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Mets hit four homers, avoid sweep against Marlins

Aug 12, 2007 - 10:17 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) - The New York Mets were fortunate that Moises' Alou's miscue did not cost them any more runs. They were extremely pleased when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth and restored their advantage.

Three innings after losing a fly ball in the sun in left field, Alou slugged a go-ahead home run with two outs in the sixth as the Mets salvaged the finale of a three-game series with a 10-4 victory over the Florida Marlins on Sunday.

"It was nice to get some runs, get the win and hopefully start a long winning streak," said Alou after the Mets concluded a 2-4 homestand against Atlanta and Florida.

"Moises had a great obviously with a couple of home runs," New York manager Willie Randolph said. "We swung the bats pretty well today. It was a nice win for us."

It was mixed day for Alou, who also had a three-run home run with none out in the second. Alou's first blast gave the Mets a 3-1 lead but that quickly evaporated due to a sloppy top of the third.

The Marlins took a 4-3 lead thanks to a pair of wild pitches by Oliver Perez.

The first wild pitch allowed rookie Alejandro De Aza to move into scoring position and he scored on Cody Ross' single. Perez's second wild pitch put Miguel Cabrera and Ross at second and third and they scored on Jason Wood's single to right-center field.

Florida had an opportunity to extend its lead when Alou lost Matt Treanor's fly ball in the sun. But Alou cleanly recorded the final two outs of the inning and the Mets tied it in the bottom of the third on Jose Reyes' ninth home run of the season.

The game stayed tied until the sixth when Alou hit a 2-1 pitch from Lee Gardner (3-3) over the left field fence. It was Alou's third multi-home run game as a Met and the 41-year-old's seventh homer of the season.

"I'm a big fan of Moises Alou," Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado said. "Anytime I can see him hit a fastball out or a fastball at his ankle out, it's fun to watch."

After Alou's second home run, the Marlins managed just one hit the rest of the way.

"I don't want to say it deflated us," Treanor said. "But when you give up the lead, you're kind of down."

Two of Alou's multi home run games have come since he returned from the disabled list on July 27. Alou missed over two months with a strained quad but is hitting .349 (15-for-43) over his last 12 contests.

"He's a good player," New York third baseman David Wright said. "He solidifys this lineup. He's a big RBI guy and it's tough to pitch around guys when you've got guys like Moises Alou hitting sixth in the lineup.

"I'm seeing the ball pretty good," Alou said. "I'm not in the zone like somebody gets every once in a while. I'm very happy with the way I'm feeling at the plate right now. I'm confident to wait a little longer and when you trust your hands good things will happen."

Alou's blast made a winner out of Jorge Sosa (8-6), who worked two innings in relief of an ineffective Perez.

Perez lasted five innings and allowed four runs and six hits. Sosa worked out of trouble in the sixth and seventh to get the game to Aaron Heilman.

Heilman, who allowed Cabrera's go-ahead single in Saturday's 7-5 loss, tossed a perfect eighth. Billy Wagner, who blew his second save in Friday's series opener, finished up in the ninth.

New York scored its first seven runs on home runs and added five in the eighth. Delgado hit a two-run home run off Taylor Tankersley while Luis Castillo had an RBI single and pinch hitter Lastings Milledge had a two-run base hit off Ross Wolf.

Florida starter Rick VandenHurk also lasted five innings, allowing four runs and seven hits.

"They're by far one of the best (lineups)," said VandenHurk, who allowed eight runs and seven hits in four innings against the Mets on April 19. "They have veterans that have been in the game for a long time."

The Marlins missed a chance to sweep a series at Shea Stadium for the first time in nearly three years. They standed eight runners, including two in the first after Hanley Ramirez opened the contest with his 12th career leadoff home run.