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Marlins beat Perez, send slumping Mets into second place

Sep 29, 2007 - 4:02 AM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- First Oliver Perez lost his control, then the New York Mets lost their grip on first place in the National League East.

Perez tied a major league record by hitting three batters in an inning, allowed a two-run homer to Jeremy Hermida and a two-run single to Miguel Cabrera, as the Florida Marlins defeated the Mets, 7-4, in the opener of a three-game series.

The Mets (87-73) have lost five straight and 11 of 15 to fall into second place in the NL East, one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies (88-72). Philadelphia defeated the Washington Nationals, 6-0, on Friday night. Both the Mets and Phillies have two games remaining.

New York, which led the division by seven games on September 12, had been in first place every day since May 15 and moved one step closer to one of the more monumental collapses in baseball history.

"Personally I'm embarrassed," David Wright said. "It's pretty pathetic we had a division in our grasp with seven home games left and we didn't win one of them. The fans deserve better, the owners deserve better. Willie (Randolph) and the coaches deserve better. This is on the players. The 25 of us have to look at each other."

No team in history has failed to win the pennant when holding at least a seven-game lead with 17 games to play.

Byung-Hyun Kim (10-8) pitched five-plus effective innings and Matt Treanor also homered for the Marlins, who won their fourth straight game and continued to excel in the role of spoiler.

Florida defeated New York after sweeping the Central Division-leading Chicago Cubs earlier this week.

"There's no personal satisfaction in beating them other than shaking hands and winning ball games," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

The struggling Mets' staff received a strong seven-inning effort from Pedro Martinez against St. Louis on Thursday, and desperately needed the same from Perez (15-10) on Friday. The often erratic lefthander was never in control, allowing six runs, six hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.

"I'm just trying to do my job and I didn't do it," Perez said.

The Mets have had a starter last more than five innings just three times in their last 13 games.

Carlos Beltran hit a mammoth two-run homer, but the Mets failed several times in clutch situations and had their troubles defensively as a mental mistake by third baseman David Wright contributed to Florida's two-run third.

Kim (10-8) allowed four runs - three earned - and eight hits in five innings. The righthander threw two pitches in the sixth before leaving with a blister.

Three relievers followed, including Matt Lindstrom, who struck out Beltran and Alou with runners on first and third to end the seventh.

Kevin Gregg then worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to record his 32nd save in 36 chances.

"Everybody here is playing as hard as they can," Beltran said. "It seems like we don't have any luck. We haven't put anything together."

"We're not going to let them waltz into the playoffs," Gregg said.

Hermida hit a 420-foot home run to right field in the first to score Dan Uggla, who had walked.

Perez tied the record held by many pitchers when he hit three batters in a two-run third for Florida. The Marlins loaded the bases when Kim singled, Hanley Ramirez doubled and Dan Uggla was hit by a pitch.

Hermida hit a slow grounder to third that Wright threw home for the force out. Catcher Paul Lo Duca threw back to Wright, who attempted to tag Ramirez when all he had to do was step on third for the force. One out later, Perez plunked Cody Ross and Mike Jacobs in succession to give Florida a 4-1 lead.

"I got back to third and couldn't find it with my foot so I tried to tag him," Wright said. Beltran hit two-run homer in the third off the scoreboard in right-center field to cut the deficit to 4-3.

Cabrera grounded a two-run single off the glove of diving a Jose Reyes shortstop in the fourth to give the Marlins a 6-3 lead and finish the night for Perez.

Treanor homered off Orlando Hernandez in the fifth to make it 7-3.

An error by left fielder Ross allowed the first Mets' run to score in the second and Wright drove in a run with a groundout in the fifth. Wright singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.