FIRST FADE
Smith hasn’t gotten priority since call-up
MIAMI — Adrian Gonzalez’s release three weeks ago was supposed to clear the way for Dominic Smith to play first base for the Mets on a regular basis, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Smith, who has played primarily left field since returning from Triple-A Las Vegas, was on the bench for a third straight game on Saturday as manager Mickey Callaway remained committed to Wilmer Flores at first base.
Flores has started 11 of the past 12 games at first. He went 1 for 4 with a double Saturday.
“That is a balance we need to pay attention to,” Callaway said before the Mets fell to the Marlins 5-2. “We are trying to make sure we have our best offense out there every night to give us the best chance to win and we also want Dom to continue to develop and be a big part of what we’re trying to do here and in the future.
“That is something that takes some thought and we’ll pick opportunities for Dom.”
Flores has 12 RBIs in his past 12 games.
Corey Oswalt will remain in the rotation to pitch Wednesday in Toronto, according to Callaway. In his first career major league start, the right-hander lasted just 2 2/3 innings against the Marlins on Friday and allowed six earned runs. Oswalt was moved up in the rotation by a day as Jacob deGrom dealt with a family issue.
Noah Syndergaard and Jason Vargas will likely pitch against each other in a simulated game in Port St. Lucie this week, according to Callaway. Syndergaard has been slow in returning from a strained ligament in his right index finger, and Vargas is recovering from a strained right calf.
Jose Bautista has a .438 on-base percentage since joining the Mets on May 22. The veteran outfielder reached base safely for a 15th straight game, since June 15, with his first-inning home run.
Anthony Kay, the Mets’ 2016 supplemental first-round draft pick, was promoted to High-A St. Lucie. Kay, a left-handed starting pitcher from UConn, missed last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
MIAMI — This constitutes slump for the Mets’ best pitcher.
Jacob deGrom was rolling, providing a typical deGrom-like performance when the sixth inning hit Saturday at Marlins Park. Suddenly, the ace right-hander “hit a wall” and stopped getting outs.
As usual, the Mets lineup offered little support to take the heat off deGrom in a 5-2 loss to the Marlins in Battle for the Basement, South Beach edition.
The loss dropped the Mets’ winning percentage to a National League-worst .400. Overall, the Mets lost 21 of 26 games for the month — their worst June record in franchise history. It was the Mets’ third-worst calendar month in franchise history.
“That was not the goal when we came in — the goal was to have the best winning percentage,” deGrom said. “This is the complete opposite, so nobody is happy with that.
“I’m tired of losing, to be honest, and everybody else in here I am sure is. That is not what we want to do. We came here to win baseball games and we’re just not doing it, so we have to find a way to do that.”
But manager Mickey Callaway isn’t making any big promises.
“We just have to keep on having daily conversations to try to right the ship,” Callaway said. “It’s difficult right now — I know the players are feeling it, I know the fans are feeling it.
“We are going to continue to do everything we can, this staff, this organization and the players to try and get in a better spot than we are, because this isn’t acceptable to anybody.”
DeGrom (5-4) had a second straight outing in which he allowed three earned runs over six innings. The other came last Saturday against the Dodgers. In the process his major-league best ERA has risen from 1.51 to 1.84.
Amed Rosario’s fielding error in the seventh with Robert Gsellman pitching led to the Marlins scoring two unearned runs to pad their lead.
DeGrom flushed a two-run lead in the sixth before the Marlins went ahead 3-2 on JT Riddle’s infield single, a ball on which first baseman Wilmer Flores appeared indecisive. Brian Anderson delivered the big hit in the inning, a two-run homer on a changeup, tying the game.
Fatigue was a factor in the inning for deGrom.
“The changeup, I wasn’t able to finish it, leaving it up,” deGrom said. “I was good early in the game and later on just kept leaving it over the plate.”
Justin Bour began another rally in the inning by drawing a four-pitch walk against deGrom before Starlin Castro singled and Riddle hit a roller toward first base that Flores grabbed, but not in time to swipe the runner as he passed.
“I think the only chance we had was maybe at the plate,” Flores said. “That’s just a tough ball. I saw the replay and if I charged the ball and threw home he was going to be safe. It was just an unfortunate play.”
Todd Frazier’s ninth homer of the