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The Mets salvaged the finale of their interleague series in Toronto, holding on for a 6-5 win when former Blue Jays closer Frank Francisco struck out three straight batters in the ninth after allowing a leadoff walk to Yunel Escobar, then single by Jose Bautista through the barren right side of the infield.

Monday's news reports:

• Miguel Batista landed on the DL on Sunday morning with a strained oblique or lower-back muscle. Jeremy Hefner is likely to start Thursday's game against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field in that rotation slot. Chris Schwinden was promoted for Sunday's game as a hedge against Dillon Gee having a short outing, but was not needed. The Mets plan to make another roster move before Monday's series opener in Pittsburgh to add a position player. Vinny Rottino -- who had a three-homer game for Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday -- would appear a logical choice to return to the major league roster. Schwinden is the easiest to return to Buffalo. Manny Acosta would be an alternative, but seemingly less likely choice to get dismissed to free the roster spot.

• Terry Collins for the first time Sunday morning allowed for the possibility of Ike Davis getting sent to the minors if his performance does not show improvement on this trip. Despite a seeming roster crunch looming with Ruben Tejada slated to begin rehab games as soon as today and Jason Bay due to take batting practice in Pittsburgh for the first time this afternoon, there are demotion candidates. Davis is one. And Kirk Nieuwenhuis' production considerably has slowed since the rookie's torrid start.

The added benefit of Nieuwenhuis returning to the minors is it could delay his free agency a year. If Nieuwenhuis were to stay at the major league level continuously, he would be eligible for free agency after his sixth season, during the 2017-18 offseason. If he logs a total of 20 days in the minors this year, he would not get credit for a full major league season in 2012 and would be delayed in free agency at least until the following winter -- 2018-19. Read more in the Daily News, Post and Newsday.

• Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger writes about Davis' issues:

- He’s hitting too many grounders (50 percent of his balls in play before Sunday, according to FanGraphs.com). In the first inning, Davis hacked at a low, 91-mph sinker and tapped the ball back to Alvarez. With the bases loaded in the fifth, he rolled a fastball into what should have been a double play, except second baseman Kelly Johnson fumbled the exchange.

- His luck has been poor. In the fourth inning, Davis smashed a fastball toward the opposite field -- right into the glove of third baseman Yan Gomes. Entering Sunday's game, Davis was hitting line drives 17.4 percent of the time, or slightly better than 2011’s 17 percent mark. Except his batting average on balls in play was a miniscule .184, nearly 200 points below his career average. “He just needs those [line drives] to fall,” hitting coach Dave Hudgens said.

- He’s not drawing walks. Davis saw exactly three pitches in his first three at-bats Sunday.

• Regarding Nieuwenhuis, Barbara Barker writes in Newsday:

A week ago, he led all major-league rookies with a .302 batting average and was second with 35 hits. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and two walks in the Mets' 6-5 win Sunday and is now batting .277 with 38 hits, seven doubles, two home runs, 13 RBIs and 16 walks. "This kid doesn't deserve to go back to Triple-A with the way he's swung the bat so far," Buffalo manager Wally Backman said. "But he needs to play. I think for his development, he needs to play every day." Nieuwenhuis says he can't worry about what the future holds, other than to try to perform his best each day he plays. "It's been pretty cool playing up here with the guys," he said, "but whatever happens, happens. I don't make those decisions. I just have to take one day at a time and focus."

• David Wright returned from a day off Saturday and delivered a two-run double in the first inning as part of a 2-for-4 series finale that raised his average to .412. Wright, still sick, passed Jose Reyes for second on the franchise's all-time hit list with 1,302. He needs 116 more hits to match Mets record-holder Ed Kranepool.

• Mike Baxter had a career-high three hits Sunday while starting for the second straight game with the Mets using an extra position player in their lineup in the AL ballpark. Collins pledged to find Baxter playing time in Pittsburgh, although the manager said not at first base yet, and not on Monday against Pirates left-hander Erik Bedard. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Gee had a new look and better results. Read more in the Post.

• Read game recaps in the Record, Times, Daily News, Journal, Newsday and Post.

• Collins reiterated Jenrry Mejia is far more likely to help the Mets as a reliever at the major league level in 2012. Read more in Newsday.

• Tim Kurkjian catches up with hot-hitting ex-Met Carlos Beltran at ESPN.com. Kurkjian notes Beltran is two steals shy of 300 swipes and 300 homers in his career, a club that is currently limited to Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson, Bobby Bonds, Reggie Sanders and Steve Finley. Writes Kurkjian:

If it weren't for Matt Kemp, Beltran, 35, would be the most valuable player in the National League six weeks into the season. If it weren't for the remarkable Josh Hamilton, May would have been all about Beltran. Not only has he replaced the 2011 production of Albert Pujols in the Cardinals' lineup, he has greatly exceeded it while helping take St. Louis to the front of the National League Central, all while dazzling his new teammates. "When I ran out on the field with him the first time in spring training,'' said Cardinals third baseman David Freese, "I knew he was the most complete player I'd ever played with.''

Lance Berkman, who also was Beltran's teammate during that prolific 2004 postseason with Houston that set up Beltran's seven-year, $119 million contract with the Mets told Kurkjian: "It's funny. An elite player has some things happen to him for three or four years, like injuries, then he becomes an elite player again, and people ask, 'What's going on here?' Just look at the back of his baseball card. He is as complete a player as I've ever played with. He does everything well, and he looks good doing it. When you look at what a player is supposed to do, he's about as good as it gets.''

• Corey Wimberly stole home for Buffalo's lone run in a 4-1 loss to Indianapolis on Sunday. It was the second time a Mets farmhand has swiped home this season. Wimberly had a pure steal of the plate, while Binghamton's Josh Rodriguez stole home on April 21 as part of a double-steal. Read Sunday's full minor league recap here.

• Forty-thousand Orthodox Jews packed Citi Field on Sunday to decry the internet. Read more in the Daily News.

• Michael Howard Saul in the Journal revealed that Citi Field, now in its fourth season, still does not have all its full permits from the city in order. Mayor Michael Bloomberg at last week's All-Star Game press conference dismissed the issue as procedural and insignificant and insisted the stadium was safe. Wrote Saul, alluding to the City Hall announcement about next season's Mid-Summer Classic:

Unmentioned was the embarrassing fact that the three-year-old stadium in Queens still hasn’t received a certificate of occupancy from the city. The stadium has a temporary certificate, which means it is “safe and legal to occupy,” said Tony Sclafani, a spokesman for the Department of Buildings, in an email.

TRIVIA: For which former Pirate Pirate is the yellow bridge spanning the Allegheny River adjacent to PNC Park named?

Sunday's answer: Jason Bay was the last Pirate to have a multi-homer game against the Mets. At Shea Stadium on July 24, 2007, Bay went deep off John Maine and Guillermo Mota.

TORONTO -- David Wright did more than downplay grabbing sole possession of second place on the Mets’ all-time hits list Sunday, which he accomplished with a two-run double in the first inning.

Wright insisted he was unaware that he entered the game tied with ex-teammate Jose Reyes with 1,300 hits apiece in a Mets uniform.

