Met Bats Go Quiet As Surging Marlins Hammer Heilman

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The New York Sun

MIAMI – For the second time in six nights, Aaron Heilman vs. the Florida Marlins turned out to be a mismatch. This time, Florida did the dominating.


Juan Encarnacion homered and drove in four runs to help the Marlins win the rematch by beating the Mets 9-2 last night.


Heilman (1-2), who pitched an improbable one-hit shutout against Florida last Friday, gave up 11 hits and left after four innings trailing 7-0.


“I wanted to show that the last time out was not a flash in the pan,” said Heilman, whose career record fell to 4-12.”At this level it’s all about the outcome, and that’s why this night is hard to take.”


Encarnacion said the Marlins laid off Heilman’s sinker, an effective pitch in his one-hitter, and feasted on fastballs when he fell behind in the count.


One night after hitting a team-record seven homers at Philadelphia, the Mets managed just four hits and were stymied by Josh Beckett (3-1), who allowed two runs in seven innings.


The Marlins totaled a season-high 15 hits and won their fourth in a row. They’ve outscored opponents 47-4 in their six home victories.


Encarnacion, who has two grand slams this season, batted with the bases loaded for the third time this year in the sixth and singled home a run. He also had an RBI single in the third and a two run homer, his third, in the fourth. Teammate Miguel Cabrera had three hits and scored twice. Backup catcher Matt Treanor added a two-run double.


The only starters failing to get a hit off Heilman were Luis Castillo, who had the lone hit against the right-hander in New York, and Beckett.


“It’s tough to face a team twice in a row,” Beckett said. “You’ve got to change your game plan. These hitters are smart. Heilman just left a couple of pitches up. The other day I don’t think I saw him throw a pitch above the knees.”


Heilman fell to 1-7 on the road with an ERA of 7.82. Manager Willie Randolph said the right-hander will get at least one more start as a replacement for Kris Benson, sidelined by a strained chest muscle.


Beckett’s streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings at home this season ended in the fifth when Victor Diaz hit a 430-foot RBI triple. Diaz scored on Jose Reyes’s groundout.


Beckett’s ERA rose to 1.00, and Florida’s team ERA climbed to 1.88, still best in the major leagues.


Cabrera singled home a run in the first, then ran through a stop sign to score the Marlins’ second run in the third. He doubled and scored on a single by Encarnacion, ignoring a signal from coach Jeff Cox to stop at third.


Mike Lowell then singled, and Alex Gonzalez singled home a run. Treanor’s double – the Marlins’ fifth consecutive hit – made it 5-0.


“They seemed to lay off my off-speed pitches, and they were waiting for the fastball,” Heilman said. “I left a few balls up, and it led to one ugly inning.”


The Mets fell to 2-7 on the road.


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