The phrase “pitcher’s duel” has been redefined.
The Miami Marlins defeated the New York Mets by a score of 2-1 in an epic 20-inning game. Sixteen pitchers saw action for these two teams, with four throwing at least six innings of action.
In the end, this ended up being one of the longest games in the history of the Mets franchise.
That’s what you call a fatiguing battle.
Kevin Slowey picked up the win for the Marlins, with Steve Cishek picking up the save. For the Mets, Shaun Marcum was charged with the unfortunate loss.
Those terms need to be defined.
Slowey picked up the win after throwing seven shutout innings in relief, while Marcum lost after going eight innings and allowing just one run. In turn, Slowey moved to 2-5 on the season, while Marcum dropped to 0-7 and Cishek picked up his sixth save.
The Marlins are now 17-44, and the Mets have fallen to 23-34.
Most intriguing of all is the fact that the Mets and Marlins weren’t the only two teams to play a marathon game. In fact, their game barely outlasted one played by two of their American League counterparts.
The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Texas Rangers in 18 innings earlier today.
In total, the two sides combined for 38 innings and an accumulation of more than four full games.
Adeiny Hechavarria drove in the game-winning run for the Marlins, singling to center field and sending Placido Polanco around for the deciding run. Chris Coghlan also drove in a run for Miami, with Juan Lagares driving in the lone run for the Mets.
Matt Harvey was the starter for New York, going seven innings and allowing just one run to six strikeouts. For the Marlins, Jose Fernandez threw six innings of one-run ball and struck out seven batters.
Unfortunately, Harvey left the game with an injury.
Nothing has been able to touch Harvey thus far in 2013. Hopefully an injury isn’t what brings him down.
The Mets left 22 runners in scoring position, displaying just how many chances they had to achieve victory.
The Marlins, on the other hand, had just four opportunities to drive in runners in scoring position. They converted two of those chances, resulting in one of the most awe-inspiring pitcher’s duels you’ll ever see.
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