NL: FLORIDA at NY METS <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 10 1 NY METS 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: FLA - DANIEL BARONE, ROSS WOLF (5TH), LEE GARDNER (6TH), MATT LINDSTROM (8TH), KEVIN GREGG (9TH) AND MIGUEL OLIVO NYM - BRIAN LAWRENCE, JORGE SOSA (7TH), BILLY WAGNER (9TH) AND PAUL LO DUCA HOME RUNS: FLA - NONE NYM - CARLOS BELTRAN (20) OFF DANIEL BARONE IN THE 5TH, 2 ON</div>
NL: FLORIDA at NY METS <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 10 1 NY METS 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: FLA - DANIEL BARONE, ROSS WOLF (5TH), LEE GARDNER (6TH), MATT LINDSTROM (8TH), KEVIN GREGG (9TH) AND MIGUEL OLIVO NYM - BRIAN LAWRENCE, JORGE SOSA (7TH), BILLY WAGNER (9TH) AND PAUL LO DUCA WP - MATT LINDSTROM (2-3) LP - BILLY WAGNER (1-1) SAVE - KEVIN GREGG (25) HOME RUNS: FLA - NONE NYM - CARLOS BELTRAN (20) OFF DANIEL BARONE IN THE 5TH, 2 ON TIME: 3:02 ATT: 48,516 PROBABLES: FLA - SCOTT OLSEN (9-9, 5.43) NYM - TOM GLAVINE (10-6, 4.31)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at NY METS <div class="pre">FLORIDA (4) VS NY METS (3) - FINAL FLORIDA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Ramirez ss 4 1 2 2 1 0 0 .342 A De Aza cf 5 0 2 0 0 2 2 .319 M Cabrera 3b 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 .333 J Willingham lf 4 0 1 1 1 0 2 .269 K Gregg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 D Uggla 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .249 M Jacobs 1b 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .247 A Amezaga lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269 M Olivo c 4 1 2 0 0 1 2 .240 J Hermida rf 3 0 2 1 0 1 0 .266 b-C Ross ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .291 D Barone p 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000 R Wolf p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-T Linden ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .238 L Gardner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 M Lindstrom p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-J Wood ph-1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .281 Totals 35 4 10 4 5 9 19 a-popped out to second for R Wolf in the 6th; b-struck out swinging for J Hermida in the 9th; c-walked for M Lindstrom in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - H Ramirez (34, B Wagner). RBI - J Willingham (69), J Hermida (36), H Ramirez 2 (58). 2-out RBI - J Willingham. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Cabrera 2, T Linden 1, J Willingham 1. GIDP - M Cabrera. Team LOB - 9. BASERUNNING: SB - H Ramirez 3 (36, 2nd base off B Lawrence/P Lo Duca, 3rd base off B Lawrence/P Lo Duca, 3rd base off B Wagner/P Lo Duca). FIELDING: E - D Uggla (8, throw). NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Reyes ss 5 1 0 0 0 1 2 .305 L Castillo 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 .333 C Beltran cf 4 1 1 3 1 3 1 .263 D Wright 3b 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .302 C Delgado 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .249 M Alou lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .301 S Green rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .275 P Lo Duca c 3 0 2 0 1 1 0 .270 B Lawrence p 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 a-D Newhan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206 J Sosa p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .208 b-R Gotay ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .346 B Wagner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 35 3 7 3 4 8 13 a-flied out to right for B Lawrence in the 6th; b-struck out swinging for J Sosa in the 8th. BATTING: HR - C Beltran (20, 5th inning off D Barone 2 on, 0 Out). RBI - C Beltran 3 (65). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - B Lawrence 1, C Delgado 1, J Reyes 1. Team LOB - 10. FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Reyes-L Castillo-C Delgado). ---------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA - 110 000 002 -- 4 NY METS - 000 030 000 -- 3 ---------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA ip h r er bb so hr era D Barone 4 2/3 5 3 2 4 4 1 3.86 R Wolf 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 L Gardner 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.40 M Lindstrom (W, 2-3) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.88 K Gregg (S, 25) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.09 NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era B Lawrence 6 8 2 2 3 6 0 4.09 J Sosa (H, 2) 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.22 B Wagner (L, 1-1; B, 2) 1 2 2 2 2 2 0 1.61 WP - B Lawrence. IBB - M Cabrera (by B Wagner). HBP - S Green (by M Lindstrom). Pitches-strikes: D Barone 104-56; R Wolf 4-2; L Gardner 25-19; M Lindstrom 10-8; K Gregg 10-7; B Lawrence 101-62; J Sosa 22-16; B Wagner 32-18. Ground balls-fly balls: D Barone 4-6; R Wolf 0-1; L Gardner 2-2; M Lindstrom 2-0; K Gregg 1-1; B Lawrence 4-7; J Sosa 2-3; B Wagner 1-0. Batters faced: D Barone 24; R Wolf 1; L Gardner 7; M Lindstrom 5; K Gregg 3; B Lawrence 27; J Sosa 6; B Wagner 7. UMPIRES: HP--Rick Reed. 1B--Alfonso Marquez. 2B--Chad Fairchild. 3B--Chuck Meriwether. T--3:02. Att--48,516. Weather: 61 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 13 mph, in from left.</div>
