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LAS VEGAS at RENO: Box

ERIE 11, BINGHAMTON 4: Rafael Montero (3-2) surrendered a career-high 10 runs and 10 hits and suffered his second straight loss. Seven runs were earned. Shortstop Wilfredo Tovar left the game in the fourth inning, but was ill and not injured, according to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. Francisco Pena had two RBIs in the loss. Binghamton grabbed the lead in the second against Erie starter Victor Larez. Blake Forsythe had a leadoff double and scored when Pena doubled. After cruising through the first three innings, Montero stumbled in the fourth. The SeaWolves plated five runs on five hits and took advantage of a fielding error by Josh Rodriguez, who had just moved to second base with Tovar's departure, to take a commanding four-run lead. Tyler Collins supplied an RBI double to tie the score, James McCann added a run-scoring single and Marcus Lemon capped the rally with a two-run triple. Collins padded the lead with a solo homer in the fifth. The SeaWolves blew the game open with four more runs in the seventh, keyed by Ramon Cabrera's three-run single. Binghamton produced two runs against Larez in the seventh, his final inning. Pena started the inning with a double and scored on Joe Bonfe’s groundout. Alonzo Harris added a solo homer. The SeaWolves plated their final run against reliever Adam Kolarek in the eighth. Pena capped a three-hit day with an RBI single in the eighth against Erie reliever Tyler Clark. Box

TAMPA 7, ST. LUCIE 3: In the continuation of Tuesday's suspended game, Marcos Camarena took over for the second inning and was charged with three runs while recording only one out among the six batters he faced. He departed after being struck in the leg with a shot off the bat of Mason Williams. Estarlin Morel, who took over for Camarena and allowed an inherited runner to score, surrendered a two-run homer in the fourth as the Yankees built a 6-1 lead. Rylan Sandoval went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs score in the loss. Domingo Tapia, who had allowed a run in the first inning Tuesday without the benefit of a hit before the game was suspended, was charged with the loss. Wednesday's regularly scheduled game was postponed by rain. Box

SAVANNAH 6, KANNAPOLIS 3: The Gnats took a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish when Jayce Boyd singled softly into right to bring home Eudy Pina in the fourth. Savannah (16-9) has won seven of the eight games on its homestand to pull into a three-way tie for first place. Savannah extended its lead to two runs in the fifth. With the bases loaded, Phillip Evans rolled a single through the right side to plate Greg Pron. Pina's infield single in the seventh brought home the Gnats' final run. Kevin Plawecki went 3-for-5 with three doubles to lift his season average to .402. He has a league-leading 15 doubles, in 24 games. The Intimidators (16-9) scored two runs in the first against starter Matt Bowman. The Gnats evened the score in the bottom half, keyed by Plawecki's RBI double. The Gnats took a 3-2 lead in the second on Chad Zurcher's sac fly. The Intimidators tied the score at 3 in the third on an RBI single by Ruben Sierra Jr. Bowman found his groove late, retiring 15 of the final 16 batters he faced after a leadoff single in the fourth. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter while becoming the first Gnats pitcher to complete eight innings this season. Box

Compiled from team reports

The win!
The Mets found a way to avoid a third embarrassing loss to the Marlins, salvaging the series finale by a run on Wednesday afternoon.

Jordany Valdespin’s pinch-hit home run was the 10th homer of his career and his sixth as a pinch-hitter. No other player entered Wednesday with more than three pinch-hit home runs since the start of last season.

Dillon Gee somehow got credited with the win, despite allowing four runs and 11 baserunners in five innings, with only one strikeout.

Mets starters have gotten two wins this season from starters with the five-inning, 11-baserunner, four-run, one-strikeout combo.

Those kinds of wins are unusual. Mets starters only had four of them from 1962 to 2012. Two of them also came in 1985- from Ron Darling and Rick Aguilera.

The walk-offs
The Mets lost the first two games of this series in walk-off fashion on consecutive days, the first time they’ve done so in 10 years.

The last time they lost via walk-off on consecutive days was also to the Marlins in 2003. And just as happened this time, the 2003 Mets lost the second game by blowing a one-run lead in the ninth inning.

