Steven Matz allowed an unearned run over 5 1/3 innings and hit an RBI single as the Mets avoided a three-game sweep with a 5-2 win over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park.

For a full box score of the game, click here.

Things you should know about today's game...

1) Matz (4-5) worked around errors in each of the first two frames and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second en route to his second win in eight starts. The southpaw allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six while tossing 69 of his 109 pitches for strikes. Matz's fielding error on Dan Straily's bunt allowed Miguel Rojas to score the Marlins' lone run against him in the sixth.

2) Todd Frazier had two hits, including an RBI double, and scored three runs. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a solo homer, Kevin Plawecki had a run-scoring double and Matz singled in a run. Amed Rosario was intentionally walked twice, giving him six free passes in the three games. He entered the series with eight walks in 75 games.

3) Seth Lugo walked one and struck out a batter over 1 2/3 hitless innings in his first relief appearance since June 5. Tim Pederson allowed a solo homer to Cameron Maybin in the ninth, the first he has allowed to a right-handed batter this season in 23 at-bats. Jeurys Familia recorded his 15th save in 19 opportunities with a perfect ninth.

Michael Avallone, SNY.tv | Twitter |

There's little good to say about a team winning that brings it one-half game out of the last place in the division and the worst record in the league. But that's where things stand with the Mets, who avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins behind a strong, if inefficient, performance from Steven Matz. Much of that can be attributed to a 28-pitch second inning, but as has been the case for much of the last six weeks, the left-hander pitched well.

It's extremely hard to judge the Mets on a game-by-game basis in the sense that one aspect of the club can be strong while everything else falters. The rotation was spotty through much of April, when New York was buoyed by their 11-1 start. But led by Jacob deGrom, and surprisingly without Noah Syndergaard, has been strong for more than a month. Sadly, the offense cratered to a historically pathetic level, the bullpen has been awful since the start of May and the defense -- which committed three today -- has become another pressing issue. Not scoring runs and giving Major League hitters extra outs is a deadly combination, even if the pitching is holding up it's end of the bargain.

I certainly won't wax poetic on anything Mets at what is their worst first 81 games of the season in 23 years, but the length and extent to which they've struggled really is staggering. The #LOLMets faction and doomssayers can say all they want about the team being bad ... it is. But even with today's win, New York is 16-39 (.291) since May 1. That winning percentage extrapolates to a 47-win season over 162 games. Injuries and poor performance aside, it takes a special kind of horrific luck to be this bad for this long when the roster isn't as devoid of talent as the record would indicate.

News and notes...

The Mets reached the 81-game mark with a 33-48 record. It's the worst record after 81 games since 1995 (32-49).

New York has a winning record (1-0) at any point in a calendar month for the first time since the final day of April. The club is coming off its worst June (5-21) in franchise history.

Wilmer Flores singled in four at-bats to extend his hitting streak to a career-high-tying nine games. He is hitting .294 (32-for-109) with 13 extra-base hits, 20 RBIs and 11 runs in his last 35 games.

Cabrera is batting .339 (19-for-56) with two doubles, three homers, nine RBIs and six runs scored in his last 13 games. His 14 homers match last season's total in 208 fewer at-bats and his 45 RBIs are the second-highest total of his career prior to the All-Star break (51 in 2011 with Cleveland).

Jose Bautista went hitless in five at-bats with three strikeouts to snap his streak of reaching base safely at 15 games.

Matz improved to 3-2 with a 2.25 ERA in nine starts on the road. He is undefeated with an 0.76 ERA in four career starts at Marlins Park.

What's next...

The Mets (33-48) head to Toronto for an Interleague series with the Blue Jays (39-44) that begins Tuesday night at Rogers Centre at 7:00 p.m. on SNY.

Zack Wheeler (2-6, 4.47 ERA/3.66 FIP, 86 K, 1.331 WHIP) tied his season-high with seven scoreless innings against the Pirates Wednesday. It extended the right-hander's winless streak to a career-worst 11 starts dating to April 29. Wheeler has completed six innings in 11 of his 15 starts this season, including seven of the last eight. He was hammered for six runs over four innings in his only career start against the Blue Jays on May 16.

Marco Estrada (4-7, 4.53 ERA/4.40 FIP, 69 Ks, 1.299 WHIP) finished June with a 2.35 ERA in five starts after surrendering three earned runs over five innings in a no-decision against the Astros Wednesday. Since his ERA peaked at 6.19 following his outing on May 1, the 34-year-old right-hander has posted a 3.61 mark in his last 10 outings. Estrada is 0-2 with a 7.27 ERA in seven career appearances (two starts) against the Mets. He has not faced New York since 2014.

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