Game #132: Mets 5, Marlins 1

Jose Reyes argues in the second game of the Mets' doubleheader Monday when his error at the second base bag allows the Marlins' Jose Lopez to reach safely. (NYDailyNews.com)

Terry Collins and his boys had so much fun winning this afternoon, they decided to do it again. And this time, a familiar face got in on the action.

Jose Reyes returned to the lineup to help give Dillon Gee the run support to match his strong outing, handing the Mets a 5-1 win and a doubleheader sweep over the Marlins.

The Good Stuff:

• Making his first start after re-tweaking that hamstring on August 7, Jose Reyes went 1-4 and scored in the 7th on David Wright's double. He missed a catch for an error in the 6th, but shook off the rust in the next inning to make a nice fielding play. At .336, Jose still leads the NL in batting average, but he faces a challenge from Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, who sits only two points behind at .334. If Reyes wants to become the Mets' first ever batting champion, he'll have to get about one or two hits a night in September (which is, of course, his season average, so it's lookin' good).
• Reyes's return was just one part of an all-around great night for the boys in blue (we'll talk more about that later).
• The Mets broke through in the 4th: after Ruben Tejada led off with a triple, David Wright brought him home on a groundball.
• Florida tied it in the 6th and threatened to spoil Dillon Gee's night, but a rally, once again started by Tejada, put New York back on top to stay. Tejada singled and advanced to third on two groundball outs, and he was brought home by Angel Pagan, back in the 5-hole again thanks to Jose. Two batters later, Pagan scored on Willie Harris's RBI single.
• The Amazin's made it 4 when Wright's double scored Reyes in the 7th, and Mike Nickeas added the one for the thumb in the 8th with a single that scored Nick Evans.
• The best part of tonight? 4 of the 5 runs came with 2 outs. Clutch hitting=success.
• Dillon Gee was the Gee of old, delivering 6 strong innings of 1-run, 6 hit ball, walking 2 and sending down 6 by way of the K. Pedro Beato held strong in the 7th, and Manny Acosta struck out the side in the 8th (for the second time in a day). Bobby Parnell came on in the 9th for a non-save situation and got the job done.

The Bad Stuff:

• When I heard from Adam Rubin that the team was wearing their blue uniforms, I got really excited. When I saw the team take the field in them? Not so much. I was severely disappointed when I saw the black-on-blue jerseys with black caps. What happened to what they wore on "Los Mets" night? Those blue uniforms: orange-on-black jerseys with classic Met caps, were some of the best I had ever seen. I seriously hope that the team uses those as their new blue uniforms instead of the monstrosity we saw tonight.

Final Analysis:
The Mets had not had much luck in doubleheaders this season, but today was a perfect storm (Irene included) of success. A sweep of the those pesky Marlins, spectacular pitching all-around, the return of our spark plug, and a 4th straight win. With 30 games left in the season, New York still has plenty to play for: Reyes's batting title, a winning record, etc. For September, let's hope we see the Mets of June and July, and we'll see a satisfying ending to the 2011 campaign.

MM