“I didn’t even know,” Wright said. “Obviously getting hits is a good thing. Hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”

Wright, who already has passed Darryl Strawberry for the franchise’s career RBI record this season, sits at 1,302 hits after a 2-for-4 series finale in Toronto that lifted his average to .412.

Ed Kranepool has the franchise record with 1,418 -- at least for a little bit longer.

If Wright continues at this at-bat rate -- 131 ABs through 41 games -- he would need to hit .300 during his remaining at-bats (116-for-387) to match Kranepool in Game No. 162 this year.

Wright’s production for most of the season has come with a broken right pinkie. As of late, he also has dealt with a severe cold that left him unavailable to even pinch-hit Saturday. Ike Davis and Bobby Parnell also currently are under the weather with the flu or a similar malady that is making the rounds through the clubhouse.

“I feel a little bit better,” Wright said. “My last few days I’ve just been fairly achy -- your (whole) body. Today that’s gone down a little bit. So hopefully a short flight tonight and I’ll get some rest.”

WHAT IT MEANS: The weekend wasn’t a total loss, at least. In their first visit to Toronto in six years, the Mets salvaged the series finale, beating the Blue Jays, 6-5, Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

Barely.

Bobby Parnell surrendered a pair of eighth-inning runs, including an RBI single to Colby Rasmus that snapped the ex-Cardinal’s 0-for-20 skid, as Toronto rallied to within a run. But Tim Byrdak made his 24^th appearance in 41 games to retire lefty-hitting Kelly Johnson on a flyout to right field and end that frame.

In the ninth, ex-Blue Jays closer Frank Francisco, who was loudly jeered upon entering, closed things out despite a leadoff walk to Yunel Escobar and ensuing single by Jose Bautista that placed the winning run on base with none out. Francisco struck out the next three batters.

WELCOME BACK: After scheduled day off, and with his illness having somewhat improved, David Wright delivered a two-run double in the first inning against Jays right-hander Henderson Alvarez. It was hit No. 1,301 of Wright’s career, which passed ex-teammate Jose Reyes for sole possession of second on franchise’s all-time list. Ed Kranepool has the highest hit total as a Met for now: 1,418. Wright now stands at 1,302. He finished Sunday’s game 2-for-4 with a walk, albeit with an eighth-inning strikeout that stranded the bases loaded and kept the score 6-3. His average now stands at .412.

(Wright wasn’t solely at fault for a scoreless eighth. Ike Davis doubled and advanced to third on a passed ball, but was thrown out at the plate on a pitch that similarly eluded catcher J.P. Arencibia.)

BAXTER BURNING: Mike Baxter, starting for a second straight game with the pitcher not batting in the American League ballpark, went 3-for-4 with a walk. He fell a homer shy of producing the second cycle by a Met this season (Scott Hairston at Colorado on April 27, in an 18-9 loss). Baxter’s hit total achieved a career high, and lifted his average to .390, in 41 at-bats. Baxter even was the subject of taunts from fans in the left-field stands.

After being deprived of a would-be ninth-inning double Saturday with an incorrect out call at second base, Baxter doubled and tripled in the first two inings Sunday while starting in left field. The latter extra-base hit scored Ronny Cedeno and staked the Mets to a 4-0 lead.

GEE MINOR: Clean-shaven Dillon Gee completed 6 2/3 innings and notched his first win since April 28 at Colorado. He departed after an RBI single by Jose Bautista pulled the Jays within 6-3. Parnell entered and stranded Bautista by coaxing a fielder’s choice groundout by Edwin Encarnacion.

Gee’s final line: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP. He threw 113 pitches (67 strikes). He surrendered a third-inning solo homer to Bautista that pulled the Jays within 4-2 at the time.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Mets, in businesslike attire, head through customs and travel to Pittsburgh. Johan Santana (1-2, 2.89 ERA) opposes left-hander Erik Bedard (2-5, 3.07) in Monday’s 7:05 p.m. opener.

WHAT IT MEANS: Maybe that two-year, $12 million deal Frank Francisco received this offseason could have been better spent elsewhere.

For the second time in the series, Francisco botched a save chance as the Mets suffered another gut-wrenching defeat. This time it came Sunday, in an 8-4 loss in the rubber game against the Miami Marlins.

Asked to protect a 4-2 lead after a dramatic top of the ninth that included Justin Turner’s two-out, full-count, two-run double with the bases loaded, Francisco allowed all three batters he faced to reach, including one run to score.

And Francisco was not done even after being pulled for Manny Acosta.

Rather than head directly to the dugout, Francisco headed toward the plate, where he jawed with umpire Todd Tichenor. Even though Francisco was being pulled from the game, Tichenor made it doubly official by ejecting him. Terry Collins had to intercede so things did not get out of hand.

It was another miserable day all around for the bullpen.

Acosta surrendered a game-tying sacrifice fly to Jose Reyes, then eventually loaded the bases with two out by plunking Austin Kearns. Giancarlo Stanton ended it with a grand slam.

Earlier, Jon Niese tossed six scoreless innings, then got pulled at 99 pitches with the Mets leading 2-0, two out and two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh. Ike Davis, who had been scratched because of the flu, grounded out back to Carlos Zambrano as a pinch hitter as the threat went for naught.

Then the bullpen immediately let the Mets down.

Two batters into the bottom half of the inning, Ramon Ramirez had surrendered a leadoff triple to Emilio Bonifacio and two-run homer to John Buck as the Marlins evened the score at 2.

TURNER CLASSIC: Turner stood to be the hero before the bottom-of-the-ninth meltdown.

Turner had walked against Heath Bell with the bases loaded in New York to complete a 13-pitch faceoff and force in a tying run. This time, Turner fouled off one full-count offering with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth and the score tied at 2. Turner, pinch hitting, sent the next pitch into right field for a two-run double.

Daniel Murphy began the ninth-inning drama with a one-out double. Ronny Cedeno followed with a walk. Both advanced on Jordany Valdespin’s groundout. The Marlins then chose to intentionally walk Mike Baxter with first base open and have Bell go up against the righty-hitting Turner.

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright went 1-for-3 with a walk, dipping his average to .400. Wright’s fourth-inning single advanced Kirk Nieuwenhuis to second base. Both moved ahead a base on a passed ball. They then scored the game’s opening runs on Lucas Duda’s RBI groundout and Murphy’s RBI single.

Wright went 13-for-27 on the six-game road trip.

OFF TRACK: Andres Torres’ streak of reaching base in every game in which he has appeared ended Sunday at 12. Torres went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.

WHAT’S NEXT: After a 4-2 road trip to Philly and Miami, the Mets return to Citi Field to open two-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers and then the Cincinnati Reds. Miguel Batista (0-1, 5.89 ERA) makes his second start in Mike Pelfrey’s former rotation spot Monday, opposite Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo (2-3, 5.35).

David Wright lifted his average to .402 with a 4-for-6 performance that included a homer and three RBIs. And the Mets rebounded from a series-opening late-inning meltdown to beat Miami, 9-3, on Saturday at Marlins Park.

