FERNANDEZ

ning was canceled, along with other in-game entertainment, and most of the Marlins’ hitters decided to forgo walk-up music.

“We were hitting balls underwater pretty much,” slugger Giancarlo Stanton said of playing the game. “Our eyes were full of water.”

Fernandez made his major league debut against the Mets in 2013 and was scheduled to face them again Monday night in his final start of the season. Instead, Miami and the Marlins mourned the loss of the 24-year-old pitcher, whose talent and captivating personality were a combination unmatched in the sport.

Fernandez and two other men — 27-year-old Emilio Jesus Macias and 25-year-old Eduardo Rivero — were killed when his 32-foot SeaVee named “Kaught Looking” slammed into a rock jetty that extends off the southern tip of Miami Beach at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, a medical examiner said.

Fernandez purportedly engaged in an argument with his pregnant girlfriend and was seen at a Miami River bar hours before the crash, the Miami Herald reported Monday. Will Bernal, a friend of Rivero’s, declined to join the three men on the boat and told the Herald that Fernandez was stressed out by the argument with his girlfriend.

Fernandez was originally scheduled to pitch Sunday before his start was moved back a day. The change may be the reason he decided to go on the late-night boat outing.

“If he had pitched yesterday, maybe fate would be different,” Marlins president David Samson said. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot.”

Manager Don Mattingly said, “Obviously it crosses your mind.”

The Marlins’ game Sunday against Atlanta was canceled, and when they took the field Monday for batting practice, Fernandez’s name and number hovered over the field on the huge video screen. Gordon wore a T-shirt that said “RIP,” with a photo of Fernandez shaped as the “I.”

For the game, the players decided to wear Fernandez’s No. 16, with hastily made uniforms flown in. His number was also stenciled on the back of the mound.

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, and fans briefly chanted “Jose, Jose.”

The Marlins then clustered around the mound and put their hands to the dirt. Some scratched out Jose’s number or a message of love, and some just rubbed the mound — his mound. His career record at Marlins Park was 29-2.

The situation was emotional even for the Mets, who are in the thick of the chase for a National League wild card with one week left in the season. On their dugout wall hung a Mets jerseys with Fernandez’s name and number.

“Hearts are heavy,” New York outfielder Jay Bruce said. “From a professional standpoint, you just try to prepare and play the game and respect the game. But I can’t even imagine what it’s like over in that other clubhouse.”

Fernandez leaves behind his girlfriend, the mother who came with him to the U.S. from Cuba and the grandmother who helped raise him.

On Sunday evening, the entire team took two buses to Fernandez’s family home and met for 45 minutes with his mother, grandmother and other relatives and friends.

Plans for a public funeral had not been finalized, but it was expected to be Thursday, the Marlins’ final off day of the season.