The Mets have now lost eight times via walk-off wild pitch, but three of those have come within the last four seasons, including one such game against the Marlins in 2010.

Rob Brantly got the game-tying hit for the Marlins in the 15th inning, the third-latest into a game that a player got a game-tying hit against the Mets. However in the previous two instances (Yadier Molina’s game-tying hit in the 19th inning in 2010 and Rick Camp’s home run in the 18th inning in 1985), the Mets went on to win the game.

The game-winning sacrifice fly by Nick Green was the first walk-off RBI against the Mets that late into a game since 2004 when Twins backup Mike Ryan got the game-winning hit in the 15th inning against the Mets.

The Elias Sports Bureau had the capper on all of this. It marked the fifth time in Mets history that they lost at least two games in a row by walk-off, with both games being ones in which they led in the ninth inning or later.

It happened previously in 1978 (July 28 and 30 against the Astros), 1982 (August 18-20 -- two games against the Reds, one against the Braves), 1983 (April 12-13 against the Phillies), and 1980 (June 9-10 against the Pirates).

Props to Hefner
Yes, Jeremy Hefner ended up taking the loss and yes it was the Marlins, but it’s worth pointing out a few things about his performance and his last two outings.

Hefner seems to be making a concerted effort to pitch to the lower half of the strike zone more often. His rate of pitches to the lower half or below increased from 56 percent (in his first four appearances) to 64 percent (in his last two starts). That may be why his homers allowed went from dipped from seven to none.

Hefner also had considerably better offspeed stuff in those two games, particularly against a Marlins team that struck out seven times against those pitches, the most offspeed strikeouts he’s had in any major-league appearance.

MIAMI – Whether or not David Wright had been named captain in late March, moments like this week in Miami are what make the third baseman a leader, Terry Collins said.

After neck stiffness kept him out of the starting lineup Monday night, Wright hurried back. He pleaded with his manager to start Tuesday despite the lingering issue. He then produced three hits, a homer and scored three runs Wednesday afternoon as the Mets rallied for a desperately needed 7-6 win.

“He came in yesterday and told me he wanted to play,” Collins said. “I said, ‘Let’s just see how you are in a little while.’ He said, ‘Well, I’m going to get treatment, but I want to play.’ He said, ‘I’ve got to be in the lineup. We’re going through a tough time, and this is when I need to be in there.’ He’s absolutely right. That’s why he’s the captain, because he rises when you need him. He’s there when you need him. He’s the guy that everybody looks at to lead the way.”

Wright downplayed talking himself into Tuesday’s lineup.

“You want to try to be in there to help out because obviously we’ve been struggling,” said Wright, who was wrapped almost like a mummy around his neck and back at his locker after Wednesday’s win. “But it doesn’t really matter the situation. I’d like to play. And I feel like if I can help the team more than I can hurt them, then I’d like to be out there.”

Given the lingering issue, though, Wright is looking forward to an off-day Thursday before a weekend series in Atlanta.

“Tomorrow is going to be good to try to get some rest,” Wright said. “If I feel like I can help, then I want to play. The off day is going to be good, though.”

MIAMI -- Dillon Gee felt badly he was awarded Wednesday’s victory.

Gee surrendered three first-inning runs and ultimately was charged with four runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings. He was credited with the win to improve to 2-4 because Jordany Valdespin produced a go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the sixth.

Gee had only thrown 70 pitches when Terry Collins lifted him with a one-run lead for the bottom of the sixth. That was an indication of how badly Gee was struggling with his control. Gee will get an extra day of rest before his next start because of Thursday’s team off-day, so there was no strict pitch limit on him.

“I wasn’t really pleased with anything I did today,” Gee said after the 7-6 victory. “I’m happy the team won. We needed that. That was good. Everybody did a great job. But as far as I’m concerned, I actually almost feel bad for getting a win today.”

Gee’s ERA is now 6.16. He has allowed four or more runs in four of his past five outings.

