Marlins beat Mets, honor Fernandez
MIAMI — Dee Gordon and the Miami Marlins wore their emotions on the sleeves of their No. 16 jerseys.
Jose Fernandez would have loved it.
Gordon homered leading off the first inning for the Marlins, who totaled 14 hits and mixed cheers with the tears of the past two days by beating the New York Mets 7-3 on Monday night in their first game since their young ace died in a boating accident.
Adam Conley pitched three scoreless innings subbing for Fernandez, the star right-handed pitcher who had been scheduled to make his final start of the year. Justin Bour went 3-for-3 and Gordon had four hits, including one that will go down in Marlins lore.
Paying tribute to the charismatic Fernandez, the left-handed-hitting Gordon stepped to the plate as a righty leading off the first. After one pitch, Gordon switched to his customary left side — and pulled a 2-0 delivery into the upper deck for his first homer of the season.
The improbable clout brought tears, even from Gordon. After crossing the plate he tapped his chest and waved toward the sky, and he sobbed as teammates hugged him in the dugout.
Each of the Marlins wore black jerseys bearing Fernandez’s No. 16 and name, a tribute they had suggested. Giancarlo Stanton delivered an emotional speech as the entire team gathered at the mound moments before the game, and then contributed a hit, a run and a running, lunging backhanded catch in right field to rob Jay Bruce.
The portly Bour hit his first career triple, which he capped with a belly flop into third before rising to strike a muscleman pose that had his teammates and the crowd of 26,933 in a giddy roar.
The laughter was much-needed medicine after Fernandez and two friends died when his 32-foot SeaVee slammed into a rock jetty at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday.
Conley returned from finger tendinitis that had sidelined him since Aug. 13, and was followed by eight relievers. Mike Dunn (5-1) pitched a perfect fourth, and Scott McGowan retired pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson with the bases loaded to end the sixth.
A.J. Ramos pitched a hitless ninth. When he retired Curtis Granderson to end the game, the Marlins gathered once more around the edge of the mound and bowed their heads, then tossed their caps onto the dirt and kneeled, tears flowing yet again.
New York’s Bartolo Colon (14-8) allowed a season-high seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. The blowout was a big turnaround for the Mets, who began the week on a stretch of outscoring opponents 25-0 over a two-game span.
New York still leads the NL wild-card race with five games to go.
Before the game, Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich tweeted a photo of Fernandez’s locker accompanied by the message: “Tonight this one’s for you buddy. Watch over us.”
The pregame ceremony included a slow, solemn solo trumpet rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Following the national anthem, New York manager Terry Collins led his Mets across the field to share hugs with the Marlins. The mood was such that Miami batting coach Barry Bonds even hugged each of the umpires.
The Marlins then clustered around the mound and scratched out Jose’s number or a message of affection in the dirt.