Mets beat Marlins to avoid sweep

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MIAMI -- On a day when the Mets needed a win, Jae Seo came through in the clutch once again.
Seo dominated Florida hitters throughout the series finale and the Mets broke out of an offensive funk in a 7-1 win over the Marlins in front of 23,848 at Dolphins Stadium.

Seo has been arguably New York's most consistent pitcher of the second half, improving to 5-0 since the All-Star break.

"Jae's been throwing well, obviously, and this was a big win with the way he kept us in the game," manager Willie Randolph said. "He's pitching well and with a lot of confidence. When Jae pitches, we rely on him for a win, but we gotta keep it going."

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak and marked the first time New York scored more than four runs since Aug. 30. The win also lifted the Mets closer to the top of the pack in a crowded National League Wild Card race, 2 1/2 games behind the Phillies, who lost to the Nationals on Sunday.

"Hopefully, we're starting to feel it again," Randolph said. "Consistency around this time of year is so important to stay in the mix and stay in the hunt, so you have to bring your consistency every day. I was really happy about today."

Seo (7-1) allowed just one run on five hits over seven innings and hasn't lose since April 29.

"I think this game was very important for our team, because this could be a game that starts us on our way to the playoffs," Seo said. "I tried my best in this game to help us get to the playoffs."

Seo was coming off a shaky start against the Phillies in which he allowed four runs over five innings, but he was in control througout this game.

He got out of a jam in the third when the Marlins had men on first and second with two out, striking out Florida starter A.J. Burnett looking on a 3-2 curveball right down the heart of the plate. In the fifth, Seo avoided problems again as he got Miguel Cabrera to pop up to right field with two on and two out.

"This game, I was very comfortable from the beginning," Seo said. "I had pitched over 100 pitches the last four games and my arm was tired. I worked with the trainers and relaxed my arm, and I feel I was very confident."

Burnett (12-9) struck out nine, but allowed five runs over five innings and remained winless since Aug. 19. The Marlins right-hander is now 2-6 lifetime against the team that drafted him in 1995.

The Mets got to Burnett early as Kaz Matsui lined a triple to right-center field and scored on Carlos Beltran's RBI groundout to shortstop to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

"We've been battling through tough losses the past few games, but today our hitting came along," Matsui said. "It's a big win for us."

New York added to its lead in the second as Victor Diaz's RBI double got past Miguel Cabrera in left field and scored Ramon Castro all the way from first base.

In the fourth, Cliff Floyd blasted his second two-run home run in as many games, this one to deep center field to put the Mets ahead, 4-0. The homer was his 29th of the season, and his first back-to-back home run games since June 24-25, when he hit three in two games against the Yankees.

"Two RBIs were huge in this game," Floyd said. "You have to capitalize when A.J. makes mistakes."

Seo gave up a run in the fourth on a wild pitch that got past Castro and scored Juan Encarnacion from third to make it a three-run game.

But the Mets answered right back in the fifth as David Wright knocked in Matsui from second on a two-out RBI double off the left-field scoreboard. Wright and Beltran each collected RBI singles in the ninth off Marlins reliever Ron Villone to extend the lead to six.

"Today was a team effort, and we were able to contribute for [Seo]," Beltran said.









All nice and dandy, but the Mets are still done in the WC race. Jae Seo has definitely been one of the biggest surprises for this team this year, another exciting future star for the Metropolitans. I don't think they'll make the playoffs this year, but with an improved Seo, Reyes, Wright, Jacobs et al, this team has the young talent to seriously contend in years to come, if they ever shore up that damn bullpen.

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I thought it was a good game, but the Mets have been frustrating me with their lack of consistency in playing, Pedro used to be the only true constant on the Mets team.