“It was a battle. That’s what it was,” Gee said about Wednesday’s effort. “I didn’t feel very good in the bullpen and it carried over into the game. I’m glad to throw up some zeroes after that first inning, but I’ve got to do better than that. The guys picked me up.”

Asked to define not feeling good, Gee added: “Sometimes you just don’t feel that good. Your body, you can tell almost in the bullpen that it was going to be a struggle and a battle. I had trouble locating the pitches. Like I said, we won. So that’s good.”

MIAMI -- A day later, Bobby Parnell got a chance to close out the game. He did not disappoint.

After consecutive games in which the Mets failed to protect a one-run leads with three outs to play, Parnell breezed through a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out a 7-6 win Wednesday afternoon against the Miami Marlins. He required only seven pitches.

Parnell had been upset with Terry Collins for failing to use him in the ninth inning Tuesday. Collins explained to Parnell that night that he did not want to overuse the closer and risk causing elbow troubles. Brandon Lyon instead tossed a game-ending wild pitch. Parnell had logged two innings Monday in a blown save.

“I heard it and understood it right off the bat,” Parnell said about his Tuesday night conversation with Collins. “I’m competitive. Your competitive nature, you want to be out there and help the team. I understand what he said completely and I agree with it. Sometimes you don’t want to hear it.”

Was Parnell angry?

“I feel like I’m pretty laid back. I probably wasn’t laid back,” Parnell said with a laugh. “But I wasn’t pissed. C’mon. I was not happy. Not happy, but understood.”

Wednesday’s save conversion, which allowed the Mets to snap a six-game losing streak, made it simpler to put everything behind heading into a team off-day.

“If you get a chance the next day it makes it easier,” Parnell said. “But, I mean, time heals all. It wasn’t a big deal. It’s not a big deal.”

MIAMI -- Too valuable to be an everyday player?

The more success Jordany Valdespin has as a pinch hitter, the less often he might find himself cracking the starting lineup regularly -- even with the Mets’ desperately needing outfield contributions.

Since Valdespin launched a walk-off grand slam last Wednesday to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets had lost six straight games. That skid ended this afternoon, when Valdespin again launched a homer.

This time, Valdespin produced a pinch-hit three-run shot in the sixth against right-handed reliever A.J. Ramos to stake the Mets to a one-run lead en route to a 7-6 victory against the Miami Marlins.

“He’s mastered the art of pinch hitting,” David Wright said. “I’ve pinch hit a few times in my career, and he makes it look a lot easier than it really is. I mean, he’s figured out a way to get himself loose and get himself ready. It’s impressive to watch because he goes up there and has a good at-bat cold.”

Said Terry Collins: “That’s what he does. For some reason he loves to come off the bench. Everybody likes to play, but he loves to come off the bench when the pressure is on, the heat is on. He’s amazing. I mean, it’s truly amazing what he’s done as a pinch hitter. His eyes seem to get bigger, and he seems to see the ball better.”

So success means more playing time?

Well, maybe not.

Collins noted the value in being able to pick a spot to insert Valdespin as a pinch hitter late in games given his knack for rising to occasions. Valdespin had a franchise-record five pinch-hit homers last season.

“One of those things with those bench players like that, you create the scene for them,” Collins said. “If he’s hitting third, he doesn’t come up in that situation. If he’s hitting first, he doesn’t come up there. All of a sudden, here comes the eighth hitter in a big situation. Here he is. Now you can put him in.

“When you start the game, you look at the other team’s bench and you’re saying, ‘OK, who are they going to use if it’s a big situation? We’ve got to have somebody ready.’ Today, when they brought the reliever in, we had someone ready for him.”

As an everyday player, Collins said, Valdespin tends to change his approach at the plate.

“He gets a little aggressive at times where he gets out front a little bit,” Collins said. “But, for some reason in those big situations, he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t get that big stride going. And I think it helps.”

Maybe pinch hitting just suits Valdespin’s personality?

“It might be,” hitting coach Dave Hudgens said. “He’s real intense and high energy and high emotion. And he kind of feeds off that kind of situation.”

Said Valdespin: “I’m ready for any situation they want. Just give me the chance to get in there and do my job. That’s what I want to do.”