Sunday's news reports:

• R.A. Dickey was drilled on the inside of the right wrist on a pitch from Ricky Nolasco while the knuckleballer batted in the fifth inning. Dickey said he did not believe X-rays would be necessary, but he noted he was curious how the wrist would feel this morning. Read more in Newsday, the Star-Ledger, Daily News, Post and Record.

• Read game recaps, including coverage of Wright's big game, in the Record, Post, Daily News, Newsday, Star-Ledger and Times.

• My take on Wright: It's becoming increasing clear he will remain a Met long term:

After this season, once Chipper Jones has retired, you will be able to count on Antonio Alfonseca's right hand the number of active players who have appeared in more major league games than David Wright and done so in only one uniform. Derek Jeter. Todd Helton. Ichiro Suzuki. Michael Young. Jimmy Rollins. Brian Roberts. And it is difficult to envision Wright, who has logged 1,136 games as a New York Met, moving elsewhere and getting sidetracked from ascending that list.

Read the full column here.

• Jose Reyes went 4-for-5 -- all singles -- in the loss. He is now hitting .256. "I got four hits today, but I'm still not quite where I want to be," Reyes said, according to Mark Herrmann in Newsday. "But it's getting close."

• Mike Kerwick in the Record offers a reminder that the next wave of pitching -- Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Zack Wheeler -- will be given time to develop in the minors and not rushed soon to the big leagues. Writes Kerwick:

What the Mets pluck from this season is a bonus, a tribute to Mets manager Terry Collins' ability to coax the most out of three dominant starters (Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese) and the top of his lineup (Is David Wright having a nice season or what?). Next season that changes. Expectations inflate. If at least one of those kids is not on the opening day roster, something will have gone wrong. For now: Patience, young Skywalker. The kids will get here, maybe even by season's end. Until then, put up with these short-term rental agreements. More-promising tenants will be here before you know it.

• Charley Thurber, Albert Cordero and Travis Taijeron all homered in Savannah's 8-4 win at Hickory. Read Sunday's full minor league recap here.

• Anthony McCarron in the Daily News profiles Octavio Dotel, who has played for 13 teams, including the Mets, his original organization. Dotel's April 7 appearance for the Detroit Tigers allowed him to pass Matt Stairs, Mike Morgan and Ron Villone for the major league record for most uniforms donned, according to the Daily News. Writes McCarron:

He chuckles when someone suggests he pursue an endorsement deal with Samsonite, the luggage company. “It’s easy for me,” Dotel says of the record, which he embraces and even admits he looked forward to holding. “Some guys, it might be difficult, but for me, going from one city to another city, one stadium to another stadium, one team to another team, it’s normal.”

• Dwight Gooden, Rusty Staub, Howie Rose and Evan Roberts will serve as judges, along with one later addition, for the May 27 revival of Banner Day, according to the Daily News.

• Daniel Murphy discusses his relationship with God, his engagement and dealing with the pressures of baseball with Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger.

TRIVIA: Who produced the first Mets hit at Marlins Park?

Saturday's answer: Mike Marshall has the single-season major league record for relief appearances. Marshall appeared in 106 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974.

Recap | Box score | Photos

WHAT IT MEANS: David Wright went 4-for-6 to lift his average to a National League-leading .402. He also homered and produced three RBIs as the Mets bounced back from a ninth-inning defeat in the series opener.

R.A. Dickey limited Miami to two runs in six innings in the 9-3 victory Saturday at Marlins Park. The knuckleballer improved to 5-1.

Dickey was plunked by Ricky Nolasco on the right forearm with a pitch in the fifth inning with the bases loaded to force in a run, but remained in the game.

Nolasco remained stuck at 68 career wins, tied with Dontrelle Willis for the most in a Marlins uniform.

Wright delivered a first-inning RBI single after consecutive walks to Andres Torres and Kirk Nieuwenhuis to open the game. Two innings later, after Miami had pulled even at 1, Wright restored the lead with an opposite-field solo homer against Nolasco, against whom he is now hitting .400 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 60 career at-bats.

The Mets' lead grew to 3-1 in the fourth after Brett Hayes was called for catcher's interference on a would-be flyout by Torres, which prolonged the inning for an RBI single by Nieuwenhuis.

After Mike Nickeas and Dickey were consecutively hit by pitches by Nolasco in the fifth, the Mets grabbed a 6-1 lead when Torres delivered a two-run single that chased Nolasco.

BYRD THE WORD: Tim Byrdak entered in the seventh inning to bail out Manny Acosta after the Marlins had pulled within 7-3. For the second straight game, Byrdak struck out Logan Morrison to strand a runner in scoring position, although Morrison complained to plate umpire Tony Randazzo about his called third strike this time. Byrdak was making his 20^th appearance. He now is on pace for 98 appearances.

REYES OF LIGHT: Jose Reyes went 4-for-5 Saturday against his former club.

WHAT'S NEXT: Jon Niese (2-1, 4.01 ERA) opposes Carlos Zambrano (1-2, 1.98) in Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. series finale.

Frank Francisco failed to protect a one-run lead in the ninth and the Mets' bid for their MLB-high 12th come-from-behind win of 2012 went for naught. Miami won, 6-5, Friday to snap the Mets' five-game winning streak. It was the 8,000th regular-season game in franchise history.

Saturday's news reports:

• Francisco suffered his second blown save in 10 chances as a Met, spoiling a rally that had the Mets turn a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead on Mike Baxter's pinch-hit two-run double in the eighth. Read game recaps in the Star-Ledger, Post, Daily News, Record, Newsday, Times and Journal.

• Before the series opener, the Mets activated Ronny Cedeno from the disabled list and optioned Vinny Rottino to Triple-A Buffalo. Cedeno started at shortstop and went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. He will serve as the regular shortstop until Ruben Tejada returns from the disabled list. Read more in the Post, Record, Daily News and Journal.

• Jose Reyes went 1-for-4 with a triple and scored two runs in Miami's comeback win. He's shown signs of life, but still has a .234 average in his inaugural season with the Marlins. "I've been feeling a little bit better -- not a whole lot, not the way that I want to be," Reyes told New York reporters before the series opener. "I haven't been consistent yet. It's going to come. It's a long season."

After stumbling out of the gate, including getting swept at Citi Field, Miami has now won nine of its past 10 with Friday's victory. "When we went to New York, we didn't play very good baseball,'' Reyes said. "Now we're playing better."

Read more from Reyes in the Times, Record and Newsday.

• Chris Young will pitch once more in the Florida State League before taking his comeback tour to Triple-A Buffalo, pitching coach Dan Warthen said. Young tossed five scoreless innings Thursday for Class A St. Lucie, in his first minor league game since undergoing May 16, 2011 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his right shoulder.

• Jason Bay remains idle as he deals with a fractured rib, but Mets officials hope he will head to Port St. Lucie, Fla., after the weekend to begin baseball workouts, Andy McCullough writes in the Star-Ledger. “The other day, he said it was a lot better, but it’s still not ready to do anything,” Terry Collins told McCullough. “My guess is, I would hope by the time we get home [Monday], he’s ready to [start baseball workouts].”

