Marlins complete 4 game sweep of Mets

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Florida Marlins complete four-game sweep of Mets

Chris Coghlan capped a 12-pitch at-bat with a pinch-hit, three-run homer, as the Marlins nearly blew a 7-0 lead before finishing a four-game sweep of the Mets.

Florida Marlins' Ricky Nolasco (47) scores as New York Mets catcher Henry Blanco. left, waits for the throw in the third inning during a baseball game in Miami, Sunday, May 16, 2010. Lynne Sladky / AP Photo

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WEB VOTE Who has been the biggest surprise for the Marlins in 2010? Leo Nunez Nate Robertson Gaby Sanchez Other

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BY CLARK SPENCER

cspencer@MiamiHerald.com

It was wild. It was wacky.

``It was very, very weird,'' Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco said.

Most of all, it was simply wonderful for the Marlins.

In what arguably was one of the more compelling games of the season -- one involving a touch of everything -- the Marlins held on for a 10-8 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday to complete a four-game sweep of their division rivals.

Outstanding defensive plays? It had those.

Lousy defensive plays? Check.

Good pitching. Bad pitching. Long balls and bunts. It had all that.

And it had drama.

Chris Coghlan came off the bench in the seventh inning for an exhausting 12-pitch at-bat, one featuring seven consecutive foul balls, that culminated in a three-run, pinch-hit home run. Coghlan's belt off Mets reliever Fernando Nieve rejuvenated the Marlins, who were teetering on the edge of a colossal collapse.

``What an at-bat,'' Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez exclaimed. ``If that doesn't happen, we might still be out there playing.''

As it was, the Marlins pulled off their first four-game series sweep since 2006.

``It's a difficult feat,'' Gonzalez said.

The Marlins made it even more difficult by allowing a Sunday waltz turn into a cliff-hanger.

By scoring six runs in the third inning, it appeared that the Marlins had delivered a quick knockout punch. And a wild inning it was, with the Marlins sending 12 men to the plate, Mets starter Jonathon Niese injuring a hamstring that forced him to leave the game, and Mets fielders committing two errors.

Nolasco got involved, too. He scored from second on Gaby Sanchez's bunt single, though not without some confusion. After fielding the bunt, Niese threw it past the first baseman for an error. Nolasco charged around third but thought he might have missed the bag.

``I was pretty sure I touched it, but I didn't want to leave any doubt,'' said Nolasco, who retreated to touch third before taking off again for home. He scored sliding. and the inning continued with three more runs scoring.

Niese ended up leaving the game after that play with a hamstring injury.

COMEBACK BEGINS

Dan Uggla made it 7-0 in the fifth with his eighth home run.

But the Marlins began to come unraveled in the sixth. Nolasco had a two-hit shutout going, only to see it crumble. The Mets scored three runs in the inning, all coming after replays showed umpire Angel Campos possibly missed a call at first for what would have been the third out.

``I think everyone knows what the result was, and he just missed it,'' Nolasco said. ``He just missed it and they're human. And I did a terrible job of not getting my team back in the dugout. I feel I let them back in the game.''

ON VERGE OF HISTORY

The Mets weren't done there. They scored three more times in the seventh to cut the lead to 7-6. Suddenly, the Marlins were on the verge of sustaining one of the biggest collapses in club history. The largest blown lead culminating in a loss belonged to the 108-loss Marlins of 1998, who once blew a 7-0 lead against the Phillies in an eventual 10-9 loss.

``They never rolled over,'' Gonzalez said of the Mets. ``They kept battling back and battling back.''

With two on in the seventh Gonzalez sent in Coghlan to pinch-hit.

What followed was a protracted at bat in which Nieve and Coghlan locked horns. After the count went to 2-1, Coghlan fouled off seven consecutive pitches. The 11th pitch was called a ball, making the count full. Coghlan hit the next pitch over the wall in center, a three-run shot that enabled the Marlins to catch their breath.

``I know it was a big at-bat for our team,'' Coghlan said. ``To be able to come off the bench and knock some guys in, and put the game out of reach, basically, that's what you want to do when you come off the bench.''

It was the second career pinch-hit for Coghlan. The other was also a home run, hit last season.

His blast gave the Marlins a 10-6 lead, but still the Mets weren't finished.

They scored once in the eighth off reliever Burke Badenhop and managed to make closer Leo Nu