Mets fall to Marlins on costly error by Tomas Nido in extras

The Mets knew they would have little margin for error Sunday against one of the most dominant starting pitchers in the National League this season, only to see one error lead to the deciding margin.

Taijuan Walker and Miami workhorse Sandy Alcantara had dueling shutouts throughout the seventh inning, but the Marlins eventually secured a 2-0 victory in 10 innings for a four-game series split at the CitiField.

A day after the Mets took advantage of Miami’s sloppy defense to claim a 10-inning win on Keith Hernandez Day, a throwing error beyond third base by catcher Tomas Nido on a base attempt volley allowed auto-runner Billy Hamilton to score the go-run ahead. Tommy Hunter allowed a second run to score in the 10th on Luke Williams’ RBI single.

Francisco Lindor hit Tanner Scott with corner runners to end the game for the Mets (53-33) ahead of their crucial three-game divisional showdown in Atlanta starting Monday.

The loss squandered another gem from Walker, who went seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk on 99 pitches, lowering his ERA to 2.63 over 15 starts.

Even though the 29-year-old right-hander isn’t initially named to the NL All-Star team when the reserves are announced later Sunday, manager Buck Showalter thinks Walker — who is expected to make another start Friday in Chicago before the break – should be considered added to replace anyone unable to compete in the Midsummer Classic on July 19 in Los Angeles.

Walker was named to the Newfoundland team last summer, replacing Mets teammate Jacob deGrom. He started the 2021 season with a 7-3 record and 2.66 ERA before suffering a terrible second half, closing the year 0-8 with a 6.79 ERA in 13 starts after the break. .

Walker said he mostly got by earlier this season with two pitches, a fastball and a splitter, before rediscovering his slider in recent starts.

« It’s a testament to how much he’s competed without her. I think what some people miss about Taijuan is that he’s a competitive man, » Showalter said before the match. the first guy to cross the rail. He loves competition and he loves doing good things for his team.

« It felt good to know him. You kind of get certain impressions from afar and then you walk into a locker room and around him every day, very consistently in competition. It’s a relentless season and you have to be relentless with her, and he was.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly could certainly say the same for Alcantara, easily the MLB leader this season in innings pitched with ¹/₃130. Alcantara is clearly heading to Los Angeles after lowering his ERA to 1.73, allowing six hits on seven shutout frames — his 12th straight outing with at least that many innings pitched.

« I don’t want to say I have a crush on a man or anything…but you go out and find yourself staring at him, » Showalter said. “He beats you, but you do it from an appreciation standpoint and how hard to do and the innings he throws. It’s like everyone knew what he was going to do and he did it anyway.

« You need to get a real quality start from your starter and the opportunities you usually get from him, you better take advantage of them. »

Walker was hit for three hits — all by Jon Berti — matching zeros with Alcantara up to seven, ending that frame with a Brian Anderson strikeout with two runners on board.

The Mets received back-to-back two-out singles from Eduardo Escobar and Luis Guillorme (3 for 4) against Alcantara in the bottom half, before Nido retired to end the inning.