The New York Mets just had the worst weekend of the season. Not the worst weekend for the Mets, the worst weekend of any team in the majors.

They went into Miami with a 20-22 record, facing the worst team in the majors, a team riding a seven-game losing streak and a loser of 14 of its past 16. The Marlins had scored just eight runs in those seven defeats without hitting a single home run. This wasn't just a bad team with a bad offense, but a bad team with a historically awful offense. The Mets had Jacob deGrom starting on Friday and Noah Syndergaard on Sunday. It was a golden opportunity to win three in a row and climb back over .500.

This is why Vegas always wins in the end.

Friday: The Marlins win 8-6 as they score seven runs -- including a home run -- off deGrom in five innings. "Tonight's on me. I did a terrible job out there," deGrom said, saying he's not able to throw the ball where he wants to right now. At one point, Robinson Cano failed to run out an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play, later saying he thought there were two outs.

Saturday: The Marlins win 2-0 as Pablo Lopez and two relievers combine for the one-hit shutout, the only hit being Jeff McNeil's double on the first pitch of the game. "I do believe we have talent in there," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said after the loss. "We have to start making it happen, somehow, some way."

Sunday: It didn't happen. The Marlins shut out the Mets 3-0 behind Sandy Alcantara 's two-hit, 89-pitch complete game in a contest that lasted 1 hour, 59 minutes. It was like the Mets couldn't wait to get out of there. The low point came when Cano didn't run after hitting a little trickler that hit behind the plate but then rolled a few feet fair. He stood at home plate arguing the call as the Marlins completed a 2-6-3 double play.

"I understand that everybody is disappointed -- the fans, the ownership, myself, the team -- because this is not who we are," Callaway said.

Or maybe it is. Years ago, Bob Klapisch and John Harper wrote a book, "The Worst Team Money Could Buy," about the Mets in the early '90s. Maybe the 2019 Mets are merely The Most Mediocre Team Some Money Could Buy.

As you can imagine, Twitter had a field day, with rampant speculation about Callaway's future now in full "Game of Thrones" mode. There appears to be only one solution for the Mets:

Not worried about the Mets. This is all just the beginning of the movie, the part before Yoenis comes back in August hits 74 home runs in 2 months and leads the Mets to the World Series.

— Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) May 19, 2019

Aside from that miracle happening, here are five players the Mets need to see improve:

1 and 2. DeGrom and Syndergaard: Look, this team was built around the idea that these two would be aces. But now deGrom is 3-5 with a 3.98 ERA and Syndergaard is 3-4 with a 4.50 ERA. It's not that they've been bad; they just haven't been as good as they were in 2018. Though deGrom is still 10th in the majors in strikeout rate, Syndergaard is just 36th and he's allowing home runs, never a problem with him before. Of course, deGrom had the rocky stretch in April when he had the sore elbow. Some teams can overcome the loss or the mediocre season of a star, and even if these two aren't the vocal leaders in the clubhouse, it's never a good feeling when your axis is a little off center. Of all the Mets' issues, this is probably the one I'm least concerned about, aside from the usual worry about their health.

3. Cano: Brodie Van Wagenen's deal for Cano and Edwin Diaz was certainly a risky type of challenge trade, giving up two excellent prospects for Diaz and assuming a large chunk of Cano's contract. Cano is hitting .245/.293/.374 with three home runs. The big red flag: His strikeout rate is at 20 percent, which is below the MLB average but a big increase for him. His swing-and-miss rate is up and his chase rate is up. We can't ignore that Cano had the performance-enhancing drug suspension last year, but he hit better after he returned from the suspension. I wonder if Cano is going down the same road as Joey Votto, where the bat speed suddenly ages overnight. He's 36. I'd be worried.

4. Amed Rosario: I've never been high on Rosario, but he comes with a lot of prospect pedigree and he's still only 23 years old. But, man, he has been a disaster in the field, error-prone and not showing the range you expect from a quality major league shortstop. He's just not good. The defensive metrics back that up, as he's been charged with minus-13 defensive runs saved, the worst of any player at any position (and Rosario was bad last year). There are potential backup options -- Adeiny Hechavarria started on Sunday and Jed Lowrie, if he ever gets healthy, is a possibility -- but this is a big concern.