WHAT IT MEANS: Jordany Valdespin was “El Hombre” Wednesday afternoon.

With the Mets in danger of getting swept by the lowly Miami Marlins, Valdespin produced a pinch-hit three-run homer in the sixth against Marlins reliever A.J. Ramos to stake the Mets to a one-run lead.

John Buck added a two-run double an inning later -- which it turned out the Mets would desperately need -- and the Amazin’s narrowly held on to salvage the finale, 7-6, at Marlins Park. The Mets (11-15) snapped a six-game losing streak.

Scott Atchison, protecting a 7-4 lead in his second inning of work in the seventh, surrendered three straight one-out singles. On the third of those hits, by Justin Ruggiano, Donovan Solano and Greg Dobbs had stopped in scoring position. But the ball got by left fielder Lucas Duda and both restarted and scored as the Marlins pulled within 7-6 with the pair of unearned runs.

The Mets had failed to protect one-run leads with three outs to go three times in the first two games of the series. This time, they stranded the potential tying run at third base in consecutive late innings and eked out a win.

Atchison left Ruggiano at third base in the seventh by getting Chris Valaika to fly out. An inning later, after Nick Green doubled against LaTroy Hawkins and reached third with two outs, Scott Rice entered and retired Juan Pierre on a groundout.

Bobby Parnell, who was upset he went unused Tuesday in a game Brandon Lyon uncorked a game-ending wild pitch, this time handled the ninth. Parnell retired the Marlins 1-2-3 on seven pitches for his third save.

SPIN-SANITY: Valdespin had set a franchise record with five pinch-hit homers a season ago. He had been 1-for-10 with a single, RBI and four strikeouts this season as a pinch-hitter before Wednesday’s three-run shot.

Six of Valdespin’s 10 career homers have come as a pinch hitter, which is one reason Terry Collins uses to justify using Valdespin in that role rather than as a more frequent starter.

That pinch-hit homer total does not include his walk-off grand slam last Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which came two innings after Valdespin entered that game as a pinch hitter and then took over in center field, also for Juan Lagares.

This afternoon, Ramos had inherited two baserunners with two outs from left-handed starter Wade LeBlanc. The righty reliever’s insertion prompted Collins to counter with the lefty-hitting Valdespin for the righty-hitting Lagares.

GEE FIZZ: Dillon Gee surrendered four runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings. He was pulled with his pitch count at a modest 70 after Valdespin provided the 5-4 lead. Gee’s ERA ballooned to 6.16.

WRIGHT STUFF: David Wright and Buck each had three hits. Wright scored three times.

Wright put the Mets in position for Valdespin’s three-run shot to be meaningful. He pulled the Mets within 3-1 with a solo homer in the fourth. And Wright doubled to lead off the sixth against LeBlanc and scored on Marlon Byrd’s two-out single to make it 4-2.

Wright has three homers this season. The other two came against Juan Nicasio in Colorado on April 16.

WHAT’S NEXT: After an off-day in Atlanta, the Mets play a weekend series against the first-place Braves at Turner Field. Shaun Marcum (0-2, 7.94 ERA), who pitched in relief on Monday, starts Friday night’s series opener opposite left-hander Mike Minor (3-2, 3.13).

MIAMI -- Trying to get Justin Turner into the lineup while also leaving his infield intact, Terry Collins said he weighed using Turner in the outfield Wednesday for the first time since brief usage there in 2006 at Class A Billings.

Collins opted to leave Turner out of the lineup rather than have his reintroduction to the position come in a spacious ballpark with tricky outfield walls.

Collins did not want to sit Daniel Murphy or Ike Davis. They are a combined 7-for-15 with two homers in their careers against Marlins left-hander Wade LeBlanc.

FRANK TALK: Frank Francisco is due to have a two-inning appearance today or tomorrow in Port St. Lucie, Fla. After a day to recuperate, Francisco then may work back-to-back days for the first time since opening the season on the DL with elbow inflammation. Collins said Francisco's fastball has been about 92 mph, with some 94s.

