New York Mets

Mets' Oswalt ending rookie season as starter vs. Marlins

Published Sep. 28, 2018 12:02 a.m. ET

NEW YORK -- On Thursday afternoon, New York Mets pitcher Corey Oswalt had his exit interview with manager Mickey Callaway and the coaching staff. But he'll get one more opportunity to impress his bosses Friday night, when Oswalt will look to end an interesting rookie campaign on a high note as he takes the mound for the Mets in the opener of a season-ending three-game series against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field.

Oswalt (3-3, 6.08 ERA) is scheduled to oppose the Marlins' Jose Urena (8-12, 4.07 ERA) in a battle of right-handers.

The Mets won the rubber game of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves Thursday, when Jason Vargas tossed seven scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory. The Marlins were off Thursday following a 9-3 loss Wednesday to the Washington Nationals, who swept the three-game set.

Oswalt will be making his 17th appearance and 12th start in a season in which he's made six different trips to the majors. He is finishing the season in the rotation in place of Zack Wheeler, who was shut down due to innings earlier this month. This will be the fourth straight start for Oswalt, who took the loss last Saturday after allowing two runs over five innings as the Mets fell to the Nationals, 6-0.

While Oswalt has fared far better as a starter (4.91 ERA) than a reliever (12.54 ERA), Callaway has been impressed with his ability to adapt to an unfamiliar role. The Mets (75-84) have five starters under contractual control, so it is likely Oswalt, who made just six relief appearances in 97 minor league games, will once again fill a swingman role at the start of 2019.

"It's not an easy task," Callaway said Thursday afternoon. "We actually had our exit meeting with him today to talk about that, and that was kind of the main subject of it. 'Hey, look, you're going to come in next year and it might be the same way. So, you can embrace it and do the best you can and overcome it to put yourself in a position at some point to be able to stay every single day, or you can let it affect you.' He's done a great job of overcoming it and showing us what we need to see."

The Marlins (62-96) have also seen plenty this season out of Urena, who will make his team-high 31st start and needs to record six outs Friday to break his previous career-high for innings pitched (169 2/3).

Urena has been especially impressive over his last six starts, a stretch in which he's gone 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA and allowed one run or fewer five times. That includes last Saturday's start, when he earned the win in the Marlins' 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds by tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings before exiting with a sore right thigh.

"He's been aggressive in the strike zone," Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters afterward. "He's been keeping the ball down. It doesn't look to me a whole lot different -- he kind of always pitches the same way."

Oswalt is 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA in two starts against the Marlins in his rookie season.

Urena is 4-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 appearances (nine starts) against the Mets. That includes a 1-2 record with a 4.32 ERA in three starts against the Mets this year.