Those Mets

DOES IT GET ANY WORSE?

Eight turned out to be enough for the Marlins on Saturday night. Cameron Maybin matched a career high with three RBIs, and Nate Robertson scratched out 5 2/3 innings to guide the Marlins to a 7-5 win over the Mets in front of 26,007 at Sun Life Stadium. For the first time this season, Florida has won three consecutive games. It took the Marlins eight chances to finally reach the mark, and they clinched the four-game series against the Mets by taking the first three. "This is the start of something right here," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We swung the bats. We haven't been firing on all cylinders. But we've been swinging it now. Maybin had a big game." The Marlins (19-18) are now over .500 for the first time since they were 13-12 on May 2. They are in position for a four-game sweep with Ricky Nolasco facing Jonathan Niese on Sunday afternoon. "Winning three games against a division rival that was ahead of you, it's big," said Robertson, who gave up three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits. "We've done really well against our division this year. That's one thing that this team has done, play well against your division. That's what you have to do to have a chance to win at the end." Florida is now 5-1 against New York and 10-5 in National League East play. Robertson (4-3) beat the Mets for the second time this season. The left-hander credited some stellar defensive plays, which included right fielder Cody Ross throwing out Ike Davis at the plate in the second inning. In the ninth inning, left fielder Chris Coghlan tossed out Rod Barajas trying to stretch a single into a double to lead off the frame in a three-run game. "It was dumb baserunning," Barajas said. "Being down three runs, you stay at first. I know that, I've been taught that, I've seen guys make those mistakes, and I'm like, 'What are you thinking?' There's no excuse for it. It was just bad." Barajas' out proved costly. While Leo Nunez logged his eighth save in 10 tries, the Marlins' closer allowed a two-out double to Jose Reyes and an RBI single to Luis Castillo, which made it a two-run game. The game ended when Angel Pagan chopped a groundout to first baseman Jorge Cantu. The run allowed was just the second in 16 1/3 innings by Nunez on the season. "He's human," Gonzalez said. The Marlins grabbed an early three-run lead off John Maine, who walked five in five innings. After watching the three-run lead slip away, Florida pushed across three runs in the fifth to grab a 6-3 advantage. Hanley Ramirez doubled and took third on Jeff Francoeur's throwing error. Cantu, back in the lineup after getting his first day off, laced an RBI double to left-center. Ross delivered a run-scoring single to right, and Maybin lifted a sacrifice fly to center. The three-RBI night for Maybin matched his career best. The other time he drove in three runs was also against the Mets on Sept. 26, 2009. In the sixth inning, the Marlins tacked on another run. Gaby Sanchez doubled with two outs and scored on Ramirez's RBI single. In six games against the Mets this year, Sanchez has five doubles. Maine (1-3) got off to a wild start, walking the first three batters he faced on 12 consecutive balls. Dan Uggla walked with the bases loaded, opening the scoring. And Maybin's two-run single to center gave the Marlins a 3-0 lead. Maine threw 40 pitches in the first inning. "He walked the bases loaded and I was just trying to capitalize on that," Maybin said. "It was a situation where we had one run, and we needed to get more than that. It was nice to be able to get that hit. "I think that would have been a momentum swing their way, if we were only able to get one run. It was huge. It was definitely huge." New York countered with a run in the second on David Wright's monstrous home run to center field. Davis doubled, and with one out, Barajas singled to right. Davis tried to score, but Ross made a strong one-hop throw. Catcher Brett Hayes, making his first Major League start, fielded the ball up the third-base line and made a nice swipe tag. "He put a heck of a tag on [Davis]," Robertson said. "He had to make a big out. Those are big-time plays."