• Brian Costa in the Journal suggests the Mets have disrupted the NL East script that had the free-spending Marlins challenging the Phillies for division supremacy and the Mets occupying the basement. Writes Costa:

This was the building that was supposed to alter the state of the National League East. The indoor stadium, the air conditioning, the fish tanks, the psychedelic sculpture with the bright lights and the birds -- all of it gave the Miami Marlins the confidence to spend like they never had before. As one awestruck agent said during the winter meetings, "It's like the Marlins have become the Mets." Pause. "And the Mets have become the Marlins." Yet when the Mets walked into Marlins Ballpark for the first time Friday, the reality for them was far less bleak than most anyone predicted. A $50 million payroll cut didn't stop them from an 18-13 start. The Marlins' free-agent binge had so far produced a mere 16-15 record.

• Matt den Dekker, Josh Rodriguez and Eric Campbell homered as Double-A Binghamton beat New Hampshire, 11-4. Read Friday's full minor league recap here.

• Marlins catcher Brett Hayes came face to face with the man who allegedly shot two police officers being taking his own life in South Florida.

TRIVIA: Tim Byrdak is on pace for 96 relief appearances this season, which would break Pedro Feliciano's franchise record of 92, set in his final season with the Mets. Who has the major league record for relief appearances in a single season?

Friday's answer: Reyes' first hit as a Marlin at Citi Field -- actually his lone hit in that series last month -- came against Jon Rauch.

Frank Francisco said he gave it his best effort. But there was no doubt his second blown save in 10 chances this season deflated a clubhouse that arrived in Miami off the sky-high feeling of sweeping the Phillies with their ninth, 10^th and 11^th comeback wins of the season.

Francisco allowed a leadoff double to Giancarlo Stanton in the ninth and a game-tying single with one out to Emilio Bonifacio. After Bonifacio swiped second base, the Mets lost, 6-5, when Greg Dobbs singled with two out.

“That’s baseball,” Francisco said. “That’s going to happen. Hopefully it’s the last time. I can’t put that in my mind because I know how baseball goes. I don’t feel bad. I feel bad because we lost. But, personally, I know I was fighting out there. I leave everything I have out there for my team. We lost. But I don’t feel bad.”

As for the leadoff double by Stanton, Francisco did not second-guess himself.

“I haven’t seen the replay. I don’t know,” Francisco said. “I thought it was a good pitch. I got him out there before. And just like that, he won. I thought that was the right pitch. And when I got in my mind a certain pitch, I die with that pitch. And that’s what I did. I thought that was the right pitch -- fastball in.”

He rejected the suggestion that things snowballed after that.

“I was fighting out there with everything I have,” Francisco said. “Every time I go out there I leave everything out there. After the first hit, I got the next guy out. And they tied the game and I got the next guy out. I was fighting.”

As for the final blow by Dobbs, Francisco said: “The last hit was a broken-bat single. You only can control where you throw the ball. You cannot control the results. I think I made a good pitch. I jammed him. But it ended up in a bad spot.”

• Ike Davis lamented his role in the Marlins’ late rally. Davis committed an error trying to field Jose Reyes' grounder to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Reyes eventually scored against Bobby Parnell to pull the Marlins within 5-4.

“I had a lot more time, so I just should have got in front of it and knocked it down,” Davis said. “But it took a higher bounce than the one before and just got a little bit on my wrist and I missed it. … I was out of position, really, on it. I should have just knocked it down.”

Davis acknowledged Reyes’ speed was a factor in him rushing to field the ball.

(Read full post)

WHAT IT MEANS: The Miami Marlins turned the tables on Frank Francisco and the comeback kids.

Charged with protecting a one-run lead in the ninth, Francisco suffered a blown save after Giancarlo Stanton produced a leadoff double and Emilio Bonifacio plated him with a one-out single.

Bonifacio then swiped second -- his franchise-record 18th straight successful steal to open the season -- and scored the winning run in Miami’s 6-5 victory when Greg Dobbs singled with two out.

Francisco (1-2) suffered his second blown save in 10 chances.

To that point, the Mets had been poised for their MLB-high 12^th comeback win of the season.

Pinch hitter Mike Baxter delivered a tiebreaking two-run double with the bases loaded against reliever Ryan Webb in a three-run eighth to give the Mets a 5-3 lead.

Instead, the loss snapped the Mets’ five-game winning streak.

RALLY RECAP: Ike Davis began the rally from an early 3-0 deficit, delivering a solo homer in the fifth against Mark Buehrle. It was Davis’ second straight game with a homer. He belted a mammoth three-run shot off the second-deck façade against Jose Contreras in the eighth inning Wednesday at Philadelphia.

In the seventh, Mike Nickeas’ one-out RBI double against Buehrle pulled the Mets within a run, prompting Terry Collins to pinch hit for Johan Santana. But Justin Turner flied out. And after a walk to Andres Torres prompted Ozzie Guillen to go to his bullpen, southpaw Randy Choate struck out Daniel Murphy and the Mets headed to the bottom of the seventh trailing 3-2.

In the eighth, David Wright (3-for-5) dropped a leadoff double inside the right-field line against Edward Mujica. Wright moved to third on Lucas Duda’s groundout. Kirk Nieuwenhuis pinch hit for Scott Hairston and delivered a game-tying double. After an intentional walk to Davis and unintentional walk to Ronny Cedeno loaded the bases, Baxter pinch hit for Nickeas against Webb and improved to 6-for-15 with five RBIs as a pinch hitter this season. Baxter’s two-run double gave the Mets a 5-3 lead.

THE NEW FELICIANO: Tim Byrdak appeared to save the day for the Mets yet again. In each of the first two games in Philly, the southpaw stranded an inherited runner at third base in the eighth inning. After Bobby Parnell surrendered a run in the eighth inning on Friday night as the Marlins pulled within 5-4, Byrdak entered with two out and Omar Infante on second base and struck out Logan Morrison to end the threat.

Byrdak is on pace for 96 appearances, which would break the single-season relief record set by Feliciano in his final three seasons as a Met (86, 88 and 92).

NO WAY, COURTESY JOSE: Jose Reyes quickly ensured game No. 8,000 would be the Mets’ 8,000^th game without a no-hitter. Reyes, who went only 1-for-12 in New York last month, opened the bottom of the first inning against Santana with a triple narrowly beyond the reach of Torres, who awkwardly played the shot to center field.

Reyes (1-for-4) scored when the newly installed No. 2 hitter Infante dropped a single into shallow left field. Austin Kearns delivered a two-run homer later in the frame. Kearns had been a late replacement in left field for the scratched Morrison, after Guillen decided he liked Kearns matching up better against Santana.

Santana’s final line: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K.

SHORT STORY: In his first action since April 20, Cedeno returned from the disabled list and went 1-for-2 with two walks. Cedeno will be in the regular shortstop until Ruben Tejada returns from the DL, Collins said.

FIELDING OF DREAMS: Santana and Wright, both former Gold Glove recipients, turned in fielding gems on consecutive plays in the fifth. Santana lunged to catch a bunt attempt from Buehrle in the air. Then, Wright barehanded a grounder from Reyes and threw to first in time to retire his former teammate. An inning earlier, Santana caught Stanton stealing with a pickoff move.

