NL East Wrap: Marlins top Mets in 11 innings

Monday, May 16, 2011
Posted: 11:35 p.m.Updated: May 17, 12:52 a.m.

The Associated Press
Marlins 2, Mets 1 (11 Innings)

BOX SCORE

NEW YORK -- The Florida Marlins made the New York Mets' awful day worse.

Reliever Burke Badenhop got his second career hit with two outs in the 11th inning, driving in Mike Stanton with the go-ahead run and the Marlins beat the New York Mets 2-1 on Monday night.

Badenhop (1-0) came to bat after escaping a two-on, two-out jam in the 10th. Stanton was already on second and Emilio Bonifacio was on first when Badenhop lined a single up the middle off Ryota Igarashi (2-1) for his first hit since June 3, 2008 and his second career RBI.

Leo Nunez pitched the bottom half of the 11th for his 15th save, despite allowing a two-out triple to pitcher Jonathon Niese -- pinch-hitting because the Mets were out of batters.

Stanton hit a tying homer in the seventh and Omar Infate had three hits for Florida.

The game was played in a thick, soupy mist that delayed the start by more than an hour -- and provided a perfect accompaniment for the Mets' dismal day.

David Wright had an MRI exam that revealed a stress fracture in his lower back, although the team isn't sure whether he'll go on the disabled list. Top prospect Jenrry Mejia had Tommy John surgery, and starting pitcher Chris Young had shoulder surgery. The Mets even had a minor leaguer suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance.

Once the game started, things appeared to be going better for the Mets, who had won seven of their last 10.

They took a 1-0 lead off Josh Johnson in the fourth inning, when Daniel Murphy singled through the right side of the infield and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He came around to score on a double by Justin Turner into the gap in right field.

The Mets' aggressiveness on the basepaths cost them, though. The slow-footed Jason Bay led off the inning with a single but was easily caught stealing with nobody out.

New York had another chance to score in the fifth, when Jose Reyes singled and Carlos Beltran lined a shot back at the pitcher that Johnson tried to knock down. The ball ricocheted off his forearm toward the left side of the infield for a hit, and the Marlins training staff came out to check on their ace. He got through the rest of the inning before he was lifted.

Johnson allowed a run and seven hits in five innings.

Braves 3, Astros 2

BOX SCORE

ATLANTA -- Fredi Gonzalez wouldn't accept credit for bringing Eric Hinske and Joe Mather off Atlanta's bench to start against the Astros.

"That was the only option we had," the Atlanta Braves manager said.

Hinske had three hits, including a tie-breaking single in the seventh, Mather had a two-run single and the Braves used a makeshift lineup to beat Houston 3-2 on Monday night.

Gonzalez subbed Hinske in left field and Mather in right as the Braves were missing third baseman Chipper Jones and right fielder Jason Heyward from their starting lineup.

"We're just trying to fill in for the guys who are down right now," Hinske said.

Heyward, who missed his sixth straight start with inflammation in his right shoulder, entered the game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement. In his first at-bat since Tuesday, Heyward hit a grounder in the eighth and was safe on shortstop Clint Barmes' throwing error.

Gonzalez said Heyward will start Tuesday's finale of the two-game series.

An MRI on Sunday revealed Jones has a small meniscus tear in his right knee. He had two shots in the knee Sunday and said he felt better on Monday.

Jones said he may start Tuesday if he continues to improve. If there is persistent pain, however, Jones could need arthroscopic surgery.

Tommy Hanson (5-3) gave up three hits and two runs, one earned, in seven innings. He struck out 10, one shy of his career high, with only one walk.
Nationals 4, Pirates 2

BOX SCORE

WASHINGTON -- In his first two at-bats, Danny Espinosa hit the ball as hard as he had in weeks and all he had to show for it was two more outs.

In his third at-bat, he made a very loud statement that his dreadful slump might be a thing of the past.

Espinosa blasted a two-run homer in the seventh inning Monday night to lead the Washington Nationals to a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, ending an 8-for-73 drought.

The Nationals second baseman drove the first pitch thrown by Pirates reliever Jose Ascanio into the left-field bullpen, scoring Michael Morse, who had singled off hard-luck Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm (1-6).

"My first thought was I helped the team -- we're leading," Espinosa said. "My second thought was, 'bad idea by (Pittsburgh) to bring in the righty.'"

Espinosa's 22 RBIs lead all rookies, but he has seen his average dip from .281 to .193 in the last 20 games. He has especially struggled from the left side of the plate, where he entered Monday's game hitting .175.

"At some point, it becomes, 'I've got to get something going. I need to do something,'" Espinosa said. "And the pressing isn't good, but at some point you have to press hard. The first two balls I hit, I had to laugh those off. I couldn't get angry about those because I put two good swings on the ball. I'm not going to say I'm out of the slump 100 percent because it was just one hit, but I feel better. I feel like I'm going to carry this over."

Washington manager Jim Riggleman was confident that his young player would figure things out.

"On the left side, it's been a struggle. But he's a tough kid," Riggleman said. "He gave us a great at-bat."

Jerry Hairston also homered for the light-hitting Nationals, who managed just six hits.

Washington starter John Lannan scattered seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, allowing two runs. Lannan labored early, throwing 26 first-inning pitches and allowing an RBI single to Steve Pearce before settling down enough to keep the Nationals in the game.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.