Standing in foul territory Adidas Henrik Lundqvist Jersey , Steven Matz stared at the ball he had just mishandled and started to give it an angry kick, then changed his mind and instead just picked it up.

Matz and the New York Mets keep their cool Sunday, barely, overcoming three errors and escaping the NL East cellar after a one-day stay by beating the Miami Marlins 5-2.

The Mets, who endured their worst June ever, won for only the second time in the past 12 games to reach the season’s halfway point at 33-48.

”We’re all disappointed with where we’re at,” Matz said. ”We had higher expectations. We’re just going to keep pushing.”

Matz (4-5) did that in the series finale, when he pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed only an unearned run. It scored on his error, and he worked around misplays by two teammates – an encouraging sign from a pitcher still learning not to let setbacks snowball.

”You still see him get a little flustered out there,” manager Mickey Callaway said. ”But he regroups and makes the next pitch. Today he won the game for us because he did that, because they easily could have tacked on some runs there early. He held them right where he needed to hold them.”

New York’s bullpen leads the majors in losses but limited Miami to one hit in the final 3 2/3 innings. Jeurys Familia completed the four-hitter with a perfect ninth for his 15th save.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit his 14th homer off Dan Straily (3-4). Todd Frazier had two hits and scored three times, and Kevin Plawecki doubled home New York’s first run.

Straily allowed three runs in seven innings, matching his longest outing of the year. Cameron Maybin hit his first homer for the Marlins, but they slipped back into last place in the division.

”We just didn’t do a whole lot with Matz,” manager Don Mattingly said. ”That’s probably the best I’ve seen him.”

Matz loaded the bases with two out in the second by walking Straily, an .056 career hitter, but then struck out Starlin Castro to escape.

Matz also reached behind his legs to snare Lewis Brinson’s grounder and retire him in the fourth. But the left-hander failed to come up with Straily’s safety squeeze bunt with two out in the inning, allowing Miguel Rojas to score from third.

”If I had taken my time I would have had him, but I rushed it,” Matz said.

MISCUES

Callaway talked before the game about how the Mets needed to play better defense, but they didn’t. Second baseman Cabrera and third baseman Frazier misplayed grounders for errors.

Miami misplays in the eighth led to the Mets’ final two runs. Center fielder Brinson failed to catch Frazier’s drive after a long sprint, and the play was ruled an RBI double.

”He probably should have caught that,” Mattingly said. ”I know they gave him a hit there, but if you ask him he gets to that ball and catches that pretty much all the time.”

Frazier then came home on a wild pickoff throw by catcher J.T. Realmuto.

UNEXPECTED CONTRIBUTION

Matz was 2 for 26 this year before he hit a two-out single in the fourth for his first RBI of the season.

”I was in a slump,” he said Adidas Mats Zuccarello Jersey , ”but I’m out of it now.”

NIMMO SLUMP

The Mets’ Brandon Nimmo, hit by a pitch on his right hand a week ago, went 0 for 5 and is in a 1-for-19 slump.

”I’m super late. My bat speed is not there,” he said. ”But my hand feels fine.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: INF Dominic Smith, who had a cortisone shot for his sore right wrist, pinch-hit in the eighth and flied out. … OF Jay Bruce (hip) is expected to begin taking batting practice in the next few days.

UP NEXT

Mets: After an off day, RHP Zack Wheeler (2-6, 4.47) is scheduled to start Tuesday at Toronto.

Marlins: LHP Wei-Yin Chen (2-5, 6.14) is scheduled to start Monday against Tampa Bay to begin a three-game series.

—


DENVER — When he starts Wednesday against the New York Mets, Chad Bettis will try to build off his last game for the Colorado Rockies, one that included a deceptively bad pitching line that masked an abrupt turnaround.

On Friday at Texas, Bettis (5-1, 4.65) gave up five runs in the first inning, including two two-run homers on badly located breaking pitches. But Bettis went on to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings, a span in which he allowed two singles and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced with six strikeouts.

The Rockies erupted for six runs in the second and went on to win 9-5 and give Bettis his first victory after six straight no-decisions. He had not won since May 5 at Citi Field when he worked seven scoreless innings against the Mets.

“It didn’t surprise me what he did (against the Rangers) because he’s tenacious,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He doesn’t back down. He doesn’t quit. And I think he knew there was a long way to go. I think it naturally energized him when we got six runs in the top of the next inning.”

Before that uprising, Black said Bettis could have caved in and accepted that it wasn’t his night.

“The good ones don’t let that happen,” Black said. “He knew that there were four or five more innings for him to stay out there, especially in that American League game. That showed me a lot that he put up zeros for 4 2/3 (innings).”

Bettis, who is 1-0, 4.05 in three starts against the Mets, will be trying to finally win at Coors Field this year where he is 0-0, 7.76 in six starts. He will take the mound after the Rockies beat the Mets 10-8 Tuesday night to even the four-game series and break an eight-game losing streak at Coors Field. The win was just the fifth in 18 games for the Rockies, who are 12-20 at Coors Field, where they have typically dominated.

“Overall we haven’t pitched well here for whatever reason Adidas Mika Zibanejad Jersey ,” Black said. “We got to do that. We got to make pitches. It doesn’t matter where we play, we got to pitch well. And what’s happening here at home is the other team is making better pitches than us over the course of 150, 180 pitches.”

Bettis will be opposed by Seth Lugo (2-2, 2.49), who will be making his Coors Field debut and is 1-1, 3.00 in three starts this season with one walk and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings. Lugo is 1-0, 3.55 in three games, including one start, against the Rockies.

The Mets’ three-game winning streak ended Tuesday as they lost for the 13th time in 17 games and fell to 14-30 since May 1.

The Mets put outfielder Jay Bruce on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Monday with right hip soreness after he missed a fourth start in five days and sent him back to New York for an MRI. Dominic Smith, a first baseman by trade, played left field Tuesday, and Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Smith, who began playing the outfield last month for Triple-A Las Vegas and entered Friday’s game in Arizona as the left fielder, would receive work at that position as the Mets go with four outfielders.

To replace Bruce, they recalled Tim Peterson, wanting an extra reliever with three games left in the series at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Peterson threw 19 pitches in two perfect innings Tuesday. The Mets will re-evaluate their roster before beginning a Friday series at home with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Mets outfield corps now includes Smith and Jose Bautista along with regulars Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto. Callaway said Wilmer Flores, who has had outfield experience, would stay at first base, leaving Smith and Bautista as the primary options in left field.

“We won’t hesitate to put Dom out there like we did today,” Callaway said, “but Bautista, who has been having great at-bats and playing pretty well in the outfield for us will get some playing time as well.”