NL: FLORIDA at NY METS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLORIDA (4) AT NY METS (3) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLORIDA 1ST: H Ramirez singled to center. H Ramirez stole second. A De Aza struck out swinging. M Cabrera popped out to shortstop. H Ramirez stole third. J Willingham singled to right, H Ramirez scored. D Uggla struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 1, NY METS 0. FLORIDA 2ND: M Jacobs singled to center. M Jacobs to second on wild pitch by B Lawrence. M Olivo singled to center, M Jacobs to third. J Hermida singled to right, M Jacobs scored, M Olivo to second. M Olivo out at third on runner's fielder's choice. D Barone struck out swinging. H Ramirez walked, J Hermida to second. A De Aza singled to center, J Hermida to third, H Ramirez to second. M Cabrera grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. NY METS 5TH: J Reyes safe at first on throwing error by second baseman D Uggla. L Castillo reached on bunt single to third, J Reyes to second. C Beltran homered to right, J Reyes and L Castillo scored. D Wright lined out to third. C Delgado struck out looking. M Alou reached on infield single to third. R Wolf relieved D Barone. S Green flied out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. FLORIDA 9TH: B Wagner relieved J Sosa. M Olivo singled to left. C Ross hit for J Hermida. C Ross struck out swinging. J Wood hit for M Lindstrom. J Wood walked, M Olivo to second. H Ramirez doubled to deep center, M Olivo and J Wood scored. H Ramirez stole third. A De Aza struck out looking. M Cabrera intentionally walked. J Willingham grounded out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, NY METS 3.</div>
Wagner suffers rare blown save as Mets fall to Marlins <h3>FLORIDA 4, NY METS 3</h3>FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Billy Wagner again was withouthis best stuff, but this time he paid for it dearly. Hanley Ramirez belted a two-run double off Wagner in the ninthinning as the Florida Marlins rallied for a 4-3 victory over theNew York Mets in the opener of a three-game series on Friday. Jeremy Hermida had two hits for Florida, which beat New York forjust the third time in nine meetings. Miguel Olivo singled to open the ninth and pinch hitter JasonWood walked with one out. Ramirez, who leads the NationalLeague in hitting at .342, then drilled a 1-2 pitch over thehead of Carlos Beltran in center field, plating two runs andgiving Florida 4-3 lead. Wagner(0-1) had worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in a4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, but was notas unfortunate on Friday. It was just the second blown save in28 chances for the lefthander, who had converted his last 13save opportunities and had pitched 21 consecutive innings sincebeing charged with a run on June 15. Matt Lindstrom (2-3) threw a scoreless eighth and Kevin Greggworked a perfect ninth to record his 25th save in 28 chances. The blown save by Wagner put a damper on a solid start by BrianLawrence in his home debut. The righthander allowed two runsand eight hits in six innings and left with a 3-2 lead. The Mets held a 3-2 lead thanks to a three-run homer in thefifth by Beltran, who was activated from the disabled list priorto the game after being out since July 24 with a strainedoblique muscle. New York put runners on base in each of the first four inningsoff rookie Daniel Barone, who was making his major league debut,before breaking through in the fifth. Trailing, 2-0, Jose Reyes reached on a throwing error by secondbaseman Dan Uggla and former Marlin Luis Castillo dropped a buntsingle toward third base. Beltran followed by belting a 2-1 pitch over the right-centerfield fence for his 20th homer. Barone, called up from Class AAA Albuquerque before the game,lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs - two earned - andfive hits with four walks. The 24-year-old righthander was thesecond Marlins pitcher to make his big league debut as a starterthis season, joining Rick VandenHurk. The Marlins took a 2-0 lead - scoring runs in each of the firsttwo innings. Ramirez singled to open the game, stole second andthird, and scored on a single by Josh Willingham. The Marlins added a run in the second on consecutive singles byMike Jacobs, Olivo and Hermida. Florida had a chance to addmore, but Miguel Cabrera grounded out on a check swing with thebases loaded. Paul Lo Duca had two hits for New York (64-51), which leads thePhiladelphia Phillies (61-54) by three games in the NationalLeague East.