5. Brandon Nimmo: I was very high on Nimmo coming into the season after he posted a .404 OBP last year and hit 17 home runs in 433 at-bats. He looked like he'd be one of the best leadoff hitters in the league, even a candidate to lead the league in runs scored if he played every day. Instead, he has gone backward. He's still drawing walks, but his strikeout rate was prodigious at the start of the season and he's not driving the ball, so his average has dropped from .263 to 200. A hitter who looked like a potential .400 OBP guy with 20 to 25 home runs is instead hitting .200/.344/.323. It's also worth noting that 10 of his home runs last year came in a 24-game stretch in May and June. The good sign is he at least has cut down some on the swing-and-miss the past couple of weeks, so maybe he'll head into a hot streak.

This is surely coincidence, but after beating the Phillies 9-0 on April 23, the Mets were 13-10 and FanGraphs gave them 20.1 percent odds of winning the division and 48 percent to make the playoffs. That 9-0 win was also the game Jacob Rhame threw at Rhys Hoskins in the ninth inning. Those odds are now down to 6.8 percent and 16.4 percent.

Maybe the baseball gods have spoken.

Alcantara's gem: Let's not skip over Alcantara's shutout, because it was a terrific outing. It was the third "Maddux" of 2019 -- a complete game in under 100 pitches, the third of 2019 (after just two in 2018) -- and offers a glimpse of the upside the Marlins saw when they got him as part of the Marcell Ozuna trade with the Cardinals.

SANDY ALCANTARA

89-PITCH

COMPLETE-GAME

SHUTOUT. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/UttjW55XNG

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) May 19, 2019

He's just the fifth pitcher in the past five years to throw a complete game in under 90 pitches:

Kyle Hendricks: 5/3/19 (81 pitches)
Rick Porcello: 8/3/18 (86 pitches)
Rick Porcello: 9/19/16 (89 pitches)
Jeff Samardzija: 9/21/15 (88 pitches)

By the way, Maddux's fewest pitches in a nine-inning complete game was 77 -- 63 of them for strikes. He had seven sub-90 pitches complete games in his career (oddly, six of them were shutouts, but the 77-pitch game was not).

Bieber's game: Alcantara's start, however, wasn't the best pitching line of the day. That belonged to Shane Bieber with this game in a 10-0 victory over the Orioles: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 15 SO, 107 pitches.

ESPN Stats & Info reports that Bieber is the fourth pitcher 23 or younger to throw a shutout with 15 strikeouts and no walks. The exclusive club: Dwight Gooden (19 years, 301 days), Kerry Wood (20 years, 324 days), Vince Velasquez (23 years, 312 days), Bieber (23 years, 353 days). Since 1908, it's only the 15th shutout with at least 15 K's and no walks (Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez each have two).

Ryu, 31 and counting: Or maybe Hyun-Jin Ryu had the most impressive start, considering it was his third straight scoreless start, running his scoreless streak to 31 innings in a row.

Before today's game: 1.72 ERA
After today's game: 1.52 ERA@HyunJinRyu99's so hot right now. pic.twitter.com/Y4oKuoxIaM

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 19, 2019

Get ready for a Harper hot streak: After belting a 466-foot home run on Saturday, Bryce Harper went yard again on Sunday with another long blast in a 7-5 victory over the Rockies:

Nice, Bryce! #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/h24wiYu4yj

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 19, 2019

Harper has six RBIs his past three games, following an eight-game stretch in which he hit .148 with no RBIs. "We all knew this moment was coming," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. "When he's on, he's so captivating and charismatic."

Harper's weekend was good news for the Phillies, but Kyle Freeland continues to be bad news for the Rockies. He was pulled in the second inning of this game, laboring through 65 pitches and seeing his ERA climb to 6.05. Freeland was a clear regression candidate after posting a 2.85 ERA last year, but I still expected a sub-4.00 ERA and a good season. Last year, he was the master of soft contact, but his hard-hit rate has increased from 29.1 percent to 39.2.

Get ready for a Vladdy Jr. hot streak: Wait, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may already be on one. He homered for the fourth time this week on Sunday in a 5-2 win over the White Sox:

Many underestimated you. Most of them are offline now. #PLAKATA ? | #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/vWqAaGgqYv

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) May 19, 2019

Guerrero's week: .333/.417/.905, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SO.

Welcome to The Show, kid.

NEW YORK -- This coming week has the potential to be the most important of the New York Yankees ' schedule. Feel free to consider that hyperbole. But it's not.

