Maine Hurt in Loss

The Mets came into the 8th with a 3-2 lead against Florida last night, and lost 7-3 after giving up 5 runs in the bottom of the eighth. This is starting to be a cause for concern, as it is the third time that it has happened in the past week. It all started last Wednesday when the Mets and Johan Santana had a 5-2 lead going into the ninth against Philly. They lost the game 8-6. Over the weekend against St. Louis on Saturday, they had a 5-4 lead heading into the 6th, and gave up 4 runs in the inning en route to a 10-8 loss in 14 innings.

Last night, the pen imploded again. It all started when John Maine left the game after 4 1/3 innings because of stiffness in his right shoulder. He'll return to New York for tests. The right-hander, who departed after throwing 75 pitches, said he had felt pain in the back of his shoulder since his last start.


He took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning, but when he fell behind leadoff batter Catcher John Baker 2-0, the trainer and manager Jerry Manuel went to the mound. Maine stayed in the game, and Baker homered on the next pitch. After Maine retired the next batter, Manuel removed him.


"I'm frustrated because I want to go out there and pitch, but I understand where they're coming from," Maine said. "It was the right decision." Maine allowed four hits, struck out six and walked one. It's uncertain whether he'll miss any starts ."I told him if there's any pain, you will miss a start," Manuel said.

After Center Fielder Cody Ross singled off of Pedro Feliciano to tie the score at 2 in the bottom of the 6th, the Mets took a 3-2 in the top of the 8th on a Fernando Tatis fielder's choice that scored David Wright, but that didn't last long.

It didn't last long because in their half of the 8th, the Marlins scored 5. It all got started when Second Baseman Dan Uggla singled off of Joe Smith to tie the score at 3. Then, Cody Ross singled in Uggla to give the Marlins a 4-3 lead. After that, Pitch Hitter Wes Helms scored on a wild pitch by Scott Schoeneweis. Finally, Pitch Hitter Robert Andino doubled to left center to score Ross and Baker to make the score its final at 7-3 Marlins.

Thursday is the trading deadline, and it seems like the Mets are focusing on making a move to shore up the outfield, which is the right move considering all of the injuries that they've had out there this season. However, they should really make a push for a reliever because the implosions cannot continue if they want to stay afloat in the NL East race. We'll see what happens.