Meanwhile, Pedro Feliciano -- who is back to appearing in Florida State League games -- was registering 85-86 mph with his fastball before a recent shutdown due to food poisoning, according to Collins. Feliciano has resumed pitching with the FSL club.

O YES? Collins, perhaps toeing the party line, said he is pleased with the Mets' approach at the plate, despite the recent futility. The Mets have scored three or fewer runs in eight of their past 12 games.

Collins noted even talented starting pitchers are not going deep into games against the Mets. During the past dozen games, the Mets drove up pitch counts and got pitchers out of the games early. Stephen Strasburg logged six innings, Gio Gonzalez four, Jordan Zimmermann five, Clayton Kershaw five, Ted Lilly five and Jose Fernandez four.

Collins suggested that the Mets just are not squaring up balls against opposing bullpens.

BP SPIEL: Bobby Parnell and Collins spoke late Tuesday, after the closer was upset he was unused with a one-run lead in the ninth. Collins affirmed Parnell was the closer and told him he did not intend to overdue early season use. Last season, Collins said, Parnell developed a sore elbow, which might have resulted from overuse. "I'm not going to blow you out," Collins told Parnell.

ENCOURAGING SIGN: Collins was particularly pleased that Zack Wheeler didn't walk a batter until his seventh and final inning in a solid outing for Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday. The manager, who spent 13 years in the Pacific Coast League, said he understands balls can be difficult to grip with the high altitude and dryness. Collins noted in his days in that league, it was not uncommon for pitchers to have pine tar lathered in their glove in order to illegally use to grip baseballs.

MIAMI -- Here are the lineups for Wednesday's 12:40 p.m. game against the Miami Marlins as the Mets try to avoid getting swept.

Terry Collins had indicated Justin Turner, who is hitting .491 in seven starts this season, likely would get the nod at first base against left-hander Wade LeBlanc. But Collins stuck with Ike Davis. Lefty batters are hitting .333 with three homers in 27 at-bats against LeBlanc this season, while righties are hitting a comparably robust .338 with one homer in 77 at-bats.

The Mets have lost in walk-off fashion on back-to-back days for the first time since April 9-10, 2003, also against the Marlins. Then, Ivan Rodriguez against Mike Stanton and Juan Pierre against Armando Benitez -- the same Juan Pierre as now -- delivered RBI singles.

Mets
Ruben Tejada, ss
Daniel Murphy, 2b
David Wright, 3b
John Buck, c
Lucas Duda, lf
Marlon Byrd, rf
Ike Davis, 1b
Juan Lagares, cf
Dillon Gee, rhp

Marlins
Juan Pierre, lf
Donovan Solano, 2b
Greg Dobbs, 1b
Justin Ruggiano, cf
Marcell Ozuna, rf
Chris Valaika, 3b
Miguel Olivo, c
Nick Green, ss
Wade LeBlanc, lhp

During his sophomore season at Baylor University in 2010, right-hander Logan Verrett set the Big 12 single-season record for strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.14. That ratio has only improved in the professional ranks.

Verrett, the Mets’ third-round pick in 2011, has struck out 113 and walked 23 in 136 professional innings (4.91 K/BB).

He is 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in five starts for Double-A Binghamton this season.

“What’s been successful for me all through my career -- college and my first [pro] year -- was the ability to throw strikes,” said Verrett, who split last season in Class A between Savannah and St. Lucie. “What I’ve improved mostly on is the ability to do that with all four of my pitches (fastball, curveball, slider, changeup) -- not just two, or three if it’s a good night.

“All four of my pitches have been pitches that I can throw in any count, and for a strike if I need to. That’s been a huge deal for me this year -- being able to change speeds like that in any given count with any given pitch and keeping the hitters off-balance. It’s kind of allowing them to get themselves out earlier in counts, which keeps my pitch count down and allows me to go deeper into games.”

Verrett, 22, had gone undrafted out of high school in Corpus Christi, Texas -- located midway between San Antonio and the Mexican border.

He is not a flamethrower by any stretch. His fastball typically ranges 88-92 mph.

“I was always able to keep the walks down and the strikeouts up,” Verrett said. “My slider has always been my go-to pitch. And in college it was no different. Whenever I got ahead of hitters, I was able to put them away with that slider.