Wagner suffers rare blown save as Mets fall to Marlins <h3>FLORIDA 4, NY METS 3</h3>FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Billy Wagner again was withouthis best stuff, but this time he paid for it dearly. Hanley Ramirez belted a two-run double off Wagner in the ninthinning as the Florida Marlins rallied for a 4-3 victory over theNew York Mets in the opener of a three-game series on Friday. Jeremy Hermida had two hits for Florida, which beat New York forjust the third time in nine meetings. Miguel Olivo singled to open the ninth and pinch hitter JasonWood walked with one out. Ramirez, who leads the NationalLeague in hitting at .342, then drilled a 1-2 pitch over thehead of Carlos Beltran in center field, plating two runs andgiving Florida 4-3 lead. Wagner(0-1) had worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in a4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, but was notas unfortunate on Friday. It was just the second blown save in28 chances for the lefthander, who had converted his last 13save opportunities and had pitched 21 consecutive innings sincebeing charged with a run on June 15. Matt Lindstrom (2-3) threw a scoreless eighth and Kevin Greggworked a perfect ninth to record his 25th save in 28 chances. The blown save by Wagner put a damper on a solid start by BrianLawrence in his home debut. The righthander allowed two runsand eight hits in six innings and left with a 3-2 lead. The Mets held a 3-2 lead thanks to a three-run homer in thefifth by Carlos Beltran, who was activated from the disabled list priorto the game after being out since July 24 with a strainedoblique muscle. New York put runners on base in each of the first four inningsoff rookie Daniel Barone, who was making his major league debut,before breaking through in the fifth. Trailing, 2-0, Jose Reyes reached on a throwing error by secondbaseman Dan Uggla and former Marlin Luis Castillo dropped a buntsingle toward third base. Beltran followed by belting a 2-1 pitch over the right-centerfield fence for his 20th homer. Barone, called up from Class AAA Albuquerque before the game,lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs - two earned - andfive hits with four walks. The 24-year-old righthander was thesecond Marlins pitcher to make his big league debut as a starterthis season, joining Rick VandenHurk. The Marlins took a 2-0 lead - scoring runs in each of the firsttwo innings. Ramirez singled to open the game, stole second andthird, and scored on a single by Josh Willingham. The Marlins added a run in the second on consecutive singles byMike Jacobs, Olivo and Hermida. Florida had a chance to addmore, but Miguel Cabrera grounded out on a check swing with thebases loaded. Paul Lo Duca had two hits for New York (64-51), which leads thePhiladelphia Phillies (61-54) by three games in the NationalLeague East.
Wagner suffers rare blown save as Mets fall to Marlins <h3>FLORIDA 4, NY METS 3</h3>FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Billy Wagner again was withouthis best stuff, but this time he paid for it dearly. Hanley Ramirez belted a two-run double off Wagner in the ninthinning as the Florida Marlins rallied for a 4-3 victory over theNew York Mets in the opener of a three-game series on Friday. Jeremy Hermida had two hits for Florida, which beat New York forjust the third time in nine meetings. Miguel Olivo singled to open the ninth and pinch hitter JasonWood walked with one out. Ramirez, who leads the NationalLeague in hitting at .342, then drilled a 1-2 pitch over thehead of Carlos Beltran in center field, plating two runs andgiving Florida 4-3 lead. Wagner(1-1) had worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in a4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, but was notas unfortunate on Friday. It was just the second blown save in 28 chances for thelefthander, who had converted his last 13 save opportunities andhad pitched 21 consecutive innings since being charged with arun on June 15. Matt Lindstrom (2-3) threw a scoreless eighth and Kevin Greggworked a perfect ninth to record his 25th save in 28 chances. The blown save by Wagner put a damper on a solid start by BrianLawrence in his home debut. The righthander allowed two runsand eight hits in six innings and left with a 3-2 lead. The Mets held a 3-2 lead thanks to a three-run homer in thefifth by Carlos Beltran, who was activated from the disabledlist prior to the game after being out since July 24 with astrained oblique muscle. New York put runners on base in each of the first four inningsoff rookie Daniel Barone, who was making his major league debut,before breaking through in the fifth. Trailing, 2-0, Jose Reyes reached on a throwing error by secondbaseman Dan Uggla and former Marlin Luis Castillo dropped a buntsingle toward third base. Beltran followed by belting a 2-1 pitch over the right-centerfield fence for his 20th homer. Barone, called up from Class AAA Albuquerque before the game,lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs - two earned - andfive hits with four walks. The 24-year-old righthander was thesecond Marlins pitcher to make his big league debut as a starterthis season, joining Rick VandenHurk. The Marlins took a 2-0 lead - scoring runs in each of the firsttwo innings. Ramirez singled to open the game, stole second andthird, and scored on a single by Josh Willingham. The Marlins added a run in the second on consecutive singles byMike Jacobs, Olivo and Hermida. Florida had a chance to addmore, but Miguel Cabrera grounded out on a check swing with thebases loaded. Paul Lo Duca had two hits for New York (64-51), which leads thePhiladelphia Phillies (61-54) by three games in the NationalLeague East.