If by late September the American League East race and/or the wild-card chase end up coming down to the regular season's final seven days, and the Yankees are in the thick of the action, just remember this story and this week. And if the Yankees go on a tear this week that they ride the rest of the year to a comfortable AL East lead, remember this story and this week.

(And, of course, if none of that happens, go on and burn this piece from your memory.)

Because of this weekend's series win over the Tampa Bay Rays -- punctuated by Sunday's 13-5 thumping by the Yankees -- the Bronx Bombers are now in first place in the AL East. They're also in prime position to stay there for quite some time, thanks in large part to what they have ahead of them on the near horizon.

Behold, the Bombers' upcoming schedule: they go to Baltimore, then Kansas City, then come back home to face San Diego. That's seven games against teams that already have a combined 60 losses, finishing up with three at home against a club that finished Sunday a game under .500.

What a time to be wearing pinstripes.

"We're playing a team that we should get some wins against, and our team is in a good position right now," center fielder Aaron Hicks said, referring to the four-game set the Yankees have at Baltimore starting Monday. "It's where we want to be."

The Yankees are already 5-0 against the Orioles, a team that was a real bugaboo last year. Despite being the worst team in baseball, the 2018 Orioles nevertheless took seven of 19 from the 2018 Yankees. Five of those seven wins came before the All-Star break. And much as with the Orioles, this year's Yankees have had early-season success versus Kansas City, too. The Yankees took three of four from the Royals in the Bronx last month.

"We've played Baltimore already, we've played Kansas City already, we know what we're getting into," outfielder Brett Gardner said. "Feels like it'll be a good matchup for us. We'll just take things one day at a time, and we'll keep playing good baseball."

Good baseball is precisely what the Yankees have been playing for the past month. Since April 19, they are 20-7, earning the best record in the big leagues across that span. As has been mentioned often since then, the Yankees have notched that record while a bevy of key players have languished on the injured list. In all, 17 Yankees have landed on the IL this season.

"It just proves the fight that our team has, and that we really are doing the next man up," Hicks said. "Guys are performing and doing what they can to help this team win."

Virtually all of those wins this past month have featured a different hero -- one of any of a half-dozen players hardly anyone could have foreseen contributing back in spring training.

One of the overnight replacement stars, third baseman Gio Urshela, had his own understudy factor into Sunday's big win. It was after he fouled a ball off the plate and into a sensitive area of his body that Urshela came out of the game in the sixth inning, replaced by pinch hitter Thairo Estrada. Urshela is expected to be OK.

The 23-year-old Estrada, who overcame a gunshot wound last year that stemmed from a robbery attempt in his native Venezuela, has been one of the most unlikely weapons on the Yankees' early-season roster. And with the bases loaded and two outs, Estrada hammered a 2-1 sinker, turning on the 94 mph pitch and sending it down the third-base line. At the end of the bases-clearing double, the Yankees had pushed their lead to 10-5, effectively putting the game out of Tampa Bay's reach.

"Thairo, to me, has been one of the faces of what we're doing right now," manager Aaron Boone said. "Missing a lot of last year, this guy's a prospect, in a lot of ways. We kind of rushed him up here and threw him into the fire, and he's handled every situation perfectly.

"Every time we're in a situation middle of the game, or we're thinking through a possible move, he's thinking along with the game, he's prepared, he goes out there and plays with a calm and a poise."

It's almost as if he plays as if he knows he's going to succeed.

According to Gardner -- who had a 3-for-5 afternoon that included a homer, two runs scored and three RBIs while hitting eighth instead of his customary leadoff -- Estrada isn't the only one playing that way.

"We show up here every day and we expect to win," Gardner said. "It doesn't matter who's hitting first, who's hitting third or fifth. It doesn't matter who's pitching. It doesn't matter who we're playing. We expect to win every single day.

"Obviously, it might not quite be realistic, and we have our ups and our downs, but when we come to work every day, our expectation doesn't change. It doesn't matter what you did the rest of the day, or the last couple of days. Everybody has done a real good job this year of knowing what their role is, stepping up and doing their job, and we've played pretty well."

Estrada's double was one of two batted balls in the Yankees' seven-run sixth that made it past the infield. Other Yankees reached base that inning via a pair of infield singles and five walks, including one that was intentional. It was an exhibition in patience and winning with grinding small ball.

