Mets Beat Marlins 7-6 for 8th Straight Home Win

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Jun 6, 2010

NEW YORK — Jeff Francoeur hit a tying, three-run homer in the seventh inning and the New York Mets rallied to beat the Florida Marlins 7-6 on Sunday, running their home winning streak to eight games.

Angel Pagan had a two-run single in New York's three-run sixth and scored the go-ahead run when Ike Davis grounded sharply into a double play in the eighth.

Pedro Feliciano (2-2) struck out Chris Coghlan with runners on first and second to end the eighth, and Francisco Rodriguez finished for his 12th save in 15 opportunities. Cody Ross struck out with a runner on second to end the game.

The Mets erased deficits of 5-0 and 6-3 to complete a three-game sweep and improve to 18-4 in their last 22 games at Citi Field. They lead the majors with 22 home wins, including a pair of eight-game winning streaks in Queens.

Ross hit a three-run homer and Dan Uggla also went deep for Florida, which has lost four of five. Coghlan went 2-for-5 and is batting .500 (17-for-34) in his last eight games, but struck out three times.

Francoeur hit a 1-2 pitch from Tim Wood into the seats in left for his sixth homer, tying it at 6 and delighting the crowd of 36,612. He also doubled in the second and is batting .500 (18-for-36) during his 10-game hitting streak.

Pagan started the winning rally with a leadoff walk against Clay Hensley (1-2). He went to third on Jason Bay's single to left and scampered home when Davis hit a grounder to shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Curiously, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez kept his middle infielders back even though the go-ahead run was on third base with nobody out.

Florida sent eight batters to the plate during a four-run sixth, chasing Hisanori Takahashi and building a 5-0 lead. Coghlan led off with a single, moved up on Uggla's fly ball and scored on Jorge Cantu's base hit.

After Ronny Paulino's single went off shortstop Jose Reyes' glove and trickled into center field, Ross hit a towering drive that just cleared the wall in left for his sixth homer.

The Mets responded with three runs in the bottom half, all charged to Ricky Nolasco. Pinch-hitter Chris Carter had an RBI single and Pagan drove in a pair with a base hit to center.

Nolasco allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked three.

David Wright had three hits off Nolasco, improving his career batting average against the right-hander to .386 (17-for-44).

Takahashi also pitched 5 1/3 innings, yielding five runs and six hits in his second consecutive shaky start.

Gonzalez tweaked his lineup for the series finale, hoping a return to the leadoff spot would help Ramirez snap out of his funk. The results were mixed; last year's NL batting champ went 0-for-2 with three walks and is stuck in a 1-for-12 rut.

Ramirez hit a drive to the warning track in the fifth but Francoeur made a fine running catch in right to end the inning.

Uggla, batting third in Ramirez's usual spot, led off the fourth with his 13th homer, driving an 0-2 pitch from Takahashi into the seats in left. It was his first homer since May 23 at the Chicago White Sox and his fifth of the year against the Mets.

Notes

Mets manager Jerry Manuel wouldn't rule out moving RHP John Maine (shoulder weakness) to the bullpen when he comes off the disabled list. … Gonzalez said reliever Renyel Pinto (strained left hip) could rejoin the team next weekend. Pinto made a rehab start for Class-A Jupiter on Saturday and recorded two outs, both strikeouts. The left-hander also walked two.

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