Miami Marlins (19-30) at New York Mets (27-22), 4:10 p.m. (ET)
(SportsNetwork.com) - Jon Niese tries to snap a personal three-game losing streak Saturday afternoon when he leads the New York Mets against the Miami Marlins in the middle test of a three-game series from Citi Field.
While Niese has struggled recently by allowing 18 runs -- 16 earned -- during his last three starts, the 28-year-old left-hander has owned the Marlins of late. In his last seven starts versus Miami, he's 4-0 with a 3.65 ERA. Overall against the Marlins, Niese has fashioned a 5-5 mark with a 4.19 ERA in 16 contests.
Most recently, Niese suffered a 9-1 loss against the Pirates on Sunday when he gave up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. That ended a 21-start streak of pitching at least five innings.
Tom Koehler makes another trip to Citi Field, about an hour's ride from where he went to college at Stony Brook. The Marlins righty suffered a 7-6 road loss to the Mets on April 19 after surrendering seven runs in the third inning. He's 1-0 over his last four outings, three of which have been starts. Koehler is 1-4 with a 3.48 ERA all-time versus the Mets.
On Friday, Dan Haren outshined Matt Harvey and Justin Bour came up with the big blow in the Marlins' 4-3 win.
Harvey (5-3) struck out a season-best 11 over eight innings but was reached for four runs, three of which came on Bour's homer in the fourth that helped extend the Mets ace's winless streak to five starts.
Haren (5-2) gave up solo homers to Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson, but yielded just two other hits and a walk over seven impressive innings to put an end to Miami's three-game skid.
"Another tremendous outing by Dan," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said. "He makes pitch after pitch, he knows how to expand, he works vertical. It's really fun to watch him out there do what he does."
Martin Prado added an RBI single for the Marlins that ended up looming large, as the Mets moved within a run on Daniel Murphy's double in the ninth before A.J. Ramos recorded the final two outs.
Harvey was overwhelming the first time through the Marlins' order, racking up six strikeouts and needing just 34 pitches to get through three perfect innings. His effectiveness waned, however, when forced into the stretch after Dee Gordon dropped down a perfectly placed bunt single to begin the fourth.
Prado then drew a five-pitch walk and two batters later, Bour hammered Harvey's initial offering into the right-field seats for a sudden 3-0 Miami lead.
"I leave a pitch over the middle trying to throw a slider back door," Harvey said of the home run. "Kind of spun over the middle and cost us -- cost me -- the game."
The Marlins are 3-5 versus the Mets this season, dropping the first five games before winning the last three. The Mets are in danger of losing just their second home series (6-1-1) this season.