“Obviously, at this [Double-A] level, I’m sure the strikeout-to-walk ratio will drop a little bit from the college numbers. They’re more selective. They can pick up pitches. They’re here for a reason. That’s why the other two pitches -- the curveball and the changeup -- have been good additions. I’ve always had them, but I hadn’t been able to just throw them at any count.”

Organization leaders

Average: Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, .391; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, .385; Andrew Brown, Vegas, .355; Juan Lagares, Vegas, .346; Josh Satin, Vegas, .330; Brandon Nimmo, Savannah, .322; Jamie Hoffmann, Vegas, .306; Cory Vaughn, Binghamton, .291; T.J. Rivera, St. Lucie, .287; Matt Reynolds, St. Lucie, .274.

Homers: Dustin Lawley, St. Lucie, 5; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 4; Josh Satin, Vegas, 4; Cory Vaughn, Binghamton, 4.

RBI: Andrew Brown, Vegas, 24; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, 22; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 20; T.J. Rivera, St. Lucie, 19.

Steals: Alonzo Harris, Binghamton, 10; Darrell Ceciliani, Binghamton, 7; Cesar Puello, Binghamton, 6; Danny Muno, Binghamton, 5; Brian Bixler, Vegas, 4; Stefan Sabol, Savannah, 4.

ERA: Robert Gsellman, St. Lucie, 0.00; Rainy Lara, Savannah, 1.88; Rafael Montero; Binghamton, 1.95; Matt Bowman, Savannah, 2.38; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 2.48; Domingo Tapia, St. Lucie, 2.49; Hansel Robles, St. Lucie, 2.49; Luis Cessa, Savannah, 2.70; Collin McHugh, Vegas, 2.97; Noah Syndergaard, St. Lucie, 3.24.

Wins: Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 4; Matt Bowman, Savannah, 3; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 3; Rainy Lara, Savannah, 3; Rafael Montero, Binghamton, 3.

Saves: Jeff Walters, Binghamton, 8; T.J. Chism, St. Lucie, 3.

Strikeouts: Zack Wheeler, Vegas, 36; Rafael Montero, Binghamton, 35; Jacob deGrom, Binghamton, 26; Noah Syndergaard, St. Lucie, 26; Erik Goeddel, Binghamton, 25.

Short hops

• Right-hander Rainy Lara earned South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors. He tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out nine, Saturday against West Virginia. Lara, a 22-year-old Dominican signed in 2009, improved to 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts with Savannah. He has struck out 24 and walked three in 24 innings.

• 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo, who had a .414 average on April 23, is in an 0-for-20 skid that has dropped that average 92 points.

• Center fielder Matt den Dekker, who suffered a fractured right wrist March 24 in Grapefruit League play, had the cast removed Monday. Den Dekker needs to do range-of-motion rehab for two weeks before beginning baseball activity.

• Ex-Yankees right-hander D.J. Mitchell entered the Triple-A Las Vegas rotation Monday after one appearance in extended spring training.

• Right-hander Robert Gsellman made his season debut with St. Lucie on Monday, tossing four scoreless innings against the Tampa Yankees. Gsellman was selected in the 13^th round in 2011 out of Westchester (Calif.) High near Los Angeles. Gsellman, 19, had been pitching in extended spring training. He has a fastball, curveball and changeup.

Gsellman temporarily has replaced prospect Hansel Robles (2-1, 2.49 ERA), who landed on the disabled list. Robles’ velocity has been way down according to observers, to the mid-80s. A team official said the injury is not severe, calling it fatigue in the upper back/shoulder/scapula and in soft tissue. “More like a strain.”

• Left-hander Alex Panteliodis, who made 22 starts for Savannah last season after being slowed by a hip cleanout at the beginning of his pro career, will make his season debut as the starter for St. Lucie on Thursday. Panteliodis is a ninth-round pick in 2011 out of the University of Florida, which also yielded den Dekker for the Mets two years earlier.

