On the Mets beat

Good afternoon everyone. Marc Jimenez here as the Mets conclude their three-game series with Florida and try to erase the memory of Saturday’s heartbreaking 4-3 loss. The bullpen has been a big problem for the Mets (75-61) and yesterday was no different as Aaron Heilman walked in the winning run. With Pedro Martinez (4-3, 5.22 ERA) going today, the ‘pen will most likely have to pitch a few innings in relief.

In his last start, Martinez allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings in an 8-7 loss in 13 innings to Philadelphia on Tuesday. Martinez is just 6-6 against the Marlins (69-67). Scott Olson (6-8, 4.19), who is 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in his last four starts, will be on the hill for the Fish.

By the way, David Lennon reported: Jon Niese is starting Tuesday against the Brewers at Miller Park. The Mets will call up: catcher Gustavo Molina, infielders Argenis Reyes and Ramon Martinez, along with pitchers Al Reyes, Ricardo Rincon and Bobby Parnell. Marlon Anderson will also be reinstated from the DL.

Be back in a few...

Top 1st: The Mets have done a good job scoring in the first inning all season long. This time, however, they didn’t as Jose Reyes, Nick Evans and David Wright went down in order.

Bottom 1st: The Marlins touched up Pedro for two early runs. Hanley Ramirez led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Luis Gonzalez’ double. Two batters later, Mike Jacobs lifted a sacrifice fly. Marlins 2, Mets 0.

Top 2nd: The Mets cut the lead in half on Carlos Beltran’s 21st homer. Marlins 2, Mets 1.

Bottom 2nd: The Marlins had two on with one out following back-to-back one-out singles by Cody Ross and John Baker, but Pedro didn’t allow a run. The hit by Baker should have been an error. It was hit to Wright, who thought about going to second before going to first. But by then, it was too late.

Top 3rd: Evans and Wright hit back-to-back homers to move ahead of the Fish. For Evans, it was his first Major League homer. Mets 3, Marlins 2.

Bottom 3rd: Pedro got in some trouble after walking Jacobs with two outs and giving up a double to Dan Uggla, before fanning Jeremy Hermida on a 3-2 pitch.

Top 4th: The Mets went down in order.

Bottom 4th: Pedro issued a one-out single to John Baker, but nothing else. Olsen struck out trying to get down a sacrifice bunt and Ramirez hit a little bloop to Reyes for the final out.

Top 5th: Reyes reached on a two-out bunt single and stole third following a single by Evans, but the Mets could not add to their lead as Wright grounded out.

Bottom 5th: 1-2-3 inning for Pedro.

Top 6th: Beltran, Delgado and Tatis were set down in order.

Bottom 6th: Another 1-2-3 inning for Pedro, who has retired eight Marlins in a row. Damion Easley made a nice play, reaching to his right, on a ball hit by Jeremy Hermida.

Top 7th: Big inning for the Mets! Easley got it started with a leadoff single. Robinson Cancel moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Daniel Murphy, who hit for Pedro Martinez, walked. Reyes followed with an RBI single as Olsen was lifted for Doug Waechter. Ryan Church, who hit for Evans, laced an RBI single to make it 5-2. Then following Wright’s single to load the bases, Beltran hit a sacrifice fly. Mets 6, Marlins 2.

Bottom 7th: Scott Schoenweis started the inning and allowed a two-out single to Ramirez and a walk to Gonzalez. Aaron Heillman, who took the loss last night, came on. He uncorked a wild pitch, as the runners moved up to second and third, then retired Cantu.

Top 8th: Easley and Endy Chavez each had base hits.

Bottom 8th: Pedro Peliciano started the inning and fanned Jacobs. Jose Smith came on, fanned Uggla and got Ross to ground out.

Top 9th: Wright hit a one-out single before Beltran hit into an inning-ending DP. Three more outs to go. Can the bullpen hold it?

Bottom 9th: Brian Stokes came on and allowed singles to Baker and Gonzalez, but nothing else. Cantu lined out to Reyes, who made a nice diving catch, to end the game. Final: Mets 6, Marlins 2.

The Mets just made it official: Jon Niese is indeed starting Tuesday against the Brewers at Miller Park.They also released this list of minor-league callups, who will join the team tomorrow in Milwaukee: catcher Gustavo Molina, infielders Argenis Reyes and Ramon Martinez, along with pitchers Al Reyes, Ricardo Rincon, Carlos Muniz and Bobby Parnell. Marlon Anderson will also be reinstated from the DL.

Here's the lineup for today's game vs. the Marlins. Hopefully the rain will hold off. It appears that Hurricane Gustav is dragging some significant storms toward Miami and we're right on the fringe of it.

