JUPITER, Fla. -- L.J. Mazzilli walked, stole second and eventually scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch by Kyle Barraclough in the ninth inning and Dominic Smith added a sacrifice fly as the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins, 8-6, Tuesday at Roger Dean Stadium.
Logan Verrett tossed a scoreless bottom of the ninth for the save.
Mazzilli’s father Lee was excused from Yankees camp for the day and watched his son play.
Smith, the organization’s first-round pick in 2013, was one of several minor leaguers demoted to minor league camp earlier in the day but was borrowed for the game anyway. He hit .305 with six homers and 79 RBIs in 456 at-bats with Class A St. Lucie last season and was named Florida State League MVP.
“I like a lot about him,” manager Terry Collins said. “I like the way he went about camp. I like the way he handles himself. He can really swing the bat. He plays very well at first base. With his swing, he’s going to end up hitting for power one of these days. He’s a good-looking player.”
Danny Muno and Ty Kelly delivered eighth-inning sacrifice flies against Brian Ellington as the Mets pulled even at 6. Jo-Jo Reyes inherited the bases loaded that inning from Ellington and struck out Kyle Johnson to preserve the tie.
The Mets had taken a 4-2 lead in the fifth when Wilmer Flores drew a bases-loaded walk and Travis d’Arnaud followed with a three-run double against Jose Urena.
However, Antonio Bastardo was charged with three runs the following half-inning as the Marlins regained the lead. Bastardo surrendered three straight extra-base hits to begin his appearance, although the first two nearly were tracked down by Juan Lagares in deep center. Bastardo’s Grapefruit League ERA swelled to 7.94.
“The other day he came in here and threw his changeup and his slider,” Collins said, referring to a clean inning with two strikeouts against the Marlins on Sunday. “And today he went back to his fastball. Maybe that was part of his game plan. I haven’t talked to him about it. But we’ve got to get it to the corners. That’s for sure.”
Oh-Noah: Noah Syndergaard was charged with two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings. The second run scored after Syndergaard departed with his pitch count at 61 and Martin Prado at first base. Jerry Blevins entered and had an errant pickoff throw, then surrendered an RBI single to Ichiro Suzuki.
Syndergaard described his performance as “OK.” He suggested that he struggled with his leg kick and not getting his body fully turned, which caused his front side to “fly open too early.” That prevented him from finishing his breaking pitches.
“There were some things I got a little out of whack with probably here and there within the first three innings -- just some mechanical issues I was having that wouldn’t allow me to throw my breaking pitches for strikes,” Syndergaard said. “I went in the dugout and discussed it with [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen] a little bit, went out there, made some adjustments and was a lot happier with where my changeup, my slider and my curveball were in the fourth inning. Once the regular season comes into play, you can’t be wasting three innings to find your breaking pitches. But I was very pleased with how I made an adjustment out there.”
What’s next: The Mets have their lone day off of spring training Wednesday, with the complex closed. The Mets will resume play Thursday, again against the Marlins in Jupiter. Jacob deGrom opposes Jose Fernandez. Steven Matz also is scheduled to pitch.
