MIAMI _ When the grieving Marlins played their first game since the death of Jose Fernandez, the Mets respectfully embraced their roles as mourners. For one night, the business of a tense wild-card race took a back seat to honoring a fallen player.
But a day later, the Mets returned to Marlins Park with a different mandate. In Tuesday night's 12-1 victory over the Marlins, it was clear that baseball, trivial as it is, again took precedence.
Mets ace Noah Syndergaard showed no ill effects from the strep throat that had scratched his last start, an encouraging sign for a team that will lean upon him should it make the playoffs. While allowing one run in six innings, Syndergaard struck out eight and flashed the dominant form that has marked his season. He remains on track to start the regular-season finale against the Phillies on Sunday, an ace in the hole should the wild-card race come down to the final day.
The Mets banged out 19 hits on a night when Lucas Duda knocked in three runs, a signal that he may be finding his rhythm after missing much of the year with a back injury.
Yoenis Cespedes struck the gaudy home run structure in left-center field with a towering two-run blast, his 31st homer. Jay Bruce showed signs of emerging from his thaw, clubbing a two-run shot of his own, his sixth homer since joining the Mets. Curtis Granderson contributed three RBIs.
The Mets (84-74) won for the fourth time in their last six games and moved closer to securing one of the National League's two wild-card spots. They began play leading the Giants by a half-game and the Cardinals by 1 { games.
Only four games remain for the Mets to finish off what has been a stunning second-half turnaround, salvaging a season that appeared sunk when they dipped to 60-62 on Aug. 19, 5 { games back of the wild card. They have gone 24-12 while leapfrogging four teams to seize control of their fate.
Injuries have remained the Mets' most formidable enemies, and on Tuesday they received another scare.
Hours after officially announcing that a shoulder injury has ended Steven Matz's season, third baseman Jose Reyes pulled up awkwardly as he rounded second base. But Reyes remained in the game, and in the ninth he added his third hit of the night.
By then Syndergaard had shown the Mets precisely what they had hoped to see. In his last start on Sept. 19, he allowed five runs in just 3 1/3 innings against the Braves. Then he fell ill, prompting the Mets to scratch the Saturday start of the surviving ace of a rotation that has lost Matz, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey to season-ending injuries.
The Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the first when Dee Gordon bunted his way on and swiped second base, taking advantage of Syndergaard's most glaring weakness. Gordon scored on Marcell Ozuna's soft single to right. But Syndergaard coaxed a double-play grounder out of Martin Prado and cruised the rest of the way. He surrendered only three more hits until he was pulled with 93 pitches after the sixth. He issued no walks.
Syndergaard (14-9) emerged with the victory, and the Mets came away with reassurance of the right-hander's health. He will be critical to the Mets' chances.
Syndergaard is in line to start in Philadelphia on Sunday, though circumstance will dictate how he is used. If the Mets clinch a wild card before then, club sources said he likely will be pulled after one inning, using the outing as a tune-up for next Wednesday night's wild-card game. He would not be used simply to secure home-field advantage.
Giving Syndergaard a sleepy Sunday is the ideal scenario for the Mets. But if the road gets rocky and Sunday is a must-win, they have the luxury of entrusting their season to their most dominant weapon.