Reyes (ss)
Evans (lf)
Wright (3b)
Beltran (cf)
Delgado (1b)
Tatis (rf)
Easley (2b)
Cancel (c)
Martinez (rhp)

Adam Ronis here to moderate tonight's game. A good pitching matchup as Mike Pelfrey (13-8, 3.70 ERA) takes on Ricky Nolasco (13-7, 3.62 ERA). Pelfrey has pitched two straight complete games, but has struggled tremendously against the Marlins this season. He is 0-3 and has allowed 15 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings against them this season.

Bottom 9: Heilman pitching. Ramirez walks. Amezaga puts down a successful sac bunt. Ramirez to throw on a wild pitch as Cantu swings and misses. Cantu and Jacobs intentionally walked to load the bases. Willingham walks on a 3-and-1 pitch to force home the winning run. Mets lose, 4-3

Top 9: Murphy singles. Schneider puts down a successful sac bunt. Lindstrom into pitch. Chavez runs for Murphy. Easley flies to center. Reyes fouls out. Mets 3, Marlins 3

Bottom 8: Jacobs homers to lead off. Willingham strikes out. Uggla walks. Stokes now pitching. Ross singles. Baker strikes out. Gonzalez strikes out. Mets 3, Marlins 3

Top 8: Hendrickson pitching. Beltran walks with two outs, but that's it. Mets 3, Marlins 2

Bottom 7: Baker singles. Gonzalez grounds into a 3-6-3 double play. Ramirez walks with two outs. Pelfrey leaves after throwing 115 pitches. Feliciano comes in. Helms singles. Sanchez now pitching. Cantu strikes out. Mets 3, Marlins 2

Top 7: Kensing now pitching. Reyes walks with two outs and steals second. Castillo strikes out looking. Mets 3, Marlins 2

Bottom 6: Uggla hits a two-run single with two outs. Pelfrey gets Ross to fly out to end the inning. Mets 3, Marlins 2

Top 6: Mets don't score. Mets 3, Marlins 0

Bottom 5: Pelfrey retired the side in order. Mets 3, Marlins 0

Top 5: Mets go down 1-2-3. Mets 3, Marlins 0

Bottom 4:Cantu gets hit with one out and Jacobs singles. Willingham flies to right. Cantu to third. Uggla grounds into a fielder's choice. Mets 3, Marlins 0

Top 4: Murphy singles with one out and gets caught stealing. Schneider follows with a double. Pelfrey strikes out to end it. Mets 3, Marlins 0

Bottom 3: Pelfrey retired the side 1-2-3. Mets 3, Marlins 0

Top 3: Reyes triple with one out. Castillo singles through a drawn in infield to score Reyes. Mets 3, Marlins 0

Bottom 2: Ross gets hits with a 2-and-2 pitch with two outs and the benches empty. Nothing happens after that. Ross gets picked off to end the inning. Mets 2, Marlins 0

Top 2: Mets go in order. Mets 2, Marlins 0

Bottom 1: Ramirez strikes out. Hermida grounds out to short. Cantu doubles as Murphy loses the ball and it drops in leftfield. Jacobs grounds out. Mets 2, Marlins 0

Top 1: Luis Castillo singles with one out and David Wright hits a two-run homer to left. Mets 2, Marlins 0

Staying on top of the NL East was not going to be easy for the Mets. That much they knew.

But does it have to be as difficult as it was during Friday night's 5-4 victory over the Marlins?

Carlos Beltran was the only member of the Mets' offense who showed up ready for work, considering that he was the man responsible for all five RBI, which matched his top single-game output since signing with the Mets in 2005.

And the later it gets, the more Beltran seems to heat up. In the last week, Beltran is batting .375 (9-for-24) with three HRs and eight RBI. Last September, with the Mets crumbling around him, Beltran batted .282 and led the team that month with eight homers and 27 RBI.

While that's a positive sign, not so good is the fact that Luis Ayala was complaining of a tight right hamstring after his roller-coaster ride in the ninth inning. After throwing 32 pitches, Ayala isn't available tonight anyway -- Jerry Manuel said Aaron Heilman will assume the closer's role (getcha popcorn ready for that one).

A team official pretty much confirmed last night that Jon Niese will start Tuesday against the Brewers after he was lifted from Friday's game in New Orleans after 2 2/3 innings. The 65-pitch tuneup for the Zephyrs puts him on schedule to take the mound in Milwaukee four days later.

Good evening everyone. Marc Jimenez with you as the Mets open a three-game series against the Florida Marlins. Oliver Perez (9-7, 4.00 ERA), who is 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in four starts against the Marlins this season, will be going for the Mets (74-60). In his last outing, Perez allowed four runs on four hits with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings during a 6-4, 10-inning loss to Houston on Sunday. Chris Volstad (4-3, 3.42), who is looking for his first win in three starts, will be on the hill for the Marlins (68-66).

Stat of the day: Carlos Delgado is 6-for-13 with four homers and nine RBIs in the last three games.

