Dee, grieving Marlins prove too much

Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon said he “blacked out” as soon as he hit his leadoff home run and does not remember making his way around the bases or his tears turning to sobs as he crossed home plate.

He just remembers what was missing.

“I wanted him on the top step cheering for me,” Gordon said about Jose Fernandez, the Marlins’ ace who died in a boating accident early Sunday morning. “And he wasn’t there.”

Gordon and the Marlins managed to overcome their overwhelming sorrow to beat the Mets, 7-3, on Monday.

The emotionally charged game — the Marlins’ first since Fernandez’s death — was a tough one for the Mets, who had their lead for the top wild-card spot fall to just a half-game over the Giants, who were off on Monday. The Mets remained a 1.5 games ahead of the Cardinals, who lost to the Reds.

But nobody was talking about the wild-card race on this night. “This is bigger than baseball tonight. This kid touched a lot of people,” Terry Collins said. “Tough night. Just a tough night.”

With each Miami player wearing a No. 16 Fernandez jersey, the Marlins were inspired. They may not have played with the joy that Fernandez was so known for, but they played with his passion and his fight.

“We were not going to let this game get past us,” Giancarlo Stanton said. Gordon’s homer was just the beginning. The Marlins battered Bartolo Colon, chasing him in the third inning, scoring seven times off him. Among the eight hits they recorded against the veteran hurler was Justin Bour’s triple in the third inning. The plus-sized Marlins first baseman slid into third, base though he did not need to, firing up the Marlins dugout.

The Mets, meanwhile, were held scoreless over three innings by Marlins starter Adam Conley, who had been scheduled to start Sunday before the game was canceled with the news of Fernandez’s death. A parade of Marlins relievers combined for six innings to finish off the win.

Asdrubal Cabrera doubled in two runs in the fifth and Lucas Duda singled in a third run in the eighth, but the Mets were clearly affected by the circumstances.

“I saw some real emotions out of both teams,” Collins said.

The two teams exchanged hugs and handshakes before the game.

“When I saw Jacob deGrom, with that big brace on his arm (after elbow surgery), still trying