"That's a great example of, you control the strike zone, you can have an inning like that," Boone said. "And if you're playing against a team like Tampa Bay, you better control the strike zone, or they're going to make you look bad. That was a classic example there of making it really difficult on them, especially when they had [relievers Diego] Castillo and [Ryne] Stanek in that game. Those are really tough customers."

While the Yankees can help themselves and expand their AL East lead by beating up on some of MLB's worst teams this week, they could also get some help from the teams that play the Rays and the rival Boston Red Sox.

In Boston's case, trips to Toronto and Houston are on their upcoming schedule. As the Astros proved in taking two of three from this weekend's trip to Fenway Park, it won't be easy getting past them in another weekend series.

As for the Rays, the days ahead include a two-game series at home against the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, and a visit to Cleveland.

What a time to be wearing pinstripes, indeed.

With so many factors in their favor at this point of May, the Yankees are suddenly staring at the most important week of their schedule. Will they take advantage of it?

DRESDEN, Ohio – World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series and Muskingum County Speedway officials have decided to postpone Sunday’s event due to already wet grounds and impending showers.

Both parties are working diligently to find another reschedule date.

Next on the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series Schedule is a trip back to the Southeast for two races, brand-new to the Outlaws – Cochran Motor Speedway on May 31 and Lancaster Speedway on June 1.

INDIANAPOLIS – David beat Goliath on Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Kyle Kaiser, driving for the upstart Juncos Racing team, bumped his way into the Indianapolis 500 at the expense of two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso and McLaren during the Last Row Shootout.

Also failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 alongside Alonso were a pair of cars fielded by Carlin for Pato O’Ward and Max Chilton.

Alonso and McLaren struggled all week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after Alonso crashed during practice on Wednesday. He made five qualifying attempts Saturday, but none of his attempts were fast enough to get him in the field and that forced him to qualify through the Last Row Shootout Sunday.

The third driver to take to the track, Alonso was able to manage a four-lap average of 227.353 mph. It was his best speed of the week, but it would not be enough.

Kaiser, who also crashed during Indianapolis 500 practice Friday, drove his backup car to a four-lap average speed of 227.372 mph during the Last Row Shootout. He was the last car to make a qualifying attempt during the Last Row Shootout.

“I don’t think I can wrap my mind around what we just did,” Kaiser said. “Like I keep saying, this is all a credit to the team. They’ve been working non-stop trying to get this car ready and they did everything that we needed to get us in this field.”

Also locking themselves into the Indianapolis 500 field were Sage Karam and James Hinchcliffe. Karam was the fastest of the three, averaging 227.740 mph during his four-lap run and will start 31st next Sunday.

Hinchcliffe, who crashed during his first qualifying attempt Saturday and was forced to a backup car, will start 32nd thanks to a four-lap average speed of 227.543 mph.

Kaiser will start 33rd, last in the field, but he doesn’t care. He’s in the Indianapolis 500.

“I’m so proud of everybody that helped make this happen,” Kaiser said.

This report will be updated.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – After starting second to last in the first race of the season for Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, Roman De Angelis finished the weekend in first, winning race two Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

In the No. 79 Mark Motors Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car, De Angelis started third and quickly jumped to second at the start of the race, ready to hunt down race one winner and leader Jeff Kingsley in the No. 16 Policaro Motorsport Porsche.

While De Angelis was in hot pursuit of Kingsley, a caution in the first 15 minutes of the race bunched the field back together. Shortly after the restart, De Angelis made a move on the inside of Kingsley approaching the Andretti Straightaway to claim the lead with 25 minutes remaining.

About five minutes later, rain began to fall over the 2.459-mile circuit, enough to bring out a red flag that ultimately closed out the race. The win gave De Angelis his second career Platinum Class victory in GT3 Cup Challenge Canada.

“I knew we had the car to make the move, but it’s really difficult to pass here at Mosport,” said De Angelis. “It’s a really difficult track. It’s fast and flowing, not a lot of heavy braking zones, so you can’t just tuck the nose in there and brake a little bit deeper than the other guy. We really took advantage of that restart. The car was awesome as always. We showed that we had the pace yesterday and we put it to show again today.”

With a fourth-place finish on Saturday and the win on Sunday, De Angelis holds a narrow one-point lead in the championship over Parker Thompson in the No. 3 SCB Racing Porsche, 63-62.

