Perez Strong As Mets Win

Anthony Di Como at Mets.com, writes about the Mets win this afternoon over the Marlins:

The start of the day belonged to Perez, who, after allowing a run-scoring Miguel Cabrera single in the first, allowed just one more hit the rest of the way. But trouble in the sixth inning cut his afternoon short after just 5 2/3 innings. After loading the bases on a single and two walks, Perez let up a hot liner off the bat of Joe Borchard -- right to third baseman David Wright, who watched as it popped in and out of his glove for a two-run error. It was Wright's second miscue of the game.

But rookie Joe Smith came in to douse the fire, and the Mets more than made up for the inning with an offensive day that was at once both frustrating and productive. The Mets left 12 men on base through the first five innings, but kept pounding out hits with such frequency that it didn't seem to matter.

Recent callup Ruben Gotay started the scoring in the second inning with an RBI single, his first hit as a Met. Then it was Perez's turn, sparking two-run rallies in both the fourth and the fifth innings with singles.

In the fourth, his leadoff poke paved the way for run-scoring hits by both Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. And an inning later, his one-out knock set up an Endy Chavez two-run single and Wright's RBI single -- his fifth hit in the past two games.

The win allowed the Mets to salvage one game of a three-game set that saw them lose the first two to the Marlins.

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