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Alvarez goes the distance again as Marlins blank Mets

May 7, 2014 - 3:30 AM Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Henderson Alvarez tossed his second shutout of the season, as Miami silenced the New York Mets by a 3-0 score in the middle test of a three-game series.

Alvarez (2-2) needed 111 pitches to complete his outing, throwing 79 for strikes. He fanned seven, surrendered only six hits and didn't walk a batter en route to his fourth career shutout.

"He's still a young guy, still learning how to pitch and understanding how to pitch," Miami manager Mike Redmond said of Alvarez. "But when you see nights like this, you realize this guy has a chance to be really, really good. It just comes down to consistency."

Casey McGehee drove in two runs and Giancarlo Stanton knocked in one for the Marlins, winners in three straight and eight of their last 10.

Bartolo Colon (2-5) allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts over seven full frames in defeat for the Mets, who have dropped five of their last six.

Miami jumped on top in the first inning, on an RBI double from Stanton and run-scoring hit by McGehee.

It was a 3-0 edge for the hosts in the fifth, thanks to three straight two-out hits, the last by McGehee to drive in Derek Dietrich, who reached with a base hit to start the rally.

Alvarez was in control throughout, only letting a runner past second three times.

In the fourth inning. Juan Lagares hit a leadoff double and was moved up on a groundout, then stranded after David Wright lined out and Curtis Granderson flied out to right. Two frames later, Lagares was plunked and advanced on Murphy's double but stayed there after Wright grounded to short.

The shutout appeared to be in a bit of trouble in the ninth, as Murphy doubled with one away and went to third on a Wright grounder, but Granderson fanned to end the contest.

"He was moving the ball effectively on both sides of the plate," Murphy said. "He's got that sinker. And then once you thought you kind of had that measured, like the last third of the game, he started really shoving it to the other side of the plate."

Game Notes

Alvarez tossed a two-hit shutout for his first win of the season, a 7-0 result against Seattle back on April 19 ... Miami improved to 16-5 at home to start the season, matching the 1997 champions for best all-time ... New York failed to take a lead for just the fifth time in 32 games this season.