Top 1st: The Mets scored a run on Carlos Beltran’s sacrifice fly. Jose Reyes led off with an infield single and later stole second. Luis Castillo reached on a bunt single and also stole second to set up second and third with no one out. After David Wright struck out, Carlos Delgado walked before Beltran lifted his sacrifice fly. Ryan Church followed and flied out to Wes Helms, who made a great catch near the bullpen. Mets 1, Marlins 0.

Bottom 1st: Perez allowed an infield single to Hanley Ramirez, but nothing else. Paul Lo Duca popped out to Delgado, who made a nice catch in foul territory. Jorge Cantu flied out and Wes Helms grounded out.

Top 2nd: Not much for the Mets this inning. After Daniel Murphy flied out, Brian Schneider struck out and Perez, oddly enough, drew a walk. Reyes followed and made good contact, but hit it right to Cantu at first for the final out.

Bottom 2nd: Perez gave up a towering homer to Josh Willingham, his 10th , before striking out Cody Ross, getting Dan Uggla to ground out and fanning Jeremy Hermida. Mets 1, Marlins 1.

Top 3rd: Wright and Beltran each singled in the inning, but the Mets could not take the lead as Church struck out looking to end the inning.

Bottom 3rd: The Marlins went ahead this inning. Starter Chris Volstad reached on an error by Reyes, moved to second on Ramirez’s walk, took third on Lo Duca’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a Cantu’s sacrifice fly. Marlins 2, Mets 1.

Top 4th: The Mets went down in order as Murphy struck out and Schneider and Perez grounded out.

Bottom 4th: Perez allowed two walks in the inning, but he benefited from the pitcher’s best friend: a double play. Ross hit it right to Delgado for an unassisted DP.

Top 5th: Second straight hitless inning for the Mets. Reyes struck out looking. (He argued with the ump, but to no avail.) Castillo grounded out and Wright flied out.

Bottom 5th: Perez got out of the inning without allowing a run, but he looked a little out of it. He issued a one-out walk to Ramirez before getting Lo Duca to fly out and Cantu to ground out.

Top 6th: 10 straight Mets have been retired. This time, Delgado, Beltran and Church grounded out.

Bottom 6th: Perez gave up a stand-up, two-out triple to Ross before getting Hermida to ground out two batters later. Perez is likely done. He has thrown over 110 pitches.

Top 7th: The Mets wasted a golden opportunity to tie the game (or take the lead). With the bases loaded and one out, Castillo grounded into a fielder’s choice and Wright struck out.

Bottom 7th: Brian Stokes came on for Perez and worked a 1-2-3 inning.

Top 8th: Another eventful inning for the Mets, but sadly for them, no runs were scored. Arthur Rhodes started the inning. Delgado fanned and Beltran reached on a E3. (Beltran hit a weak grounded to Cantu, who could not pick up the ball cleanly.) Two batters later, Murphy singled Beltran to third to end Rhodes’ night. Matt Lindstrom came on and got Endy Chavez to ground back to him for an easy out.

Bottom 8th: It wasn’t pretty, but Joe Smith worked a scoreless inning. Top of the order will come up for the Mets. Will they tie the game?

Top 9th: The Mets were down to their final out before they made an incredible come back. After Robinson Cancel popped out and Reyes grounded out, Castillo, Wright and Delgado reached before Beltran belted a grand slam. Mets 5, Marlins 2.

Bottom 9th: Luis Ayala came on and was VERY shaky. Hermida hit a one-out single and moved to second two batters later on a two-out single by Ramirez. Former Met Mike Jacobs followed with an RBI single and Cantu laced a run-scoring double to make it 5-4. But with second and third, Helms grounded out. Final: Mets 5, Marlins 4.

Reyes (ss)
Castillo (2b)
Wright (3b)
Delgado (1b)
Beltran (cf)
Church (rf)
Murphy (lf)
Schneider (c)
Perez (lhp)

Actually, that's not true. I have no idea what you did last summer. But I used the movie title in today's Mets Insider about dealing with the "demons" of the 2007 collapse, so I thought I'd do it again for the blog. Maybe that's being a little lazy, but sometimes thinking up a headline is more difficult that it looks.

Right now the Dolphin Stadium grounds crew is feverishly trying to get the field playable for tonight. Seems that the U. had a football game here last night and the grass is a little chewed up. I can still see the sprayed-on remnants for the 10-yard line clearly between the mound and third base.

The Mets have announced that special "pennant race packs" are on sale now at mets.com through Tuesday, Sept. 2.

Here is the team's official release and ticket info:

Limited Time Offer Guarantees Fans Tickets to Final 15 Regular Season Games at Shea, Opportunity to Purchase Tickets for Potential 2008 Postseason Games, and Priority for Purchase of Season Tickets in Citi Field for 2009.

