Final Score: Marlins 4, Mets 3 — Bullpen leads Mets to come-from-ahead loss

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Daisuke Matsuzaka blew a 3-0 Mets lead in the eighth inning and Gonzalez Germen allowed a game-winning RBI single to Casey McGehee in the bottom of the ninth.

The Mets had a 3-0 lead against the Marlins entering the bottom of the eighth inning but Daisuke Matsuzaka ruined any dreams of a series-opening win. Dice-K gave up three runs without recording an out, exiting with the score tied 3-3. The Mets failed to score in the top of the ninth inning and Gonzalez Germen allowed a game-winning RBI single to Casey McGehee in the bottom half of the frame to end it.

Dice-K faced five batters and was arguably left in five batters too long. He was certainly left in three batters too long, as he walked the first two batters he faced. Terry Collins should have yanked Dice-K then; heckuva job, Terry! Next up was Giancarlo Stanton, who rocketed a 3-2 pitch up the middle to plate the Marlins' first run. Then McGehee hit a catchable line-drive to Omar Quintanilla at shortstop, but Q boofed it, allowing another run to score. Jarrod Saltalamacchia capped off Dice-K's shame with an RBI double that tied the score 3-3. Credit to Kyle Farnsworth, who recorded three outs in a row without allowing a run, after entering the game with runners on second and third and no outs.

Lost in the bullpen mess was a terrific start by Jon Niese and a couple of big dongs by Daniel Murphy and Curtis Granderson. Niese threw seven shutout innings, striking out six while walking just one. His ERA is down to 1.82.

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