Thompson wound up third on Sunday behind Patrick Dussault in the No. 77 Porsche for Lauzon Autosport. Thompson passed Dussault just prior to the red flag, but the pass was deemed outside track limits and Dussault was promoted back to second place.

Finishing fourth and winning the Platinum Masters class was Alan Metni in the No. 99 Kelly-Moss/AM Motorsports Porsche. Like De Angelis, Metni is competing in both GT3 Cup Challenge Canada as well as south of the border in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. The win comes in Metni’s second start of GT3 Cup Challenge Canada competition.

“It’s good progress, it’s a lot of fun,” said Metni. “I came up here to learn. I know that some of the best drivers are up here, some of the best tracks are up here and I thought I could learn a lot from coming up here and running with them. I appreciate them letting me do that. We learned a lot, getting a little better each time we do this and hopefully eventually we’ll end up on the main podium.”

While Metni leads the Platinum Masters championship by seven points, 67-60, it’s a three-way tie for second place between Etienne Borgeat and Perry Bortolotti – who rounded out the Platinum Masters podium on Sunday, respectively – and Platinum Masters race one winner Marco Cirone.

In the Gold Class, Sam Fellows in the No. 35 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche reflected on his first weekend in the series following his two wins and Yokohama Tire Hard Charger Award on Sunday.

“It was a lot of fun, but I also learned a lot especially in Race 1,” said Fellows. “I was chasing some of the Platinum guys, but had a bit of a mishap in Turn 5. At the end of the day, it’s a learning experience because you’ve got to walk away from things like that and be positive. I’m not going to make that mistake again.

“Today was a better day for me. I feel like if it stayed green, if the rain hadn’t come out, I think I could’ve picked up a couple more of the Platinum guys just near the end with the pace that we had. I’m optimistic and I can’t thank Pfaff Motorsports enough, Porsche of London, Durham Tourism and Piloti Shoes. It was a great weekend and we’ll go to Montreal with our positivity.”

Eoin Morgan has admitted he still isn't sure who will make England's World Cup squad.

Morgan, the England captain, and his fellow selectors, Ed Smith and Trevor Bayliss, will meet on Monday to pick the 15-man squad. They plan to announce it at 9.30am on Tuesday morning.

With England having beaten Pakistan 4-0 to secure an unbeaten run of 11 ODI series (of more than one match) in succession, Morgan feels he has an embarrassment of riches available to him among the 16-men used against Pakistan and described the final decision as "extremely difficult".

But while Morgan knows there will some hugely disappointed players on Tuesday morning, he has urged them to take pride in their achievements in recent years and to remain prepared in the expectation that illness or injury could grant them a reprieve in the coming weeks. England will go into the World Cup as the No. 1-ranked side, having improved immensely over the four-year cycle since the debacle of their previous World Cup appearance in Australia and New Zealand.

"I don't know the 15," Morgan told Sky Sports after the game in Leeds. "Every one of these guys should be proud of what we've achieved so far. The continuous improvement of performances makes the selection meeting extremely difficult.

"But every single member of the 17-man squad here will play some role, due to the nature of injuries and illness and call-ups."

While Chris Woakes, who claimed a five-wicket haul in Leeds, has surely done enough to guarantee his own selection, he admitted he would be nervously awaiting confiirmation of his inclusion.

ALSO READ: Dobell: The final contenders for England's World Cup 15

"Everyone will be wary of that phone call," he said. "Even if you feel like you've got a good chance to being in the squad, until you hear it from selectors' mouths, it's not quite set in stone. You're still probably a little bit on edge, in particularly with this 16 and 17 players because everyone has performed at some point. It's a tricky decision for the selectors. Everyone will be looking at their phones tomorrow I suppose, if that's when we find out."

Woakes, who revealed his post-wicket celebration was a tongue-in-cheek homage to Sir Ian Botham's celebrations during the 1992 World Cup, also accepts, however, that the competition for places has "driven everyone forward."

"It's certainly driven everyone forward to try and improve," he said. "And to make sure you're on top of your game. Whenever you get the opportunity to bowl in practice, or bat or field, you constantly feel, not like you're on audition, but like it's an opportunity to show your skills. It's certainly driven everyone to try and improve and it's certainly showed in our performances over the series."

"The series went as well as we could have hoped," Morgan agreed. "Pakistan are a strong side and they played some competitive cricket. We've chopped and changed our side a lot but the performance has never been compromised. That emphasises how competitive positions are as well as everyone's hunger and determination to constantly improve their games."