FLUSHING, N.Y., August 27, 2008 - The New York Mets tonight announced the sale
of Pennant Race Packs, available online at Mets.com through Tuesday, September
2. Pennant Race Packs start at $497 per Upper Box seat, and include:

* Tickets to the Final 15 Regular Season Home Games at Shea Stadium.
* The opportunity to purchase the same seats for all potential 2008 Postseason games at Shea.
* Priority in purchasing Full Season Tickets in Citi Field for the 2009 Season.

The Mets in September will host the Philadelphia Phillies (September 5-7), Washington Nationals (September 9-10), Atlanta Braves (September 12-14), Chicago Cubs (September 22-25) and for the final three regular season games at Shea, the Florida Marlins (September 26-28), including five promotion dates.

Pennant Race Packs and tickets for single games for the remainder of the 2008 Regular Season are on sale at Mets.com, LosMets.com, or by phone at (718) 507-TIXX. There is a limit of eight seats per Pennant Race Pack customer and account.

The Mets previously announced that the club has surpassed four million tickets
sold for the first time in franchise history.

Wow. I can't believe I just typed that.

But with all the MVP debate focused on David Wright or Jose Reyes lately, look who just entered the discussion after smacking home runs No. 29 and 30 in last night's 6-3 comeback win over the Phillies. Take a look at the numbers:

Delgado .. .263 BA ... .504 SLG ... .348 OBP ... 30 HR ... 93 RBI ... 74 R

Wright .... .291 BA ... .517 SLG ... .385 OBP ... 25 HR ... 100 RBI .. 93 R

Reyes .... .306 BA ... .489 SLG ... .365 OBP ... 13 HR ... 55 RBI .... 95 R

Here's another thing to consider -- no one has been more instrumental in the Mets' turnaround than Delgado. Since June 27, when the Mets began the day four games out of first place, Delgado leads the NL with 19 homers and 58 RBI.

Just something to chew on for those who wanted to RELEASE Delgado back in early June and replace him with Mike Carp. You know who you are. For more on Delgado, here's an entertaining look at his resurgence from our own Wallace Matthews. I especially enjoyed the elevator scene.

On another subject, I like Jimmy Rollins. He's a big-game player and a fun guy to interview. But he really has to stop with the whole "Mets celebrate too much" schtick. It's getting old. I'm happy to publish his quotes because they're amusing, but it's really no big deal if the Mets wants to have a little fun. They've definitely toned it down since last season, anyway.

Loved Jerry Manuel's quotes on the "demons" from last September. Hey Omar, extend Jerry now. He's already shown he's the right guy for this job.

Adam Ronis here to take you through tonight's game. Johan Santana (12-7, 2.64 ERA) has won his last three starts and has pitched at least seven innings in four straight. The Mets will need a similar performance tonight after a 13-inning lost last night in which Aaron Heilman threw three innings and is unavailable tonight. Kyle Kendrick (11-7, 4.87 ERA) takes the mound for the Phillies. He actually warmed up in the bullpen last night, so keep an eye on how he fares early in this game.

Bottom 9:Ayala pitching. Feliz grounds out to short. Coste grounds out to shortstop. Taguchi grounds out to short. Mets win, 6-3.

Top 9:Reyes singles to left. Castillo sacrifices Reyes to second. Wright strikes out, Reyes goes to third on ball in the dirt. Delgado gets an intentional walk. Beltran flies out to left. Mets 6, Phillies 3

Bottom 8: Feliciano pitching. Howard flies out to left. Victorino grounds out to Wright, who makes a great throw from foul territory. Smith comes into pitch. Werth grounds out to short. Mets 6, Phillies 3

Top 8: Seanez pitching. Castillo grounds out to first. Wright strikes out. Delgado homers to leftfield. Beltran reaches on an infield single. Lidge now pitching. Beltran steals second. Church gets an intentional walk. Murphy hits an RBI double to rightfield. Schneider hits a two-run single. Easley grounds into a fielder's choice. Mets 6, Phillies 3

Bottom 7: Stokes pitching. Coste singles to left. Dobbs pinch hits and grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Rollins walks and steals second. Utley gets an intentional walk. Burrell grounds out to third. Phillies 3, Mets 2

Top 7: Schneider strikes out. Nick Evans pinch hits for Santana and strikes out. Reyes fouls out to first. Phillies 3, Mets 2

Bottom 6: Burrell doubles to left. Howard walks. Victorino strikes out. Werth fouls out to first. Feliz strikes out. Phillies 3, Mets 2

Top 6: Delgado homers to right. Beltran reaches on an infield single. Kendrick is taken out. Scott Eyre is in. Chruch strikes out. Murphy grounds into 3-6-3 double play. Phillies 3, Mets 2

Bottom 5:Feliz singles. Coste flies out to left