The Mets snapped a nine-game home losing streak and stayed out of last place in the NL East by defeating Miami 7-3 on Friday night at Citi Field. The squad snapped a streak of 16 home games with three or less runs as it backed Jon Niese in his 12th win of the year, his new career-high.

Saturday, the Mets try to make it two in a row and secure R.A. Dickey's (18-6, 2.67) 19th win when he opposes Miami lefty Mark Buehrle (13-12, 3.78) at 1:10 p.m. The game is crucial for Dickey if he hopes to secure 20 wins this season.

Saturday's news reports:

• Read game recaps in the Daily News, Post, Star-Ledger, The Record, New York Times and Newsday.

• One day after implying that his team had quit, Mets manager Terry Collins backed off and said he regretted implying that might have been the case. He talked with the players individually to let them know that he still believes with them as they embarked on their final 13 games of the season entering Friday night's victory. Read more in the Star-Ledger and The Record.

• Lucas Duda felt Collins' wrath when he was pulled for not running out a pop-up in the first inning. Duda admitted that it was his fault for not running out the ball, which dropped in for a single, and Collins said something had to be done considering the way the team has played over the past few months.

• While no one else may have felt this way, Collins said Friday's win felt like an October baseball game. The Mets won at home for just the fifth time in their past 29 games and are trying to secure just their second home series win since the All-Star break, with the other series win coming vs. the Astros.

• Jenrry Mejia will make another start Monday against Pittsburgh). He gave up five runs on six hits and five walks against Milwaukee but the team will give him another shot following a scoreless inning against Philadelphia the other night.

• Lefty reliever Josh Edgin's season is over due to an appearances cap. The lefty appeared in 75 games this season and finish 1-2 with a 4.56 ERA. Unfortunately for him, his final pitch wasn't so memorable as he served up a grand slam to Ryan Howard during the team's 16-1 home loss to the Phillies on Thursday night.

&bull: Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on a radio show Friday that what has happened to the Mets down the stretch is "sad." According to the Post, Bloomberg said on his weekly show: "It's sad that the Mets have sort of fallen apart here." Bloomberg's comments came one day after the team lost by 15 runs and their manager implied they had quit on the season.

TRIVIA: The 2003 Mets were the last Mets team to finish in last in the NL East. Which player led the team in RBIs that year?

Friday's answer: Although he started his 52 games in the No. 3 slot this season and has settled into that role, Jose Reyes most frequently has started as the leadoff hitter (95 starts).