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NEW YORK -- Between the active players on the 25-man roster and the coaching staff, the Miami Marlins had a combined 13,608 major league hits sitting in the dugout when Marlins left-handed pitcher Wei-Yin Chen stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning Friday night. They were pretty happy to see Chen increase the hit odometer to 13,609.
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Chen earned the win with six solid innings and snapped a career-long hitless streak as the Marlins beat the New York Mets, 7-2, at Citi Field.
Chen (1-0) allowed one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings. But what he and the Marlins really wanted to talk about was his first career hit -- an infield single to short in the fourth inning.
"I think I'm more happy about the hit than the win," a grinning Chen said through an interpreter.
Chen used a bat owned by second baseman Dee Gordon, who was on deck for the milestone hit and wasted no time securing the ball for his teammate.
"I was like 'Give me the ball, give me the ball,'" Gordon said with a laugh.
The hit snapped an 0-for-51 streak for Chen dating back to his rookie season with the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. Only three other players since 1900 have opened their careers with a longer hitless drought.
"We don't have to talk about that anymore," said Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who collected 2,153 hits as a major leaguer. "I didn't know if it would become a story. But I'm glad that he got his hit."
Before stepping to the plate, Chen said he was seated in the dugout next to outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, a future Hall of Famer who has 3,030 career hits.
"So maybe he brought me the aura of the hit," Chen said.
Chen added he wasn't sure what to do when he got to first base, or if his hit would go down as a hit. Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera cleanly bare-handed the ball but never made a throw.
"I thought it may be an error, but (first base coach Perry Hill) told me no, it was a hit," Chen said. "And I was really excited. I didn't really know what's going on out there."
Chen left the Mets befuddled at the plate following a first inning in which Curtis Granderson laced a two-out RBI single. New York got just two more runners into scoring position against Chen, who ended his night by inducing Jay Bruce to hit into a double play with runners at the corners.
"He was throwing zeroes up after that," Mattingly said. "Thought he was aggressive. He changed speeds, he pitched on both sides of the plate. Obviously really good tonight for us."
The Marlins took the lead for good in the top of the second, when Derek Dietrich laced a two-run triple off Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler (0-1) and scored on Adeiny Hechavarria's groundout. Christian Yelich hit a two-run homer in the third before Marcell Ozuna (3-for-4) and Dietrich added back-to-back RBI singles off Josh Smoker in the fifth.
"It was one of those games that was good for us," Mattingly said. "Last year, we had a lot of trouble tacking on runs. And tonight we were able to add a couple more and make it a better situation for us."
Yoenis Cespedes homered leading off the eighth for the Mets while Granderson finished with two hits.
Wheeler threw a perfect first inning in his first major league action since Sept. 25, 2014 but was charged with five runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four over four innings.
"I had a lot of adrenaline in that first inning," Wheeler said. "I was really sharp that inning."
Wheeler underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2015 and pitched in just one minor league game last season while battling nerve irritation in his elbow and a flexor strain. He won a spot in the Mets' rotation by throwing in the high 90s in spring training, though his fastball fell to the 93-94 mph range following the first inning Friday.
"He needed to get back out there and get in the flow and see what it's like," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "I thought, for the first game, he was OK. I thought he did fine."
NOTES: Mets assistant minor league pitching coordinator Phil Regan threw batting practice Friday, one day after his 80th birthday. ... Friday was the fourth anniversary of late RHP Jose Fernandez making his major league debut for the Marlins against the Mets at Citi Field. Fernandez allowed one run and struck out eight over five innings and didn't factor into the decision in a 4-3 loss. Fernandez was killed in a boating accident on Sept. 25.