WHAT’S NEXT: Other than a postgame LL Cool J concert after Friday’s game at Marlins Park? R.A. Dickey (4-1, 3.76) opposes Ricky Nolasco (4-0, 2.72 ERA) on Saturday at 1:05 p.m.

Jose Reyes' production may be picking up somewhat -- he's batting .281 in his past seven games -- but the first-year Marlin is not clicking on all cylinders just yet, Miami manager Ozzie Guillen said.

"He's swinging the bat a lot better the last week," Guillen said."He's seeing better pitches. He's making good contact. I'm not going to make any excuse for him: He's been hitting some balls hard, right at people. That comes with the game. He's not hitting .220 because of that, or .230. He had bad at-bats, too. He had a bad week. But he is swinging the bat a lot better, making more contact and he's getting on base a little more. That will help us."

Reyes went 1-for-12 during the first meeting, at Citi Field. He enters the weekend series with a .233 average and .321 on-base percentage.

Why did Reyes struggle at Citi Field?

"I think we have good pitching. I mean, I really do," Terry Collins opined. "Johan [Santana] is a real good pitcher. Nobody likes to face R.A. [Dickey], to the point Jose hit right-handed the first time up, because that's what other switch-hitters have done -- gone to their natural side. That's not easy. And Jon Niese knows how to pitch. We kind of like our pitching a little bit, too. And when you face good pitching, I had Tony Gwynn tell me a long time ago, 'I'm 0-for-4 against good pitching. What I do, when I get those average guys, I get four hits.' Jose is a very, very good hitter. And I just think our guys pitched very, very well against him."

Collins added that keeping the speedsters Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio off the bases will be critical. Bonifacio also was 1-for-12 in the first meeting.

"If you can do that, you've got a chance to keep them from getting big innings," Collins said.

• Guillen suggested Heath Bell would resume closing duties a week after being pulled from the role.

METS (18-13, third place/NL East) vs. MIAMI MARLINS (16-15, fourth place/NL East)

Friday: LHP Johan Santana (1-2, 2.61) vs. LHP Mark Buehrle (2-4, 2.83), 7:10 p.m. ET

Saturday: RHP R.A. Dickey (4-1, 3.76) vs. RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-0, 2.72), 1:05 p.m. ET

Sunday: LHP Jon Niese (2-1, 4.01) vs. RHP Carlos Zambrano (1-2, 1.98), 1:10 p.m. ET

Marlins short hops

• With Heath Bell having blown his fourth save in seven chances last Friday, manager Ozzie Guillen turned closing responsibilities over to 25-year-old right-hander Steve Cishek. Bell, who signed a three-year, $27 million deal as a free agent, since has appeared in one game -- the 10^th inning on Wednesday at Houston, after Cishek blew the save in the ninth. Bell had a scoreless frame, and Miami ultimately won in 12 innings.

• Jose Reyes -- who had a quiet, 1-for-12 series at Citi Field, except for the booing directed at him -- has started to get into gear. In his past 10 starts, Reyes has a .400 on-base percentage and four steals in five attempts. For the season, the ex-Met still is hitting a paltry .233 with a .321 OBP and eight steals. Reyes has started 30 of 31 games at shortstop. Guillen used Emilio Bonifacio for three games in the leadoff slot in late April before restoring Reyes to his customary position.

• Bonifacio is 15-for-15 in steals attempts, tying Chuck Carr (1994) for the most successful steals to open a season in Marlins franchise history. Dating to last season, Bonifacio has swiped 16 straight. That is one shy of matching the franchise record, held by Carr. However, Bonifacio -- who is hitting only .238 -- was dropped to seventh in the lineup Wednesday after otherwise exclusively hitting first or second.

• The Marlins have won eight of their past nine games after an 8-14 start.

• Carlos Zambrano tossed a three-hit shutout against the Astros in his most recent start, slicing his season ERA to 1.98 and picking up his first win in six starts as a Marlin. It was Zambrano’s fifth career shutout, and first since Sept. 25, 2009 at San Francisco.

Similarly, Mark Buehrle tossed a complete game Saturday in a 4-1 win at San Diego. The former White Sox southpaw has only a 2-4 record because of the lack of run support and bullpen difficulties that also have depressed Zambrano’s win total. Marlins starting pitchers, fueled by Ricky Nolasco’s early dominance, have completed at least six innings in 25 of 31 games.

• After going homerless in his first 19 games of the season, right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has gone deep six times since April 29. Stanton’s 97 at-bat homerless drought had been the longest of his career.

• This weekend, the Mets get their first glimpse of the Marlins’ new stadium, which is located in Little Havana, at the former site of the Orange Bowl. The ballpark has a capacity of 37,442 and features a retractable roof. It has spacious outfield dimensions (l to r): 344, 386, 418, 392, 335. There have been an average of 1.18 homers per game at Marlins Park. That is the fifth-fewest in the National League, trailing only the home ballparks of the Giants (0.67), Padres (0.96), Cubs (1.11) and Nationals (1.13).

There has been an average of 1.19 homers per game at Citi Field, despite the reduced dimensions.

Matchups

Santana vs. Marlins (career: 6-1, 1.46 ERA)
Gaby Sanchez .625, 1 RBI, 1 K, 8 PA
Giancarlo Stanton .333, 1 K, 3 PA
John Buck .222, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 20 PA
Omar Infante .190, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 10 K, 45 PA
Jose Reyes .143, 7 PA
Emilio Bonafacio .133, 6 K, 15 PA
Austin Kearns .133, 3 K, 15 PA
Hanley Ramirez .130, 3 BB, 8 K, 26 PA
Logan Morrison .000, 2 K, 3 PA
Donnie Murphy .000, 2 K, 3 PA

Dickey vs. Marlins (career: 6-2, 3.57 ERA)
Omar Infante .480, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 27 PA
Gaby Sanchez .333, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 22 PA
Hanley Ramirez .333, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 19 PA
Austin Kearns .333, 1 K, 3 PA
John Buck .231, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 14 PA
Logan Morrison .214, 2 BB, 5 K, 16 PA
Greg Dobbs .200, 3 K, 10 PA
Brett Hayes .167, 1 K, 6 PA
Emilio Bonifacio .154, 1 BB, 4 K, 14 PA
Donnie Murphy .143, 3 K, 7 PA
Giancarlo Stanton .100, 1 BB, 5 K, 11 PA
Jose Reyes .000, 3 K, 9 PA

Niese vs. Marlins (career: 1-4, 5.13 ERA)
Logan Morrison .429, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 10 PA
Gaby Sanchez .250, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K, 19 PA
Hanley Ramirez .214, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 16 PA
Emilio Bonifacio .200, 6 PA
Brett Hayes .200, 1 RBI, 1 K, 5 PA
Omar Infante .190, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 22 PA
Austin Kearns .167, 6 PA
Giancarlo Stanton .143, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 9 PA
Jose Reyes .000, 3 PA
John Buck .000, 1 K, 3 PA
Donnie Murphy .000, 3 PA