• Noah Syndergaard, the right-handed prospect acquired in the R.A. Dickey trade, has responded since allowing a career-high seven runs on April 18. Over his past two starts, Syndergaard has limited opponents to two runs (none earned) on eight hits and three walks while striking out 11 in 13 innings.

• Catcher Kevin Plawecki (.391) and first baseman Jayce Boyd (.385) rank Nos. 1 and 2 in the South Atlantic League in batting average.

• Right-hander Michael Fulmer, returning from surgery to repair a meniscus tear, tossed two innings Monday in extended spring training.

MIAMI

FIRST PITCH: The Mets’ losing streak has reached six games after the club failed to protect a one-run lead with three outs remaining for a second straight day at Marlins Park.

Now, Dillon Gee (1-4, 5.96 ERA) takes the mound for a 12:40 p.m. game opposite Marlins left-hander Wade LeBlanc (0-4, 6.20) today, trying to prevent the sweep. Miami has not swept a series of three-plus games against the Mets since May 13-16, 2010 at Sun Life (aka Dolphin Stadium).

Wednesday’s news reports:

• Jeremy Hefner took a scoreless effort into the ninth in a bid for his first pro shutout, but he departed with runners on the corners and none out after a disputed play at third base and with the Mets leading by a run. Brandon Lyon ultimately became the eighth pitcher in Mets history to uncork a game-ending wild pitch as the Marlins beat the Mets, 2-1, Tuesday night.

Terry Collins chose not to use Bobby Parnell in the game because of previous workload, which irked the closer. Afterward, Collins described himself as “pissed off” by the manner and frequency of recent losing. David Wright, who returned to the starting lineup after a one-game absence with neck stiffness, said the onus is on the offense for not producing runs.

Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Newsday, Star-Ledger, Record, Times, Journal, Miami Herald and MLB.com.

• Columnist Bob Klapisch in the Record suggests Collins is on the clock. Writes Klapisch:

The countdown on Terry Collins began on the first day of pitchers and catchers and nothing so far has made it any easier to believe he’ll be back with the Mets in 2014. Of course, Collins has handled his lame-duck status with grace and maturity -- he’s an honest guy, good with people -- but that hasn’t stopped Sandy Alderson from letting his manager continue to drift away from the mother ship.

Collins, no dummy, knows he would’ve already received a vote of confidence, even in private, if Alderson and Jeff Wilpon were entirely sold on his body of work. Both men know what job security -- or its absence -- does to a manager’s standing in the clubhouse. Without a commitment from ownership, Collins looks like a short-timer on a bad team, a latter-day George Bamberger. The current six-game losing streak, including embarrassing back-to-back losses to the Marlins, doesn’t help his cause, either.

• Read more on Parnell going unused in the Star-Ledger.

• Zack Wheeler corrected a mechanical issue and kept his shoulders more square with the plate during his delivery and proceeded to turn in his best 2013 performance as Las Vegas beat Reno, 10-2, Tuesday afternoon. Wheeler’s line: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.

Writes columnist John Harper in the Daily News:

Flashing the overpowering arsenal that makes him such a highly touted prospect, Wheeler dominated the Reno Aces on Tuesday, mostly overmatching hitters for 6.2 innings in a 10-2 victory for Triple-A Las Vegas.

“That’s why I keep saying that when it clicks for him, look out,” said Vegas manager Wally Backman. “He’s plus-plus with just about all of his pitches, and today his command was much better. If he reels off two or three more starts like this one …”

Backman didn’t have to finish the sentence. A National League scout in attendance said it for him:

“He could go to the big leagues right now and have success the way he threw today,” the scout said.

Marc Carig in Newsday suggests it will be at least another month before Wheeler is in the majors.

Read more on Wheeler’s Tuesday outing in the Post and MLB.com.

• Read Tuesday’s full minor league recap here.

• Collins offered a reference to the decision to let Johan Santana reach a career-high pitch count in the historic no-hitter last June 1 while explaining Matt Harvey going 121 pitches Monday in Miami.

