Those Mets

ALL FOR NOTHING

MARATHON ENDS IN HEARTBREAK

Down 6-1, the Mets came back to tie the game and send it to extas before losing 7-6 in 10 innings. Two days removed from the sunshine of a breezy Opening Day victory, the Mets met reality. Or, at the very least, confronted some of the realities facing this team: A shaky rotation, a shaky bullpen and a shaky lineup. All three combined in this 7-6 10th-inning loss to Florida here at Citi Field on Wednesday. The starting pitcher, John Maine, provided an early deficit. The bullpen widended that, and then blew a tie when pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino shuttled Hisanori Takahashi’s pitch into center to score the winning run. And the lineup? Once again, the Marlins conspired to hand runs to their hosts. Trailing by five heading into the seventh inning, the Mets tied the game during the next two frames while managing just three singles. The Mets cobbled together the runs thanks to five walks, two errors and a hit batsman. For two full innings, the Marlins throttled toward a meltdown. The Mets just couldn’t provide the hit to drive them over the edge. But the problems began early. Unlike Monday, there was no Johan Santana on the mound. John Maine lasted five innings, allowed four runs and could not command the strike zone. He surrendered two home runs. In his big-league debut, Jenrry Mejia threw 95-m.p.h. fastballs and 89-m.p.h. – and the Marlins smashed both to collect a run in the sixth. Sean Green gave up a home run in the seventh. (NJ.com)