Buehrle vs. Mets (career: 0-1, 2.57 ERA)
Scott Hairston .500, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 PA
Ronny Cedeno .444, 1 RBI, 1 K, 9 PA
Daniel Murphy .333, 3 PA
David Wright .333, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 PA
Rob Johnson .333, 1 K, 3 PA
Lucas Duda .333, 1 K, 3 PA
Andres Torres .250, 4 PA
Ike Davis .000, 3 PA
Kirk Nieuwenhuis .000, 1 K, 3 PA

Nolasco vs. Mets (career: 5-7, 5.03 ERA)
Kirk Nieuwenhuis .667, 3 PA
David Wright .386, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 3 BB, 15 K, 60 PA
Andres Torres .333, 5 K, 11 PA
Scott Hairston .333, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 6 PA
Daniel Murphy .300, 1 RBI, 3 K, 21 PA
Ike Davis .214, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 15 PA
Lucas Duda .000, 3 K, 9 PA
Ronny Cedeno .000, 1 K, 6 PA
Mike Nickeas .000, 1 K, 4 PA
Jordany Valdespin .000, 1 K, 3 PA
Rob Johnson .000, 1 K, 1 PA

Zambrano vs. Mets (career: 6-3, 3.34 ERA)
Daniel Murphy .300, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 11 PA
Ronny Cedeno .273, 3 K, 11 PA
Scott Hairston .200, 1 BB, 2 K, 6 PA
Ike Davis .167, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 K, 6 PA
David Wright .125, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 11 K, 29 PA
Andres Torres .000, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 PA
Justin Turner .000, 1 K, 3 PA
Lucas Duda .000, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 PA
Mike Nickeas .000, 2 PA

Last series results

Mets won, 3-0, at Citizens Bank Park, April 24-26 (AP game recaps)

Mets 2, Marlins 1: Jose Reyes went hitless in his return to Citi Field and Lucas Duda lined a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning that caromed off reliever Edward Mujica. Johan Santana and Josh Johnson zipped through the first six innings in a crisp pitchers' duel between healthy-looking aces. Santana, coming off the shortest start of his career, struck out 11 for the Mets while Johnson whiffed nine. Both working on six days' rest, each pitcher was charged with one run and three hits in 6 2/3 innings. Santana and Johnson both threw 67 strikes.

Mets 5, Marlins 1: David Wright hit a two-run homer to become the Mets' career RBIs leader and R.A. Dickey outpitched Mark Buehrle in a crafty duel. Jose Reyes singled in the eighth inning for his first hit against his former team in eight at-bats, eliciting yet another chorus of lusty boos from the crowd that once adored him. Wright's homer gave him 735 RBIs and broke a tie with Darryl Strawberry for the team lead. In contrast to the matchup of aces Johan Santana and Josh Johnson in the opener, Dickey (3-1) and Buehrle (1-3) rarely reached 85 mph on the scoreboard radar.

Mets 3, Marlins 2: Justin Turner drew a bases-loaded walk in a sensational 13-pitch at-bat and Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning as the Mets rallied past Heath Bell and Miami. Pitching for the first time in a week, and working in a steady drizzle, Bell (0-3) couldn't find the plate. The All-Star closer walked four and threw a whopping 46 pitches. The Mets trailed 2-1 when David Wright drew a leadoff walk in the ninth. One-out passes to Ike Davis and Josh Thole loaded the bases for Turner, a pinch hitter. Turner fell behind in the count 0-2 and later fouled off seven pitches before his walk made it 2-all. After a forceout at the plate, Nieuwenhuis hit a one-hopper off the right-field wall. Before Nieuwenhuis' hit the Mets were 0-for-16 with two walks when batting with the bases loaded this season. The Mets finished off a three-game sweep on Bell's third blown save in five chances. Ramon Ramirez (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.

Marlins closer Heath Bell walked four batters in the ninth inning, including Justin Turner to cap a 13-pitch plate appearance that forced in the tying run, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis followed by producing a walk-off RBI as the Mets rallied to sweep Miami with a 3-2 victory in Thursday afternoon's series finale. The Mets used an all-homegrown starting lineup for only the third time in franchise history, with the other two instances occurring in September 1971.

Jose Reyes went just 1-for-12 in the series, in his return to Flushing as a visitor. He misfired on a double-play turn in the series' middle game that prolonged an inning. That allowed for David Wright's game-changing two-run homer off Mark Buehrle (and career RBIs Nos. 734 and 735, which moved Wright ahead of Darryl Strawberry for sole possession of first place on the franchise's all-time list).

Bell suffered a 47-pitch meltdown Thursday -- the most pitches thrown in a ninth-inning blown save in the majors since Danys Baez with the Cleveland Indians on Sept. 8, 2002 against Jerry Manuel's Chicago White Sox, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. It marked the second time in the series the Marlins had walked four batters in an inning to force in a critical run. The Mets had been 0-for-17 with the bases loaded until Nieuwenhuis' walk-off hit against Bell -- the worst start to a season in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Mets, who swept a division opponent at home for the second time in April, improved to 11-8 overall and 10-5 against NL East opponents. They also bounced back from a disappointing series against San Francisco that saw the Amazin's drop to .500 for the only time this season.

The Mets now open a six-game trip in Denver on Friday, with Chris Schwinden set to make his season debut for the Mets, opposite Rockies left-hander Drew Pomeranz -- the centerpiece of the trade that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians at last year's trading deadline. Schwinden, who is taking Mike Pelfrey's spot in the rotation, was 2-2 with a 2.05 ERA at Triple-A Buffalo.

Coors Field is the site of the collision between Ike Davis and Wright last May 10 that resulted in Davis' season-ending left ankle injury.

Nieuwenhuis, who could shift to left field Monday, when Andres Torres is due to rejoin the Mets in Houston following a rehab assignment for a strained left calf, grew up in Denver. He once rushed for 267 yards in the snow in a Class 2A high school championship game for Denver Christian as a junior. Nieuwenhuis was recruited to play college football by Colorado, Colorado State and Air Force, but went on a recruiting trip to Boulder and was intimidated by the size of the first Buffs football player he saw working out -- which turned out to be the kicker, future Green Bay Packer Mason Crosby. So Nieuwenhuis instead went to Azusa Pacific, then an NAIA program, in California to play college baseball. He became a third-round pick of the Mets in 2008.

Meanwhile, please join me for a noon ET Mets chat on Friday here.

Friday's news reports:

• Pelfrey's Mets career may be over. After experiencing a grabbing sensation in his pitching elbow as he began each inning during Saturday's stellar start against the Giants, Pelfrey underwent an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery that revealed a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. After consulting with Dr. James Andrews, Pelfrey is prepared to travel to Birmingham, Ala., to have Andrews perform Tommy John surgery.

Pelfrey indicated he is 99 percent sure the procedure will be performed during the visit. The right-hander said there was an option presented to inject platelet-rich plasma -- obtained via the blood-spinning process -- into the elbow area to try to enhance healing, but the success rate would be as little as 10 percent. And pitching with a defective elbow could lead to an unintentionally altered delivery that could lead to other problems, such as shoulder woes.

