MIAMI — Cameron Maybin tied a career high with three RBIs and the Florida Marlins beat the slumping New York Mets 7-5 on Saturday night for their season-best third consecutive win.
Florida totaled 12 hits and had help from John Maine, whose first 12 pitches were balls. Maine (1-3) lasted five innings but gave up six runs, increasing his ERA to 6.13.
The Mets fell below .500 for the first time since April 24 and matched their longest losing streak of the season with their fourth consecutive defeat. They’re 4-11 on the road and last in the major leagues in away victories.
Nate Robertson (4-3) allowed three runs, two earned, in 5 2-3 innings. He’s the lone newcomer in Florida’s rotation this season and leads the team in victories.
Leo Nunez, Florida’s fourth reliever, pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances. He benefited from a baserunning gaffe by Rod Barajas, who was thrown out by left fielder Chris Coghlan trying to stretch a leadoff single into a double. Nunez gave up two more hits, including an RBI single by Luis Castillo, before Angel Pagan bounced out to end the game.
Marlins right fielder Cody Ross threw out Ike Davis trying to score from second on a one-out single in the second.
Hanley Ramirez had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run to help the Marlins (19-18) climb above .500. Jorge Cantu added three hits, including an RBI double.
New York’s sputtering offense showed signs of life with 13 hits. David Wright drove in two runs with his eighth homer and a sacrifice fly. Castillo drove in two runs and had an RBI triple for his first extra-base hit from the left side this season. Jose Reyes, returning to the leadoff spot after manager Jerry Manuel tweaked the lineup, contributed a single and a double.
That wasn’t enough, and now the Mets (18-19) have lost all five road series this year. They’ll try to avoid a four-game sweep Sunday when Jonathon Niese faces Florida’s Ricky Nolasco.
The crowd of 26,007 was still settling in when Maine walked the bases loaded in the first. He finally threw a strike to Cantu, who then lined out. Dan Uggla ducked out of the way of a 3-2 pitch to force in a run, and Maybin hit a two-out, two-run single.
Maine needed 40 pitches to get through the inning.
After the Mets rallied to tie it at 3, Florida again scored three runs against Maine in the fifth, this time without any bases on balls. Ramirez and Cantu doubled, Ross hit an RBI single and Maybin followed with a sacrifice fly.
Wright homered to center in the second, and the Mets tied it in the third with two runs, one unearned. Reyes reached on a bunt single and continued to second when Robertson made an errant throw after fielding the ball. Pagan walked, Jason Bay hit an RBI single and Wright followed with a sacrifice fly.
NOTES: The first homer by a left-handed hitter for the Marlins — by Coghlan — came in their 36th game Friday. The Marlins said that’s the longest such drought to start a season since 1963, when Houston’s first homer by a lefty was in its 52nd game by 19-year-old Rusty Staub, based on research by the Elias Sports Bureau. … Mets OF Carlos Beltran, who has been rehabilitating in nearby Port St. Lucie following knee surgery, visited the clubhouse before the game. He has begun a running program and is expected to face live pitching starting next week. … Nolasco is 3-6 in 16 games against the Mets with a 5.82 ERA.
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