When Caleb Smith went out with a Grade 3 lat strain that required season-ending shoulder surgery in June last season, he was leading all MLB rookies with 88 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings.
More than nine months later, Smith is still striking out batters at an impressive rate. The 27-year-old left-hander struck out eight in five innings of work in his first start since suffering the injury on June 24, but it wasn’t enough as the Mets (3-1) broke open the game with a four-run ninth inning to defeat the Marlins 7-3 in front of an announced crowd of 6,489 Monday night at Marlins Park.