“I don’t think you sacrifice the organization’s future -- Matt Harvey himself, or this organization -- for 10 more pitches,” Collins said during a pitch-limit discussion. “It’s not worth it. It just isn’t worth it. That’s what I felt last year when we let Johan go out there in the no-hitter. OK, history’s being made here, but it turned out not to be a very good idea by the way. A lot of people are happy they saw the no-hitter, but I wish he was starting today, I can tell you that.”

Read more in the Star-Ledger and Daily News.

• Jared Diamond in the Journal wonders if Lucas Duda should lead off. Stats guru Bill James told Diamond he thought the idea had merit. Writes Diamond:

He stands 6 feet 4, weighs 255 pounds and is one of the slowest runners on the team. He is Lucas Duda, and he might be the Mets' perfect leadoff hitter. Stop laughing. Think about it for a second: Duda constantly gets on base, sees a zillion pitches and seldom chases a ball out of the strike zone. In other words, he is the ideal leadoff hitter -- just one trapped in the body of a lumberjack. Is the idea really that crazy?

"Probably," hitting coach Dave Hudgens said. "That'd make headlines. I don't think that's ever been thought of."

• Shaun Marcum, despite being used in relief Monday, is scheduled to start Friday in Atlanta as previously planned.

• Minor league infielder Brandon Brown was suspended 50 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Brown had been released by the Mets in March.

• From the bloggers … Blogging Mets says despite a high on-base percentage, Duda is not getting the job done. … Faith and Fear in Flushing believes the decay of the 2013 season is escalating.

BIRTHDAYS: Manny Acosta, who signed with Yomiuri in Japan in December, turns 33. … Retired catcher Joe Hietpas is 34. … Catcher Charlie O’Brien in 53.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

@adamrubinespn good!!! So is everyone else

— Patrick Trupiano (@TheTrupHurts9) May 1, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Should the Mets put Zack Wheeler at more pitcher-friendly Double-A Binghamton, leave him with Triple-A Las Vegas or promote him to the majors?

MIAMI -- Probably unfairly, Jeremy Hefner suggested he had no one to blame for Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins but himself.

Hefner, bidding for his first career shutout, surrendered a pair of baserunners to open the ninth inning and departed with runners on the corners. Brandon Lyon allowed both inherited runners to score in the walk-off loss, which actually dropped Hefner to 0-3 this season.

"I go back to what the definition of a starting pitcher, what their job is supposed to do," Hefner said. "They're supposed to go out and throw nine innings every time out and give the team a chance to win. I did most of that. I wish I could have finished it off. They got a run for me, and that's my responsibility to go out there and finish the game off."

Hefner was at 99 pitches after eight innings and Terry Collins noted he merited going out for the ninth.

"They asked if I wanted to go back out and finish it and I said, 'Let's do it,'" Hefner said. "I had every intention. I was just as aggressive."

Said catcher Anthony Recker: "He didn't deserve those runs or that loss."

MIAMI -- Terry Collins did not mince words after the Mets lost their second straight game in which they were three outs from victory.

"I'm pissed off. I'm extremely pissed off," Collins said. "We've been in two games. You know, we were in two games at home we should have won. They're playing as hard as they can. We're not hitting. The pitchers are living on the edge constantly."

MIAMI -- Bobby Parnell shooed away a reporter after Tuesday's 2-1 loss, telling him: "Nope." The closer did not have to say anything more to demonstrate his displeasure with going unused with the Mets clinging to a one-run lead in the ninth inning.

Terry Collins said he knows Parnell is upset. But the manager wanted to protect Parnell from overuse and injury risk, so he went with Brandon Lyon instead after Jeremy Hefner departed with runners on the corners and none out. Lyon ultimately allowed both inherited runners to score.

Parnell had logged a season-high 35 pitches over two innings Monday night in a blown save. He had worked Sunday, too, and four of the past six days overall.

"Last year I did this to him and he ended up having a sore elbow," Collins said about overusing Parnell. "And I'm not going to do that the first day of May. He's mad and he should be, because he's the closer. I'm just not going to break this guy this early. We didn't have him. Brandon pitched great last night. He had a tough situation with Juan Pierre at first base. You know he's going to get into scoring position. You've got to get outs, and we didn't get them."