The New York Mets fell to the Miami Marlins in the first game of the 2025 regular season finale. It was a brutal loss, as not only does it put their postseason odds in jeopardy, but with the Cincinnati Reds’ win, the Mets no longer control their own destiny.
New York, once atop the NL, is on the outside looking in for the final two games of the regular season. The Marlins came to play, and it’s not a surprise that the Mets are getting a division rival’s best.
But, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com shared on Twitter/X, one Marlins slugger made a bold statement amid the massive Mets series, expressing how much this series, even though the Marlins are eliminated, means to Miami.
Marlins’ Connor Norby makes bold statement amid Mets’ series
“Win. Win. Knock them out.” Norby said. “That’s a division rival. We’ve played well against them all year, and yeah, we want to play spoiler. We did it last year when I was here. We did it in Texas, we’re trying to do it right now. And the goal doesn’t ever change. Doesn’t matter when that ‘E’ hit our name, whatever, eliminated us last night, but it doesn’t matter. Winning is always the number one goal.”
Connor Norby, who hit a two-run homer tonight, had this to say about the Marlins’ goals this weekend against the Mets: pic.twitter.com/ZvgIbh6geX
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 27, 2025
The Marlins, after losing to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night, were no longer postseason eligible, being officially eliminated.
But that hasn’t stopped Norby and the Marlins from trying their hardest to play spoiler against the Mets in the final three games of the season. The Marlins have already taken one game, putting the Mets at risk of being eliminated from postseason contention.
There is some hope for New York, however, as the Reds are facing the top team in the NL, the Milwaukee Brewers. Even though Cincinnati won the first game of the series, there’s reason to believe that the Brewers, in danger of falling out of the one seed, will try to win.
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But it would all be moot if the Mets can’t beat the Marlins, who are motivated to play spoiler in the regular season finale. Norby has already made his mark on the series, launching a two-run homer to put the game away in the first game of the series.
In the final two games of the series, the Mets are sending out Clay Holmes to face Eury Perez of the Marlins on Saturday, and then David Peterson against Edward Cabrera on Sunday in the season finale.
Both Mets pitchers have struggled in the second half, while both Marlins pitchers have been solid. It’s now or never for the Mets, as they can’t afford to lose one more game this season without being on the ropes of elimination.
The Reds’ magic number for the final wild card spot is two. Meaning, if the Reds win one more game, and the Mets lose one more game, it’s over, and New York will have been eliminated.
Playing spoiler is something that Norby and the rest of the Marlins are eager to do. The Mets aren’t facing a team that’ll roll over for them; instead, they’ll get the Marlins’ best to finish the season, as Miami looks to keep the Mets out of the playoffs this October. Through one game so far, they’re succeeding in that plan.
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