Pelfrey is not eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season, but the Mets would need to tender him a contract in December in order to retain his services -- and that seems unlikely. Pelfrey is earning $5.6875 million this season. He must earn at least 80 percent of that amount in 2013 if the Mets tender him a contract. and an arbitrator could award him the same salary as this season, so there's no guarantee he'd even get the 20 percent pay cut. Given Tommy John surgery generally has a 12-month recovery time, it's unlikely the Mets would commit that type of dollars to a pitcher likely to spend at least the first month of next season on the disabled list.

Once Pelfrey is non-tendered, the Mets have the right to re-sign him for any salary. But Pelfrey and agent Scott Boras also can shop his services to all 30 teams at that point. Pelfrey likely would get a contract with a relatively modest base salary and serious incentives that could set up a bigger contract the following offseason.

Assuming Pelfrey departs, Johan Santana will become second in seniority on the Mets behind Wright. Daniel Murphy would rank third, followed by Jon Niese and then Bobby Parnell.

Read more regarding Pelfrey in the Star-Ledger, Post, Times, Daily News, Journal, Record and Newsday.

• Niese limited the Marlins to two runs on four hits and no walks in a duel with Ricky Nolasco. Also Thursday, Jordany Valdespin started his first professional game in left field and Davis snapped an 0-for-11 skid with an infield single in the 3-2 win against Miami. Niese, who was pulled at 97 pitches, has a 2.81 ERA in the first season of a deal that guarantees him $25.5 million over five seasons. Read game recaps in the Times, Daily News, Post, Record, Star-Ledger, Journal and Newsday.

• Terry Collins speculated the boos directed at Reyes might have been attributable to -- or at least more intense because -- the shortstop departed last season's finale after a first-inning bunt single that all but locked up the NL batting title. "Jose Reyes is a human being, and one of the nicest people I’ve ever been around,” the manager added. “If [the boos] didn’t bother him I’d be shocked, because he gave his heart and soul to the people here.’’

Reyes, who is batting .205 with a .262 on-base percentage, concluded regarding his Flushing return to the Post: "I didn't do anything here. ... After the first game everything was fine for me. I came here to play my game. Things just didn’t go the way you want to. It’s going to happen sometimes.We just need to turn it around. It’s all about winning.”

• After the series finale, left-handed reliever Robert Carson was returned to Double-A Binghamton to clear roster room for the activation of Schwinden for Friday's start against the Rockies. Carson did not appear in a game during his three-day major league cameo. If Schwinden does not succeed in the rotation, the Mets can always bring back Jeremy Hefner, who tossed three scoreless innings against the Giants in relief on Monday. Longer term, and barring a setback, Chris Young should be ready by mid-May to return from May 16, 2011 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his right shoulder. And there are always prospects Matt Harvey (4.85 ERA) and Jeurys Familia (5.30 ERA) sitting in Triple-A.

• ESPN New York 1050 is moving to your FM radio dial. Beginning this Sunday at 12:01 a.m., you can now also listen to the signal on 98.7 FM. In September, 1050 AM will become ESPN Deportes and deliver 24-hour Spanish-language sports news/talk. Armed with the new FM signal, Newsday reported, ESPN is expected to make a run at Yankees radio rights for the 2013 season.

• Columnist Bill Madden in the Daily News suggests the Mets should be rejoicing for fielding an all-homegrown lineup. (Of course, austerity and injuries can lead any team to that being the case.) Writes Madden:

No doubt, the Wilpons should be feeling proud, if not totally exonerated, considering the beating they took all winter as they reduced the Mets’ payroll by nearly $50 million -- at the same time Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was increasing his by more than $60 million with the free- agent signings of Reyes, lefty starter Mark Buehrle and closer Heath Bell. No doubt, too, Loria is beginning to wonder what he got for his money while slowly learning the painful baseball lesson of so many other disillusioned owners before him -- you can’t buy pennants.

• According to George Willis in the Post, Turner said of his 13-pitch faceoff with Bell that resulted in a game-tying walk in the ninth: “When you get two strikes on you, it’s a fight. You just battle, and try to put the ball in play somewhere.”

• Collins said the Mets have missed too many hit-and-run signs. The manager has now simplified things.

• Outfielder Adam Loewen, who had been wearing a boot, was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the second metatarsal in his right foot and landed on Triple-A Buffalo's disabled list. UCLA product Erik Goeddel tossed five scoreless innings for St. Lucie on Thursday. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Cheap Trick, which is touring with Aerosmith, had to bail on a July 20 postgame appearance at Citi Field after Aerosmith decided to add that date to its performance calendar. The Mets are replacing Cheap Trick with Daughtry for a performance following that Friday night game against the LA. Dodgers. The other planned postgame concerts: REO Speedwagon on June 15 (Cincinnati Reds) and Christian artists MercyMe on Aug. 10 (Atlanta Braves).

• The children of victims of 9/11 visited Citi Field on Thursday as part of a "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day," sponsored by Tuesday's Children. Read more in Newsday.

TRIVIA: Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca pitched for the Mets from 1973-77. Including coaching, he spent 30 seasons in the Mets organization. His last duty was pitching coach for the 2002 Class A St. Lucie Mets. Which current Met played for that Florida State League team?

Thursday's answer: Jarrod Washburn surrendered the first homer of Reyes' career, a grand slam on June 15, 2003 at Anaheim.

Jose Reyes was booed hastily in all three games at Citi Field.

The former Mets shortstop went just 1-for-12 in the series.

“Jose Reyes is a human being and one of the nicest people I’ve ever been around,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “If it didn’t bother him I’d be shocked, because he gave his heart and soul to the people here.”

Collins thinks fans booed Reyes in his return to New York as a visitor because he laid down a bunt in his final game with the Mets before departing so he could capture the N.L batting title.

“To let one little incident happen last year the last day to bother the first seven years here, I hope that’s not true,” Collins said. “But that’s what I guess it was about, yeah.”

Reyes said the Mets never made him an offer, and the Marlins eventually signed the speedster to a six-year, $106 million contract.

On the season, Reyes is hitting just .205.

• Justin Turner capped off a 13-pitch, pinch-hit at-bat by drawing the game-tying walk against Marlins closer Heath Bell in the bottom of the ninth.

“It was a tremendous at-bat. To fight all those pitches off, to take the breaking balls, I mean, a terrific at-bat, it really was,” Collins said.

Bell, who threw 46 pitches in ninth, walked four. His ERA is now an inflated 9.53 and his record is 0-3.

“I was feeling pretty comfortable,” Turner said. “He was making some pretty good pitches, and I was able to foul them off. When you're up there for that long, you kind of get that locked in feeling. He ended up yanking a fastball a little bit, that last one off the plate. I also missed a lot of decent pitches I should have hit.”

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis continues to impress.

The 24-year-old rookie center fielder went 3-for-5 with his first-career triple and his first-career walk-off hit -- a two-out single to deep right which allowed the Mets to sweep the Marlins and come away with a 3-2 victory.