Mickey Arthur admits Pakistan's fielding is a "real worry" going into the World Cup.

Arthur, the Pakistan coach, believes the standard of fielding was the key difference between the sides in the ODI series between England and Pakistan.

But he insists his side are "working damn hard" to improve and felt that Pakistan's batting - they reached 340 three times during the series - gave them "a fair amount of positives" to take despite the 4-0 scoreline. In particular, he felt the introduction of a couple of new players - who hadn't been part of the regime that had worked hard on improving Pakistan's fielding over the last couple of years - might have resulted in the standards dipping.

"Our fielding has been very disappointing," Arthur said. "That's been the massive difference between the two sides. If you look at the games in Southampton and Nottingham, going into the last five overs, it was anybody's game. We competed really well.

"The one difference has been our fielding and that's a real worry for me because we are putting a hell of a lot of effort into it. And there's not a massive amount of reward for us there at the moment. We'll just keep knocking away at it to make sure we get it up to speed.

"We have a couple of new, young players who weren't part of the regime previously. We are trying to bring them up to speed as quickly as we can. It's something that hasn't gone unnoticed with us and it's something we are disappointed about. We need to do a bit of work on that, for sure.

"Fielding is about attitude and wanting to get out there and get it done. Our boys' attitude has been outstanding through this series. They know they've been short in this department and they are not happy about it. They are working damn hard at it."

Despite his disappointment in his side's fielding - and, to some extent - and bowling performances, Arthur remained "very confident with the players we've got."

"We sit here having taken a huge amount of positives out of this series," he said. "I thought our batting has gone to another level. I thought we batted extremely well.

"Our bowling has been average at best and our fielding has been average at best but we've batted really well. People, coming to England, said we were a 280 team. We've dispelled that and that's given our batting unit a massive amount of confidence. I'm taking a fair amount of positives in that department.

"The other thing is we've played against a team who are No.1 in the world in their own conditions. There's not too many teams who will arrive in England as prepared as we are in terms of the competition we've played against and match fitness.

"We've got a couple of days now to regroup, two warm-up games and then we'll go. I'm very, very confident with the players we've got. We need to sharpen up on a couple of disciplines but we'll certainly get there. We'll be good."

While Arthur declined to confirm the make-up of Pakistan's final 15-man squad, he did say that Mohammad Amir was sufficiently recovered from chickenpox to be considered available for selection.

"Mohammad Amir trained yesterday for the first time," Arthur said. "It's the first time he was allowed to train. He had 25 minutes on a bike and then a gym session. He had another one today so, if he's selected, he will be ready to go."

Embattled New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway defended Robinson Cano after the second baseman had another baserunning lapse in Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins.

It was the second time in three days Cano failed to run hard after hitting a ground ball, as the reeling Mets were swept by the Marlins.

On Sunday, Cano failed to run when he hit a grounder that bounced off the dirt behind home plate and rolled a few feet fair. Cano stood at the plate questioning the call while the Marlins completed a 2-6-3 double play.

"I saw the ball hit and it didn't even hit the plate -- it hit behind the plate,'' Cano said. "I thought it was a foul ball.''

On Friday, Cano jogged to first when he grounded into an inning-ending, 1-6-3 double play, and later told Callaway he thought there were two out.

"Things are piling up on Robbie right now,'' Callaway said when asked about Cano's latest bad look. "Come on, let's face it -- the ball lands foul and spins into fair territory. He saw it hit foul, and by the time he looked back up the ball had spun into fair territory and the play was over. Stuff happens like that when things are going bad.''

A day after being shut out on one hit, the Mets dropped their fifth in a row -- shut out again as Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara needed just 89 pitches to throw a two-hitter in a duel with Noah Syndergaard.

The latest unsightly defeat against a team with the worst record in the majors is sure to intensify speculation about Callaway's status as the team returns to New York. The Mets (20-25) have their longest losing streak of the year and are a season-worst five games under .500.

"I understand that everybody is disappointed -- the fans, the ownership, myself, the team -- because this is not who we are,'' Callaway said.

Syndergaard (3-4) allowed two runs in seven innings, and afterward he defended Callaway, who is in his second year as manager.

"I respect the hell out of Mickey,'' Syndergaard said. "It's kind of bull what's going on right now with the speculation that there could be a change, because we're still early in the season and just one small step from putting this all together. It's certainly not on him.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.