the rest of my life. Having the opportunity to play this game, it's already magical, it's already special enough."
Like Sandy Alcantara the night before, Lopez picked up his first major-league victory. The Marlins (34-50) and Mets (32-48) are now tied for last place in the National League, with Miami percentage points ahead of New York.
Alcantara and Lopez became the first NL teammates to win their debuts in back-to-back days since 1967, when Gary Nolan and Mel Queen did so for Cincinnati.
"I know there was a lot of yelling and screaming over the course of the winter, but we, from (Marlins CEO) Derek (Jeter ) to (president of baseball operations Michael Hill), talked about building something, building it with pitching," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
When Lopez exited the game, though, a win seemed far-fetched. The Marlins trailed, 2-0, and Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom (who entered the day leading baseball with a 1.69 ERA) was cruising. He'd struck out seven hitters and allowed one Marlin to reach second base in the first five innings.
The game was in deGrom's hands. He's seldom shook this season.
But the Marlins dented him for three runs in the sixth inning to steal the lead and put Lopez in line for the win. Brian Anderson's two-run home run tied the game at 2, and JT Riddle's infield single plated the go-ahead run.
Riddle's single could have been the third out of the inning. It was a slow-moving roller up the first-base line, a routine play that would have ended the Marlins' rally. But Wilmer Flores was slow to charge the ball, and Riddle evaded the tag as Justin Bour scored.
The Marlins added two unearned runs in the seventh inning. Starlin Castro went 3-for-4 and J.T. Realmuto drove in two runs with a double.
