Marlins rally in fourth, defeat Mets 4-2

Jon Niese appeared on his way to a solid outing through three innings of work, but the Marlins lashed out for four runs in the fourth inning and the Mets were unable to fully recover.

Justin Ruggiano, Miami’s 30-year-old journeyman sensation, led off the fourth inning with a soft ground ball to third that David Wright was unable to scoop with his bare hand. That base hit was followed by a Jose Reyes infield single that extended the former Met’s hit streak to 25 games.

That pair of not-so-hard knocks set the table for Carlos Lee’s RBI single, which was followed by a sac fly from Giancarlo Stanton. With two outs and two runners on base, catcher John Buck delivered the game breaking hit when he stayed back on Niese’s curveball and smacked a double down the right field line. With the score now 4-0, the Mets knew they had some work to do against converted reliever Wade LeBlanc.

The Mets certainly looked like they were on their way back in the fifth, when Daniel Murphy led off with his first Citi Field home run of the season. He crushed a line drive off of the upper deck facing in right field to make the score 4-1. That chased LeBlanc from the game (he’s still being stretched out and was on an abbreviated pitch count) and brought on Chad Gaudin.

Although Gaudin got his first two batters out, the Mets got consecutive singles from Jason Bay, Ike Davis and Andres Torres to cut the deficit to two. Unfortunately for New York, the Torres RBI single was the last hit they would get all night. After a wild pitch and a walk to Josh Thole, the Mets had an opportunity with tie the game with the bases loaded, but Terry Collins opted to leave Jon Niese in the game to hit. Niese was called out on strikes, and the Mets were doomed.

Carlos Zambrano, Mike Dunn, Heath Bell and Steve Cishek combined to no-hit the Mets for the final four innings. Niese only lasted one more inning for the Mets and finished with four strikeouts, one walk, eight hits and four earned runs allowed in six innings. Bobby Parnell, Manny Acosta and Jon Rauch each pitched an effective inning, but it didn’t matter in the result.

Turning Point: It looked like the Mets would escape the fourth inning with just two runs let up, but John Buck’s two-RBI double doubled Miami’s lead and ended up putting the game out of reach.

Game Ball: Daniel Murphy was the one standout performer for the Mets, with a single and the home run. The real difference makers in this game, though, were the relievers for Miami.

Next Game: These same two teams go at it again tomorrow night. Nate Eovaldi will start for Miami while the Mets send out Chris Young.