Marlins' team-record six errors help Mets rally for win

Mets 9, Marlins 6

MIAMI (AP) -- Trying to avert a September collapse, the New York Mets stumbled upon a simple solution: Hit the ball to the Florida Marlins.

Florida committed a team record six errors while allowing eight unearned runs, and the Mets put the brakes on their free fall by winning 9-6 on Friday night.

New York retained a 1 1/2-game lead in the NL East over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies, who beat Washington 6-3. The Mets led by seven games Sept. 12 but have won only two of eight games since.

A 10-inning loss Thursday at Florida ranked with the Mets' worst of the season, and they trailed 3-0 Friday before the Marlins' defense came to the rescue. Two errors each by third baseman Miguel Cabrera and first baseman Mike Jacobs led to seven unearned runs, and another scored on Miguel Olivo's passed ball.

"They kicked it around a little bit and let us back in the game," the Mets' David Wright said. "When you give an offense like this four or five outs an inning, we're bound to make you pay."

Hard-luck Florida starter Scott Olsen (9-15) finished the fifth inning, then angrily kicked the basepath and muttered to himself as he left the game trailing 8-3 despite allowing no earned runs. The misplays were nothing new for the last-place Marlins, who lead the major leagues with 127 errors.

"It was just one of those days," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I'm glad it's over."

The game lasted until 12:50 a.m. EDT, thanks to a thunderstorm that halted play for two hours, 21 minutes in the sixth inning. The delay came after Florida's defensive meltdown allowed New York to tie the game in the third with three unearned runs, and then score three more unearned runs in the fourth for a 6-3 lead.

Pedro Martinez (3-0) pitched five innings in his fourth start since returning from rotator cuff surgery last October. He allowed four runs, three earned, and struck out seven.

"He looked sharp again," manager Willie Randolph said. "I love his progress and the way he's looking."

Scott Schoeneweis struck out Jeremy Hermida with two on to end the eighth, then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save. Closer Billy Wagner was unavailable for the second night in a row because of back spasms, but Randolph said the left-hander might be able to pitch Saturday.

Division Magic Numbers
The magic number is derived by adding one to the number of remaining games and subtracting the number of games ahead in the loss column from the second-place team. Here's where the leaders stand:
AL EAST
Red Sox	7
AL CENTRAL
Indians	2
AL WEST
Angels	1
NL EAST
Mets	8
NL CENTRAL
Cubs	8
NL WEST
D-backs	8

Carlos Delgado, playing for the first time since a hip injury sidelined him Sept. 4, hit his 23rd homer for the Mets' lone earned run.

"The more important thing was to come back and be able to play and do the things I needed to do without pain," Delgado said. "The home run is icing on top of the cake."

The Mets lost center fielder Carlos Beltran, who left the game in the fifth after bruising the patellar tendon in his left knee when he fell on the warning track chasing an extra-base hit.

Beltran might be able to play Saturday, Randolph said.

"He just got banged up a little bit," Randolph said. "He should be OK."

New York's Moises Alou tied the game with an RBI single in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, the longest of his career and the longest in the NL this year. Paul Lo Duca had four hits, and Beltran and Jose Reyes each had a two-run single to help the Mets reduce their magic number for clinching the division to eight with nine games left.

Florida had two errors and a passed ball in the third, when New York scored three times to tie the game. Reyes singled, and Jacobs dropped a throw for an error. Olivo's passed ball brought in one run, and Beltran's grounder rolled between Cabrera's legs for an error, scoring another run. Alou's two-out RBI single made it 3-all.

"Good teams need to create breaks and take advantage of opportunities," Delgado said. "They kicked the ball around a couple of times, and we took advantage of that and came up with big hits in big situations."

Cabrera mishandled a grounder in the fourth for his 22nd error of the season, and then with two out, four consecutive Mets reached base. Reyes walked, Luis Castillo singled home a run, Wright walked and Beltran hit a two-run single.

New York scored two more unearned runs in the fourth.

"After the errors, I'm still one pitch away from getting out of it every inning," Olsen said. "That's my fault."

Game notes
The Marlins committed five errors three times, most recently May 17 of this season at Pittsburgh. ... The Mets improved to 6-1 in Miami this year. ... Olsen has lost a career-high six decisions in a row. ... Marlins CF Cody Ross left the game in the fifth inning because of a tight left hamstring. LF Josh Willingham left in the sixth because of a stiff back. Both are day to day.