Amid trade speculation, Pablo Lopez struggles in Marlins’ latest loss to the Mets

If Pablo Lopez made his final start in a Miami Marlins uniform Sunday afternoon, it was certainly one to forget.

With Lopez’s name being mentioned as a potential candidate for a deal should the spiraling Marlins trade him before Tuesday’s Major League Baseball trade deadline, the 26-year-old starter gave up six runs over 2 ⅔ innings - his shortest outing of the season - in a 9-3 loss to the Mets at loanDepot park.

Although he didn’t give up a home run, Lopez gave up a career-high 12 hits including four extra base hits as the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Marlins and won for the 10th time in 14 meetings this season. Miami dropped its seventh in a row at home.

“They (the Mets) got to him pretty good, especially that first (inning), and it seems like all year they really have since spring training, they’ve kind of had his number, they’ve seen him good, whatever it is,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “(The trade rumors) could have (affected him). These guys are human and they hear the rumors and they kind of know what’s going on and in today’s digital world of everybody knowing everything and all the rumors that kind of get pushed out there.”

While Marlins’ management has been noncommittal as to whether the club will be sellers before the deadline, Miami (47-55) continued to fade in the standings. After a win by the Phillies on Sunday, the Marlins fell to eight games below the final National League Wild Card spot.

“Again, a deal that really helps us has to present itself,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said on Saturday. “We’re not out there looking to move Pablo, but as I’ve said before, we’re listening on all fronts.”

Lopez, who is under team control through the 2024 season and has two more years of salary arbitration, has set career highs in innings pitched (118 2/3) and strikeouts (119). Shoulder injuries sidelined him in the second half of the 2019 and 2021 seasons.

Lopez entered Sunday’s game with a .205 batting average against, which was the lowest mark of his career as was the 1.04 WHIP and 3.03 ERA.

But on Sunday, it was a different story as the Mets plated three runs in the first inning and three more in the third.

“This is their third time seeing me this season, the sample size is getting bigger and bigger,” Lopez said. “So they’re able to go back to see the previous games and see if I’m doing things in a way that shows a pattern, and sometimes they have a good game plan. They make adjustments. Sometimes I’ll make a bad pitch and they’ll make you pay for those and sometimes I’ll make a good pitch and they pay for those too.”

Lopez, who said after the game he didn’t feel he was affected by any of the trade rumors in recent days, fell behind early in counts, unable to get the changeup over for strikes. This allowed Mets hitters to wait for the fastball and do damage. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Luis Guillorme each hit a double and Tyler Naquin tripled to lead off the third.

“I feel like I had a good fastball,” Lopez said. “My hand was on top of all the pitches and I think I was repeating my delivery and my stuff was moving the right way, but my location wasn’t as crisp. They waited for a mistake and they made me pay for it.”

The Marlins snapped what had been a 20-inning scoreless streak in the fifth on an RBI single by Jacob Stallings. Charles LeBlanc hit his first career home run in the bottom of the sixth inning with a 395-foot solo blast to left field off Taijuan Walker, and snapped another long stretch of offensive futility for the Marlins in their home ballpark. It was the Marlins’ first home run at home since July 5 against the Angels.

“It was a black out moment. I just saw something out over the plate and that was it,” said LeBlanc, who also hit a double in the fifth inning.

UP NEXT

The Marlins finish their homestand with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Miami did not list a starting pitcher for the series opener on Monday but Jesus Luzardo, who has been on the IL since mid-May, was in the clubhouse Sunday. He threw 75 pitches over 4 2/3 innings in his last rehab assignment outing with Triple A Jacksonville on Wednesday and would be on regular rest if Miami decided to go that route.

Ng hinted Saturday that Luzardo was close to a return.

Braxton Garrett and Sandy Alcantara are listed as the probable starters for Tuesday and Wednesday.