• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Bullpen melts down as Mets fall to Marlins

Aug 31, 2008 - 5:42 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- With or without closer Billy Wagner, the New York Mets are not getting much relief.

Aaron Heilman walked Josh Willingham with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, forcing in the winning run as the Florida Marlins rallied for a 4-3 triumph over the Mets on Saturday.

With the win, Florida (69-67) climbed within six games of first-place New York (75-61) in the National League East.

"This team really needed a win," Willingham said. "We've got to win. We don't win, we don't have a shot. When you're six games out and two (teams are) ahead of you, then you can't lose very much."

Entering with 10 blown saves since the All-Star break, New York's bullpen added another in this one as former Met Mike Jacobs belted a leadoff homer off Duaner Sanchez in the eighth inning to tie the game at 3-3. It was Sanchez's first blown save of the season.

"It was a pretty good pitch," Sanchez said. "It was (a 3-2 count). I got to give credit to (Jacobs). It was a good pitch, running away from him, but he went up there and he just hit the ball. No excuses, just one mistake. Basically, that's not a mistake. You just got to give the credit to him."

Wagner, who currently is on the disabled list with a strained left forearm, has one blown save during the relief corps' recent struggles.

Heilman, who has squandered a pair of save opportunities since the break, also faltered with the game even in the ninth. Hanley Ramirez opened the inning with a walk and moved to second on Alfredo Amezaga's sacrifice.

After tossing a wild pitch that sent Ramirez to third, Heilman (3-8) intentionally walked Jorge Cantu and Jacobs to load the bases. The beleaguered righthander then threw a first-pitch strike to Willingham before tossing four straight balls for his fourth walk of the frame, bringing in Ramirez with the winning run.

"You try to put yourself in a situation that's going to give you the best opportunity to keep the game tied," Heilman said. "You load the bases and hopefully get a ground ball and give your infielders a chance to (throw) home and maybe turn two if it's hit hard enough. It's a frustrating way to lose a game."

"A walk-off anything ranks high. It doesn't matter what it is because it means your team wins the game," Willingham said. "I was going to make him get something out over the plate because they were trying to bust it in and sink the ball in on me. But he left it in and it went off the plate, so it worked out."

The poor relief pitching spoiled a solid effort from Mike Pelfrey, who allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

David Wright hit a two-run homer for the Mets, who saw their division lead over the Philadelphia Phillies (74-62) reduced to one game.

Wright's 26th blast of the season gave New York a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Former Marlin Luis Castillo increased the advantage with an RBI single in the third.

"We've got to find a way to keep adding runs on," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "Maybe if I tweak (the batting order) up a little bit, we can do that."

Florida drew within 3-2 with a two-out rally in the sixth. Cantu began the rally with a single, Jacobs followed with a base hit and Willingham walked to load the bases before Uggla delivered a two-run single to center field.

Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco tossed six innings, allowing three runs and six hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

"I don't think he had his best stuff of the year, but he battled through six innings and kept us in the ballgame," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Tempers flared in the second inning, when Pelfrey hit Cody Ross with a pitch. Both benches emptied, but no punches were thrown and order was restored.

"Just one of those heat-of-the-moment type situations," Ross said. "Luckily, it didn't get out of hand. They don't want to lose any players, we don't want to lose any players. It was just one of those little baseball moments."

"I remember the last time, when we were in New York, I hit himi and he did that little fake charge thing, then ran to first," Pelfrey said. "I guess he got upset when I hit him again, and he started talking. I hit him with two strikes, so I actually did him a favor."