MIAMI _ It's a good thing the Mets put up five first-inning runs the day their No. 5 starter made his season debut.
If Jason Vargas had pitched in a hitter-friendly ballpark, his final line would have looked much different than it did on Tuesday. The 36-year-old allowed two runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and a walk across five innings and 74 pitches.
The left-hander gave up a handful of fly balls that deposited on the warning track or bounced against the wall. He was unpredictable at best, and sloppy at worst. Vargas, though, had plenty of run support to work with.
The Mets scored a run in the third inning or sooner for the fifth consecutive game on Tuesday. The team's first-inning, five-run effort was a feat it hadn't accomplished since May 6, 2017 against Miami.
An early onslaught of runs forced Marlins starter Jose Urena out of the game after just four innings, as the Mets won their fourth game of the season in a 6-5 victory over the Marlins.
The Mets are getting pitchers out of games early by working full counts and being patient in the box. Perhaps the most polished example was Michael Conforto's 10-pitch walk in the first inning against Urena.
Hitting cleanup, Conforto battled through a lengthy at-bat as Marlins manager Don Mattingly watched Urena's pitch count hike up to 20. The outfielder fouled off six pitches that came in through the zone. Pitch after pitch, Urena became wearier on the hill _ struggling just to get the second out of the first inning.
That out never came against Conforto. The 26-year-old watched a 91-mph change-up sink to the dirt, granting him first via base on balls.
The 10-pitch at-bat set up a bases loaded situation for catcher Wilson Ramos, who laced a single to center to put the Mets on the board in the first. The train, as it has since the onset of the regular season, kept moving.
From one batter to the next, the Mets punished Urena for his mistakes and put up a five-run rally in the first inning. Tuesday was the third time in their five regular-season games the Mets scored in the first inning. When doing so, their record is 3-0.
The run support proved beneficial for the Mets bullpen. After Vargas exited the game and Robert Gsellman put up a scoreless sixth inning, Seth Lugo unraveled. The right-hander gave up three earned runs on five hits with a walk over 11/3 innings.
Down just two runs, the Marlins threatened a comeback with five outs to go. Left-handed reliever Justin Wilson ended Miami's threat by striking out Jorge Alfaro on three pitches _ two cutters and a fastball.
