Game #110: Marlins 4, Mets 2

(NYDailyNews.com)

New York got the day off yesterday to recover from a week and a half on the West Coast. Looks like they needed one more day to get past the jet lag.

A couple dribbler hits in the 4th led to 4 Marlins runs and Miami's bullpen retired the final as the Marlins took the first game of the series from the Mets, 4-2.

The Bad Stuff:

• Justin Ruggiano and Jose Reyes led off the 4th with soft tappers of infield singles (with Reyes extending his hitting streak to 25 games), which set Jon Niese up for another one of his infamous meltdown innings. When the dust had settled Miami had all 4 of their runs across the board and New York was in a hole they couldn't dig themselves out of.
• The Mets left 11 men on base and wouldn't get another hit after the 5th inning.

The Good Stuff:

• Daniel Murphy led off the 5th with his 4th home run of the season and his first at Citi Field in over a calendar year.
• One more run came in when Jason Bay, Ike Davis, and Andres Torres each had 2-out singles in the 5th.
• Bobby Parnell, Manny Acosta, and Jon Rauch combined for 3 scoreless innings in relief to keep the Mets within striking distance late in the game.

Final Analysis:
Niese couldn't get control of his curveball in the 4th but kept on using it, which cost him and the team greatly. He was great in the rest of his 5 innings but his inconsistency has been holding him back from his fantastic potential. A lethargic way to start the homestand, the Mets' only hope is to get some more sleep tonight before tomorrow's round two with the Fish.

MM

P.S. Speaking of those Miami Marlins, here's something for Rising Apple that will make Mets fans feel happy that at least their team has a plan.