Florida @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 24, 2010 ) Florida 5, NY Mets 6
The New York Mets treated their fans to their highest scoring output at Citi Field this month. Pat Misch is hoping there are still some runs left in the tank.
The Mets look to build off the momentum of a rare late-inning comeback victory when they host the Florida Marlins on Wednesday in the middle game of their three-game series.
Limited to a total of 10 runs in its first seven home games of August, New York erupted for six en route to a 6-5 walk-off win on Tuesday. The Mets had scored three runs or fewer in 10 of their previous 13 games overall.
After squandering leads of 1-0 and 4-2, New York tied the game in the eighth inning thanks largely to Angel Pagan. Arguably the team's most valuable player this season, Pagan hustled to turn a two-out single into a double and then scored on a base hit by Carlos Beltran, knotting the contest at 5-5.
With two outs in the ninth, former Marlin Luis Castillo - who tops the franchise's hits list - looped a single to right field that scored rookie Ike Davis from second base with the winning run. It marked just the second time the Mets pulled out a victory when trailing after seven innings in 49 tries this year.
Pagan recorded his second four-hit game of the season and scored three times for New York, which posted its fifth win in eight contests.
Gaby Sanchez was the offensive star for the Marlins, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Sanchez's three-run homer, his 15th blast of the year, in the seventh inning gave Florida a 5-4 lead and the rookie three home runs and 13 RBIs in his last seven games.
The Marlins, who fell to 2-5 at Citi Field this year, had their three-game road winning streak snapped.
The Mets, whose walk-off win was their fifth of 2010, will try to make it two in a row behind Misch, who pitched well in his first two starts this year but has yet to pick up a victory.
Misch yielded just one earned run over six innings in his season debut against Philadelphia on Aug. 14 but was victimized by poor defensive play, which led to three unearned runs, and a lack of offense in a 4-0 loss. On Thursday, the 29-year-old allowed three runs and four hits in six frames of a 4-3 loss at Houston.
The left-handed Misch is 1-2 with a 5.49 ERA in four career games, including one relief appearance, against the Marlins. Dan Uggla has just two hits in nine at-bats vs. Misch, but both hits have been home runs.
Florida counters with Alex Sanabia, who will be making his sixth major league start. The 21-year-old is 2-0 with a 3.57 ERA since moving from the bullpen to the rotation.
The right-handed Sanabia had his longest outing on Thursday, giving up just one run and four hits over 7 2/3 innings en route to a 4-2 triumph at Pittsburgh. In three road starts, he is 1-0 with a 5.54 ERA.
Sanabia made a relief appearance against the Mets on June 30, allowing two runs - one earned - in two innings to suffer the loss in a 6-5 defeat.