NL: FLORIDA at NY METS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLORIDA (4) AT NY METS (3) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Florida Starting Lineups -- H Ramirez SS, A De Aza CF, M Cabrera 3B, J Willingham LF, D Uggla 2B, M Jacobs 1B, M Olivo C, J Hermida RF, D Barone RHP. Ny Mets Starting Lineups -- J Reyes SS, L Castillo 2B, C Beltran CF, D Wright 3B, C Delgado 1B, M Alou LF, S Green RF, P Lo Duca C, B Lawrence RHP. Umpires -- Rick Reed (HP), Alfonso Marquez (1B), Chad Fairchild (2B), Chuck Meriwether (3B). Gametime Weather: 61 degrees, Cloudy, wind in from left at 13 mph. FLORIDA 1ST: H Ramirez singled to center. H Ramirez stole second. A De Aza struck out swinging. M Cabrera popped out to shortstop. H Ramirez stole third. J Willingham singled to right, H Ramirez scored. D Uggla struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 1, NY METS 0. NY METS 1ST: J Reyes struck out looking. L Castillo grounded out to shortstop. C Beltran walked. D Wright walked, C Beltran to second. C Delgado grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 1, NY METS 0. FLORIDA 2ND: M Jacobs singled to center. M Jacobs to second on wild pitch by B Lawrence. M Olivo singled to center, M Jacobs to third. J Hermida singled to right, M Jacobs scored, M Olivo to second. M Olivo out at third on runner's fielder's choice. D Barone struck out swinging. H Ramirez walked, J Hermida to second. A De Aza singled to center, J Hermida to third, H Ramirez to second. M Cabrera grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. NY METS 2ND: M Alou flied out to left. S Green grounded out to first. P Lo Duca singled to left. B Lawrence flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. FLORIDA 3RD: J Willingham walked. D Uggla flied out to left. M Jacobs popped out to third. M Olivo struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. NY METS 3RD: J Reyes flied out to left. L Castillo walked. C Beltran struck out swinging. D Wright grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. FLORIDA 4TH: J Hermida struck out swinging. D Barone struck out swinging. H Ramirez lined out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. NY METS 4TH: C Delgado flied out to center. M Alou flied out to center. S Green reached on infield single to second. P Lo Duca walked, S Green to second. B Lawrence struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. FLORIDA 5TH: A De Aza singled to right center. M Cabrera grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, A De Aza out at second. J Willingham grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 0. NY METS 5TH: J Reyes safe at first on throwing error by second baseman D Uggla. L Castillo reached on bunt single to third, J Reyes to second. C Beltran homered to right, J Reyes and L Castillo scored. D Wright lined out to third. C Delgado struck out looking. M Alou reached on infield single to third. R Wolf relieved D Barone. S Green flied out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. FLORIDA 6TH: D Uggla flied out to center. M Jacobs walked. M Olivo flied out to left. J Hermida singled to center, M Jacobs to second. T Linden hit for R Wolf. T Linden popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. NY METS 6TH: L Gardner relieved R Wolf. P Lo Duca struck out swinging. D Newhan hit for B Lawrence. D Newhan flied out to right. J Reyes popped out to catcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. FLORIDA 7TH: J Sosa relieved B Lawrence. H Ramirez grounded out to shortstop. A De Aza flied out to center. M Cabrera popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. NY METS 7TH: L Castillo grounded out to shortstop. C Beltran struck out swinging. D Wright singled to center. C Delgado grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. FLORIDA 8TH: J Willingham flied out to left. D Uggla struck out looking. M Jacobs grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. NY METS 8TH: M Lindstrom relieved L Gardner. M Alou grounded out to shortstop. S Green hit by pitch. P Lo Duca singled to right, S Green to third. R Gotay hit for J Sosa. R Gotay struck out swinging. J Reyes grounded into fielder's choice to second, P Lo Duca out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, NY METS 3. FLORIDA 9TH: B Wagner relieved J Sosa. M Olivo singled to left. C Ross hit for J Hermida. C Ross struck out swinging. J Wood hit for M Lindstrom. J Wood walked, M Olivo to second. H Ramirez doubled to deep center, M Olivo and J Wood scored. H Ramirez stole third. A De Aza struck out looking. M Cabrera intentionally walked. J Willingham lined out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, NY METS 3. NY METS 9TH: K Gregg relieved M Lindstrom. A Amezaga in left field. C Ross in right field. J Wood at first base. L Castillo flied out to left. C Beltran struck out looking. D Wright grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, NY METS 3.</div>
