NEW YORK – Hanley Ramirez feasted on Mets pitching yet again, rookie Logan Morrison had another memorable game in New York and the Florida Marlins scored seven times in the sixth inning before coasting to an 11-4 victory Thursday night.
Ramirez hit a two-run homer and finished with three hits, going 10 for 15 in the series. He's been a pain for the Mets all season, driving in 14 runs and scoring 15 times against them.
Morrison reached base four times, including a two-run double during the Marlins' big inning, and scored three times while playing a solid left field. His father, Tom, diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in April, was finally well enough this week to take a 29-hour train ride from his home in Louisiana to see his son play in the majors for the first time.
The kid didn't disappoint him, with six hits in three games.
Anibal Sanchez (11-8) got the win for Florida, despite allowing four runs and nine hits over five sloppy innings. He improved to 4-2 since the All-Star break.
Mets slugger David Wright hit a two-run homer in the first, on the heels of a solo shot in the ninth inning Wednesday night. Just like Ramirez, Wright seems to savor every meeting between these teams — he has five homers and 14 RBIs against Florida, with eight straight multihit games.
He was just about the only bright spot for New York, though, which squandered numerous scoring opportunities and watched speedy shortstop Jose Reyes leave another game with what the team described as a "mild" right oblique strain in the second inning, the same injury that sidelined Reyes earlier this season.
New York stranded 12 runners, hit into double plays in the second and fourth innings and loaded the bases in the third before making three straight outs.
Jonathon Niese (8-6) matched his career high with eight strikeouts, but otherwise put together a pitching line to forget. He was knocked out of the game after retiring two batters in the sixth and wound up allowing more runs (seven) than hits (five). He also walked three and hit a batter with a pitch.
Niese got some support early from Wright's homer and RBIs from Angel Pagan and Jeff Francoeur each of the next two innings, but the left-hander promptly gave away half of his lead when Ramirez connected for a two-run shot in the fourth.
The real damage by the Marlins came two innings later.
Morrison was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth, Ramirez singled and Dan Uggla followed with an RBI single down the left-field line. Gaby Sanchez walked to load the bases moments later and Wes Helms hit a drive to the warning track in right-center that Francoeur somehow managed to catch just shy of the wall. The deep sacrifice fly still allowed Ramirez to tie the game.
Francoeur must have been exhausted from his long run, because he couldn't track down a blooper by Brett Hayes that bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double, pushing the Marlins ahead and Niese toward the clubhouse. Elmer Dessens then gave up run-scoring singles to Donnie Murphy and Cameron Maybin, before Morrison's two-run double made it 9-4.
The half-inning took 22 minutes, and by the time the Mets headed off the field, the relatively sparse crowd of 28,640 at Citi Field made sure to voice its displeasure.
The Marlins added two more runs in the ninth for good measure.
NOTES: Marlins RHP Ricky Nolasco (torn meniscus in right knee) felt fine after fielding drills and plans to start Saturday night in Atlanta. Nolasco skipped his turn Sunday. ... Reyes snapped an 0-for-11 skid with a single before leaving the game. The Mets said he'll hold off on all baseball activities "until he's pain free."
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