+Robert Stock's comeback debut gave fans a real story
+Nothing left to lose down the stretch of a lost year
−Lost 4 of last 5, swept 3 of 4 in this series
−Soto and Vientos both out with real injuries
Sandy Alcantara took the ball for Miami at 1:40 PM ET looking to put a bow on a series the Marlins had all but owned, and across the diamond stood a name nobody expected to see in a big-league box score this year: Robert Stock, making his first MLB start since 2021. The 36-year-old righty had his season derailed in March by arterial thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare vascular condition that required surgery and shelved him at Triple-A Syracuse until June. He clawed his way back into the rotation mix and got the call, and for 5 innings he actually outpitched the guy with the reputation.
Sandy Alcantara
(13-7)·3.43 ERA
Jul 28 vs Phillies
W
7.0IP
0ER
5K
1BB
97P
08/02 Lineup
Robert Stock
(0-2)·6.57 ERA
2026 · No starts yet
ND
—IP
—ER
—K
—BB
—P
08/02 Lineup
Miami came in banged up on the pitching side too, with Max Meyer, Robby Snelling and Adam Mazur all out of the rotation picture and a bullpen missing Andrew Nardi, Josh Ekness, Ronny Henriquez, Anthony Bender and William Kempner. Center fielder Jakob Marsee got scratched from Sunday's lineup with back spasms, thinning Miami's outfield further. The Mets, meanwhile, were already playing without Juan Soto (calf) and Mark Vientos (fractured hand), and their pen is down Cionel Perez, Justin Hagenman, Reed Garrett and Dedniel Nunez — which is a lot of missing arms for a team trying to scrape together any offense.
None of that ended up mattering much once the game actually started. Both lineups went cold, both starters did their jobs, and this one turned into a grind where a single run felt like it might decide everything.
Miami's now won 4 of its last 5, and 3 of those wins came directly at New York's expense over the last week. The Mets have gone the other direction entirely, dropping 4 of 5 and getting outscored badly across the stretch. There wasn't much reason to expect Sunday to break that pattern, and it didn't.
Stock's story is the one worth remembering here regardless of the final score. Four months removed from a surgery that can end careers, he struck out 4 Marlins over 5 innings in his first big-league outing in 5 years — a legitimately great sports story buried inside a game the Mets had no business losing this quietly. Alcantara, for his part, kept doing what he's done to this lineup all series: limiting the damage and letting his offense find just enough.
Final score: 2-0 Marlins, with New York managing 5 hits and exactly zero runs across 9 innings. It's the kind of loss that doesn't change the standings picture much for either club, but it capped a series that made clear which of these two teams is playing with more urgency right now.
Marlins 2, Mets 0: Final Score & Odds Recap — Robert Stock's Comeback Story Wasted In Mets Shutout