Wagner suffers rare blown save as Mets fall to Marlins <h3>FLORIDA 4, NY METS 3</h3>By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Billy Wagner has been next toautomatic for the New York Mets this season. But that did notmake Friday's blown save any easier to take. Hanley Ramirez belted a two-run double off Wagner in the ninthinning as the Florida Marlins rallied for a 4-3 victory over theMets in the opener of a three-game series on Friday. The Marlins defeated the Mets for just the third time in ninemeetings this season, and they did it by using a pair ofpitchers making their major league debut and rallying against acloser who had converted 26 of his first 27 save opportunitiesthis season. "Any loss stinks," Wagner said. "You've got to win this game.No doubt about it." Miguel Olivo singled to open the ninth and pinch hitter JasonWood walked with one out. Ramirez, who leads the NationalLeague in hitting at .342, then drilled a 1-2 pitch over thehead of Carlos Beltran in center field, plating two runs andgiving Florida a 4-3 lead. "I like the pressure moments," said Ramirez, who was notinterested in Wagner's success. "You can't pay attention tothat. You just have to go out and be confident." Wagner (1-1) had worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in a4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday but was not asunfortunate on Friday. "It's unusual. Billy's been outstanding for us all year," Metsmanager Willie Randolph said. "I wish he hadn't thrown afastball there." Wagner had converted his previous 13 save opportunities andpitched 21 consecutive innings since being charged with a run onJune 15. "It was one of those nights where I didn't make my pitches,"Wagner said. Matt Lindstrom (2-3) tossed a scoreless eighth and Kevin Greggworked a perfect ninth to record his 25th save in 28 chances. The blown save by Wagner put a damper on a solid start by BrianLawrence in his home debut. The righthander allowed two runsand eight hits in six innings, leaving with a 3-2 lead. The Mets had that advantage thanks to a three-run homer in thefifth by Beltran, who was activated from the disabled list priorto the game after being out since July 24 with a strainedoblique muscle. "Even though we lost, I'm happy to be back," Beltran said. New York put runners on base in each of the first four inningsagainst rookie Daniel Barone, who was making his major leaguedebut, before breaking through in the fifth. With the Mets trailing, 2-0, Jose Reyes reached on a throwingerror by second baseman Dan Uggla and former Marlin LuisCastillo dropped a bunt single toward third base. Beltran followed by belting a 2-1 pitch over the right-centerfield wal for his 20th homer. "I wasn't looking for anything," Beltran said. "I was justtrying to feel good at the plate." Called up from Class AAA Albuquerque before the game, Baronelasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs - two earned - andfive hits with four walks. "Once I threw the first pitch, I was fine," Barone said. "Itwas a dream. It hasn't really hit me yet." The 24-year-old righthander was the second Marlins pitcher tomake his major league debut as a starter this season, joiningRick VandenHurk. Ross Wolf, also making his major league debut, replaced Baroneand recorded the final out of the fifth. The Marlins took a 2-0 lead, scoring runs in each of the firsttwo innings. Ramirez singled to open the game, stole second andthird and scored on a single by Josh Willingham. It was an outstanding night for Ramirez, who collected acareer-high three stolen bases. Florida doubled its lead in thesecond on consecutive singles by Mike Jacobs, Olivo and Hermida.It had a chance to add more, but Miguel Cabrera grounded out ona check swing with the bases loaded. Paul Lo Duca had two hits for New York (64-51), which saw itslead in the National League East Division over Philadelphia(61-54) shrink to three games.
