In baseball, the Marlins have the poorest record.but prepared for an incredible ace swap to obtain the…

Coming off a series in which they dropped three of four in Philadelphia, the Mets (20-23) are set to play a three-game series in Miami against the Marlins (13-32), the team with the worst record in Major League Baseball.

There are no guarantees when playing a bad team, but the Mets really have an opportunity to bounce back from a stretch that just saw them go 2-5 against the Braves and Phillies, dropping them four games below .500 at the lowest point of that stretch. A dramatic extra-inning win last night in Philadelphia was a step in the right direction, and if they seize upon the opportunity presented to them by the schedule this weekend, they could end the weekend in relatively good shape.

With 3.62 runs scored per game, the Marlins are tied with the Blue Jays for the third-lowest rate of scoring in baseball. Miami’s 77 wRC+ is the second-worst mark in the league, slightly ahead of the lowly White Sox. And when it comes to run prevention, the Marlins are even worse, as they rank dead last with 5.56 runs allowed per game. Miami’s rotation has a 5.37 ERA that is better than only that of Rockies. And things aren’t much better with their bullpen, which ranks 26th with a 4.69 ERA.

Having dealt with a slew of injuries and seeing that this season wasn’t going to live up to the team’s Wild Card appearance last year, the Marlins have already traded away Luis Arráez, who last year hit .353 and won the National League batting title seemingly with ease.

This being a series in Miami, however, means the Mets should take nothing for granted. Over the years, the team has seen its fair share of bizarre losses when visiting the Marlins, and even this particular version of Miami’s baseball team has picked up a few wins over teams that have much better records than the Mets so far this year.

Friday, May 17: Christian Scott vs. Jesús Luzardo at 7:10 PM EDT on SNY

Scott (2024): 12.1 IP, 14 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 2.84 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 74 ERA-

While Scott’s second major league start didn’t quite match his excellent debut, he still pitched very respectably against the Braves. Through two starts, his numbers remain excellent, and while pitcher wins aren’t as important as they once were and rarely get mentioned around these parts, he has an opportunity to pick up his first big league win in the series opener—provided the Mets score more than one run like they have in each of his first two starts.