Pair of strong starts puts Mets on track to sweep Marlins

Sean Manaea pitched seven strong innings on Friday night. Then Luis Severino tossed the New York Mets' first nine-inning shutout in over three years on Saturday afternoon.

No pressure, Paul Blackburn.

The most recent addition to the Mets' rotation will look to help his new team complete a sweep on Sunday afternoon, when New York hosts the Miami Marlins in the finale of a three-game set.

Blackburn (5-3, 4.43 ERA) is slated to start against fellow right-hander Valente Bellozo (2-1, 2.28).

Severino tossed a four-hitter for his second career shutout on Saturday, and he was backed by homers from Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in a 4-0 win. It was the first nine-inning shutout for the Mets since Jacob deGrom's two-hitter against the Washington Nationals on April 23, 2021.

The gems by Manaea -- who allowed three runs and earned the win in Friday's 7-3 victory -- and Severino provided some much-needed relief for a bullpen that was taxed over the previous six games, when the Mets went 1-5 while their starters posted a 6.83 ERA.

Only Jose Quintana (6 2/3 innings in a 6-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 9) and David Peterson (6 1/3 innings in a 9-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday) pitched more than five innings during that stretch.

But the only reliever to appear for the Mets against the Marlins has been Jose Butto, who tossed the final two innings of Friday's game. The rest is doubly valuable for New York, which is a game behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the final wild-card spot in the National League and doesn't have a scheduled day off until Aug. 26.

"Our last time through the order, we didn't get much length out of our (starters)," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "So on back-to-back nights, for us to stay away from a lot of different guys, it's a reset, and they needed it."

Bellozo may be the Marlins' best candidate to provide a rotational reset. When rookie Max Meyer allowed four runs in four innings on Saturday, it marked the 12th time in 15 games this month that a Miami starter has failed to pitch into the sixth.

Meyer, Edward Cabrera and Roddery Munoz have combined to toss just 11 1/3 innings since Tuesday, when Bellozo worked seven scoreless innings and earned a win in the Marlins' 5-0 victory over the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Bellozo has thrown at least five innings in all five of his big-league starts since he was promoted to the Marlins for the first time on June 26.

"He's just electric," Marlins infielder Jake Burger said of Bellozo following the win over the Phillies. "His energy is unbelievable. He gets the boys fired up and he works fast. He's got all the confidence in the world -- and that's what you want in a starting pitcher."

Bellozo has never faced the Mets.

Blackburn, who was acquired from the Athletics on July 30, lost his Citi Field debut with New York on Tuesday after allowing seven runs (six earned) over four innings as the Mets fell 9-4 to Oakland, his former team.

He is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts covering 12 innings against the Marlins.

--Field Level Media