NEW YORK _ The cheers and applause were still dying down at Citi Field when, in a split second, they became roars again.
Pete Alonso had just entered the dugout after rounding the bases for the tie-breaking home run he blasted to right-center field. A couple moments later, Michael Conforto sent the crowd into a frenzy with a solo shot of his own to the same area.
Even starting pitcher Jacob deGrom joined in on the fun, plopping an RBI single into center later in the inning to give himself some insurance.
The three-run sixth inning propelled the Mets (19-20) to a 4-1 victory over the Marlins on Saturday. New York now has won three of four, with a chance to sweep Miami on Sunday.
After Friday night's offensive explosion, the Mets talked about continuing it. How it wouldn't matter if they weren't able to build on it. How they needed to use it as momentum moving forward.
For about half of Saturday's game, it looked as if that might only be talk. DeGrom had pitched well, but the bats had only given him one run of support through five innings. New York found itself tied 1-1 with the Marlins, who own the worst record in baseball.
The Mets never came close to mounting anything like Friday's eight-run first inning, but it didn't matter because deGrom _ again _ showed he's back. After tallying a 4.85 ERA by the end of April, he has returned to form through three starts this month.
DeGrom threw seven innings of one-run baseball. He allowed five hits, struck out eight and walked only one. He also continued his domination of Miami this season, as he now has 22 strikeouts in 14 innings of work against the Marlins.
He threw 60 four-seam fastballs on Saturday and tossed 29 sliders. He earned 21 swinging strikes over what became his third consecutive quality start.
DeGrom tossed seven scoreless against the Reds on May 1, then gave up only two runs in seven frames in San Diego five days later. The unfortunate part for deGrom, though, is that his offense was shut out in both of those games.
The home runs from Alonso and Conforto marked the second time the Mets have gone back-to-back this season. It was also Conforto's second homer in two nights. Friday night's solo shot helped the Mets add on to a big lead, but Saturday's became a defining moment.
Alonso's homer left the bat at 106.5 mph, per Statcast, while Conforto's flew off at 107.8. Both helped chase Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara, who had a good outing otherwise.
Alcantara, who entered the contest with a 4.93 ERA, had only allowed one run before the sixth. He also accounted for deGrom's only earned run, smoking an RBI double to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
On Friday night, Mets manager Mickey Callaway applauded his offense but made sure to say that it was only one game, that his group couldn't afford to stop there. Even if against the lowly Marlins, the Mets on Saturday made sure there would be no letdown.
Callaway has talked about how the club has noticed teams using the shift against it more. He mentioned having conversations with his hitters about that.
Before Saturday's game, Callaway said it's often difficult for struggling hitters to hit against the shift. It's like adding one more obstacle.
In the fourth, his hitters were successful against it. With the infield shifted to the right, Robinson Cano singled to left field. Conforto later dropped one in between second baseman Starlin Castro _ who was playing in shallow right field _ and right Garrett Cooper to score Cano and tie the game.
