MIAMI (AP) - The New York Mets couldn’t hit. And on the game’s final play they didn’t throw or catch very well, either.
Center fielder Juan Lagares made an off-line throw home that skipped past catcher Anthony Recker, allowing the Miami Marlins to score on a ninth-inning sacrifice fly for a 1-0 victory Wednesday.
Marcell Ozuna’s fly wasn’t deep, but Lagares threw wide of the plate, and a sliding Giancarlo Stanton scored from third.
“The throw was a little bit more off line than we’d like,” Recker said. “It was one of those do-or-die plays, and I wasn’t able to come up with it.”
The Mets were swept in the three-game series despite allowing only eight runs. They batted .157, scored three runs and were shut out in the final 23 innings.
Tom Koehler allowed New York two hits in eight innings, and Steve Cishek (3-1) pitched a perfect ninth.
“We hit some balls on the button, and there’s not much you can do,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “You just have to keep battling. There’s no answer. If there was, then someone would be the greatest hitting coach in the history of the game.”
The Mets’ scoreless streak is their longest since July 2010
New York wasted a fine effort by Zack Wheeler, who walked five in six innings but allowed only two hits. He lowered his ERA to 4.35.
“He started to run out of gas, walking four of the last six guys he faced, but he pitched a very good game,” Collins said. “You know, he’s got the stuff.”
At the plate Wheeler went 0 for 2 with a strikeout, leaving Mets pitchers 0 for 58 this season with 31 strikeouts.
The Mets lost for the sixth time in their past seven games and went 2-6 on a three-city trip. At 16-17, they dropped below .500 for the first time since they were 8-9.
“It has been very difficult,” Wheeler said. “We haven’t played well this series. It’s a tough road trip, but I think we have a good group of guys, and I think we can turn it around when we get back home.”
The walkoff loss was the Mets’ seventh at Marlins Park, which opened in 2012.
Miami finished 8-1 on its homestand and improved to 17-5 at home, best in the majors.
“We have complete confidence,” said Casey McGehee, who drew a key walk during the ninth-inning rally. “There was never a doubt in my mind we were going to get that game, no matter how long it took. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
The Marlins have won three of their past four games with walkoffs.
“They put a lot of strain on guys’ hearts,” Koehler said.
While no team has been better at home, the Marlins’ 2-10 road record is the worst in the majors. They begin an 11-game, 11-day trip Thursday in San Diego.
“We’ve just got to keep playing,” manager Mike Redmond said. “Everybody has made a huge deal of the home-road split. But this team is starting to come together. I like exactly where we’re at right now. I like the energy and the chemistry. I can’t wait to get out there.”
Stanton singled for their third hit to start the ninth against Carlos Torres (2-1). McGehee walked on a 3-2 pitch, and Stanton took third on a flyout by Garrett Jones.
Kyle Farnsworth replaced Torres, and Ozuna, who had struck out in his previous three at-bats, followed with his sacrifice fly.
NOTES: Mets LHP Scott Rice was unavailable in relief because of a sore back. … On an 85-degree afternoon, the retractable roof was closed after being open the previous two games. … Stanton’s bat broke when he grounded into a double play in the sixth. The barrel flew into the stands and slammed against an empty seat, and Stanton crossed first base still holding the handle. … The Mets play 16 of their next 19 games at home, starting Friday when Jenrry Mejia (3-0, 5.23) is scheduled to start for them against Philadelphia’s Roberto Hernandez (2-1, 4.50). … The Marlins begin their longest trip of the season with Jacob Turner (0-0, 9.90) scheduled to start against the Padres’ Ian Kennedy (2-4, 3.43).
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