“He’s gonna be a great player. He’s done a great job,” Collins said. “As I’ve told you before, he grinds it out every game. [When] game-time comes, he’s all business. He plays the game hard, plays the game right, and right now he’s been terrific, and I hope it continues.”

Nieuwenhuis’ game-winning hit was the Mets’ first with the bases loaded this season. They had been 0-for-15, the longest drought with the bases loaded to start a season in club history.

• The Mets have four walk-off wins this season. ... They have six come-from-behind victories in 2012. ... They collected their first win of the season when trailing after eight innings. They had been 0-8. ... The Mets are 5-1 in one-run games. ... Ike Davis drew his first walk in seven games. Jordany Valdespin, making his first major-league start, batting eighth and playing left field, went 0-for-3.

Terry Collins said it was unpleasant to need to pinch hit for Ike Davis with Justin Turner in the seventh inning. Still, the manager said he is sticking with Davis -- including against left-hander Mark Buehrle on Wednesday. The manager added that there has been no talk whatsoever of potentially optioning Davis to the minors to right himself there.

Davis, after going 0-for-2 Tuesday, is hitting .131 with 21 strikeouts in 61 at-bats. He is 3-for-his-last-25.

“I love Ike Davis. He’s going to hit,” Collins said. “We’re going to put this in our past here real soon, because he’s going to start hitting the ball like we know he can. As I said the other day when I took [closer] Frankie [Francisco] out of the game, once in a while it’s not just about one guy sometimes. It’s about all 25. He understood.”

A team insider noted that the Braves just sent accomplished Jair Jurrjens to the minors, so no young player with options remaining such as Davis is exempt. But any such decision would not be made unless Davis struggled for a few more weeks, the source added.

“I truly believe the only way to get out of something like this is to make sure he continues to get in there and get at-bats,” Collins said. “And if we have to pinch hit for him, I don’t want to do it, but we may have to.”

As for any demotion chatter, Collins emphatically said: “We have never talked about that. Right now we have to get Ike Davis going. And the only place to get him going is here, I think.”

Sandy Alderson, by the way, said pregame that Davis’ suspected case of valley fever is a nonissue with respect to his play on the field.

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis set the tone for the game, when he raced into the left-center gap and corralled Jose Reyes’ shot on the second pitch of the game with a leap at the wall.

“I kind of knew that one was going to be close,” Nieuwenhuis said. “And then, once I got to the wall, I thought I had a pretty good chance. Thankfully I caught it. Otherwise, he’d be running for days.”

• On the relay from left fielder Mike Baxter to shortstop Ruben Tejada to catcher Josh Thole that went awry in the top of the seventh, allowing the Marlins to take a 1-0 lead, Collins said:

“First of all, the ball that Tejada threw, he threw a rocket. He just short-hopped the catcher. Another two feet and it’s in the air. I’ll tell you, there are not a lot of catchers who are going to make that play. That ball is really coming in hard. You don’t have any idea how high it’s going to bounce, if it’s going to bounce. And the ball just skipped on him.

“It started when Mike went to pick the ball up. He really didn’t have a good grasp of it. Had he got it in right away, we probably would have had a lot easier shot.”

Recap | Box score | Photos

WHAT IT MEANS: Jose Reyes returned to Citi Field before an announced crowd of 20,192.

More importantly, on a day Mike Pelfrey and Jason Bay landed on the disabled list, Johan Santana returned to form a week after getting beat up by the Atlanta Braves in the shortest start of his major league career.

Of course, even Santana's success was excruciating, as the Mets again failed to score for their No. 1 starter and he departed trailing. Yet, the Mets ultimately prevailed 2-1 against the Miami Marlins to move back above .500 at 9-8.

Lucas Duda had the game-deciding RBI when he nailed a line drive off the middle finger on the pitching hand of Edward Mujica with two out in the eighth inning. The ball settled in the infield and Kirk Nieuwenhuis scored the go-ahead run.

Frank Francisco recorded his fourth save of the season -- and his first since the season-opening series against the Braves -- by tossing a scoreless ninth that included a walk.

Of course, it took plenty of help from the Marlins to finally bail Santana out of an unfair loss. Four different Miami pitchers issued consecutive walks to Mets batters, capped by Mike Dunn to Josh Thole, to force in the game-tying run in the seventh.

That inning ended when Dunn struck out pinch hitter Zach Lutz looking to strand three in the rookie's first major league at-bat.

YO! Santana limited the Marlins to one hit in six scoreless innings, then took the mound for the seventh with his pitch count at 95. Locked in a scoreless duel with Josh Johnson, Santana allowed a two-out single to Giancarlo Stanton, then a double to left field by Gaby Sanchez.

The original throw from left fielder Mike Baxter to Ruben Tejada wasn't perfect. Still, the relay throw to the plate by Tejada to Thole should have nailed Stanton and preserved the scoreless tie. Instead, the ball skipped narrowly in front of Thole and eluded him as the Marlins took a 1-0 lead.

Incredibly, the Mets have mounted zero runs in four games while Santana has been on the mound. They have been shut out twice. And in Santana's lone poor start, in his last outing when he recorded only four outs, the Mets' runs in a 9-3 loss came after the southpaw departed.

Throw out the Atlanta start and Santana has allowed two earned runs in 16 1/3 innings over three starts with nothing to show for it except an 0-2 record for the season.

Santana, who ultimately threw 105 pitches while allowing only three hits and two walks Tuesday night, struck out 11. That was his most since Aug. 2, 2010, against the Braves before the surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule.

Now Santana will pitch on standard rest for first time in the regular season Sunday in Denver.

WELCOME BACK: After being featured in a brief video tribute pregame, Reyes went 0-for-4. He was robbed of a potential extra-base hit on the second pitch of the game, when Nieuwenhuis leaped near the wall in left-center and corralled Reyes' shot.

Reyes grounded out to his successor, Tejada, to end the top of the third, then flied out to right field in the sixth and eighth innings -- the latter time against Jon Rauch, who has now tossed 9 1/3 scoreless innings this season.

Things did not go better for Reyes' successor at shortstop for the Mets. Tejada went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, including popping out on a bunt attempt after Nieuwenhuis opened the bottom of the eighth with a single.

IN A PINCH: Ike Davis has so struggled that Terry Collins used Justin Turner to pinch hit for him with two out and a runner on first base in the seventh inning. Facing southpaw Mark Buehrle on Wednesday, the Mets will go with a more righty-oriented lineup, which very well may include Lutz at first base over Davis, Collins acknowledged pregame.

Davis was 0-for-2 before being pulled and is now 3-for-25 over his past seven games.

CLOSE CALL: In a scoreless game in the fourth, Daniel Murphy attempted to score from third on a ball that got behind catcher John Buck. However, plate umpire Dan Iassogna ruled Johnson, covering the plate, successfully applied a tag on Murphy's thigh before his foot touched the plate. Murphy, then Collins argued. The SNY freeze-frame replay appeared to validate Iassogna’s call.

WHAT’S NEXT: Buehrle (1-2, 2.66 ERA) makes his first career start against the Mets, opposite R.A. Dickey.