Mets 7, Marlins 5: Ageless Miguel Batista, Marlins FundamentLOLs Pave The Way To Victory

I would like the power to save
the souls in agony
who sustain the hope
of improving some day.

-- Miguel Batista, excerpted from his poetry compilation Sentimientos en Blanco y Negro

Batista wrote those words years before joining the Mets but on this night they are apropos. The 40 year-old Batista tossed six serviceable innings, allowing two runs on six hits, sending the ~25,000 souls in attendance home happy. Perhaps one of those souls will inscribe the poem on a Citi Field Fanwalk Brick the next time the Wilpons want to raise some cash, commemorating the night when a pitcher with a 1.11 K/BB ratio since 2008 helped the Mets win their fourth game out of five against the hated Marlins.

Speaking of the Fish, their famously awful defense was on display tonight. They made three errors, including two in the bottom of the third inning in which the Mets scored four runs. Keith Hernandez remains unimpressed by their fundies. David Wright struck the big blow in the third, a two-run single up the middle with the bases loaded which gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. Wright went 1-for-2 with 2 walks on the night and was 9-for-16 with 4 walks in the 5-game series. A monster D-Wright September would provide a nice heaping of optimism for the fanbase heading into the offseason. Lucas Duda went 1-for-3 with an RBI double in the eighth inning and a walk. Ruben Tejada was 1-for-2 with a double and a pair of HBPs. The second one hit him in the left hand but it is a day-to-day injury.

D.J. Carrasco and Bobby Parnell tried their best to give away a five-run lead in the ninth inning, allowing a combined three runs on four hits, but Greg Dobbs popped out to end it. Mike Stanton and his 24-inch pythons were left flexing in the on-deck circle.

Manny Acosta tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning, requiring just 7 pitches to do so. Acosta had a rough few weeks back in June when he was called up but has pitched well since then. In 25.2 innings pitched since June 28, he has a 1.40 ERA with 26 strikeouts and 6 walks. Only Taylor Buchholz has a better K/BB ratio on the Mets' staff this season and he hasn't pitched since May. Not bad for the man dubbed "The Acostalypse".

Josh Thole left the game in the second inning after being struck on the left hand by a pitch from Batista. The two were crossed up on a pitch call. X-rays were negative but Thole will have an MRI Friday morning.

We're not really into pitcher W-L record as a useful statistic around here but it's worth mentioning that Batista won his 100th career game tonight. So congratulations are in order (beautiful MS Paint via our own Steve Schreiber):

Our heroes open up a three game set in Washington against the Nationals tomorrow night at 7:10 PM. R.A. Dickey will square off against Ross Detwiler.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Fish Stripes Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: David Wright +18.0%, Lucas Duda +15.9%
Big losers: Jason Bay -8.1%, Nick Evans -6.7%
Teh aw3s0mest play: David Wright two-RBI single +17.4%
Teh sux0rest play: Emilio Bonifacio -10.6%
Total pitcher WPA: +19.1%
Total batter WPA: +30.9%
GWRBI!: N/A

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the game thread embiggens us all.