Mets Squeak by Marlins

New York wins 1-0 as Fish batting woes continue

Florida Marlins prospect Matt Dominguez is expected to be the team's third baseman of the future.

He got his first Major League hit in the Marlins' 1-0 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday.

The 22-year old third baseman made his first career start and singled up the middle in the second inning off knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

"It was good to get that first one out of the way so doing it in the first at-bat was good," Dominguez said. "The next couple at-bats I could relax a little bit more.

"It's the same game up here, just a lot better. You try to play your same game."

The Marlins needed more hits like Dominguez' as Dickey continued his stellar pitching against the Marlins.

Dickey (8-11) hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 20 innings against the Marlins.

"I think it's coincidence," Dickey said. "Sometimes you match up better against certain type of hitters and maybe this team has those kinds of hitters for me."

Jose Reyes led off the game with a single and scored on a one-out double down the left-field line by Lucas Duda for the only run of the game.

"You don't see that very often," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Fortunately Jose got on, Lucas put one where nobody was standing, and we got a chance to score otherwise we'd still be playing."

Dickey and relievers Josh Stinson and Manny Acosta combined on a five-hitter. The Mets also managed just five hits.

The Mets played their final game at the Marlins' stadium before Florida moves into a new home next season. The Mets finished 75-74 at the park the Marlins had shared with the Miami Dolphins since 1993.

Dickey gave up four hits and three walks. He struck out three.

"I started off very mediocre," Dickey said. "The second and third innings I really had to fight out of some jams and was fortunate enough to make some good pitches."

Brad Hand (1-6) allowed one run, three hits and four walks in six innings.

"I minimized the damage," Hand said. "When they did get runners on I got out of it, just trying to keep the team in the game and not give up any more runs after that first."

Florida had a runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings and stranded eight in the game.

"He wasn't nearly as sharp as he's been against us in the past," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "I thought for sure we were going to get him. He gave us an opportunity but we couldn't cash in and put the ball in play."

The Mets committed errors on back-to-back plays in the third, but the Marlins could not take advantage of the blunders.

In the eighth, the Marlins put Emilio Bonifacio on third base, but Stinson struck out Gaby Sanchez swinging to end the inning.

"(Stinson) looked very much the part that he's a big leaguer, no question," Collins said.

Acosta pitched the ninth and recorded his first save since Aug. 11, 2010, at Houston. He struck out the first two batters he faced before hitting Mike Stanton with a pitch. Greg Dobbs grounded back to Acosta to end the game.

"That was my first opportunity this year, I'm happy, and I'll wait for more," Acosta said.

Jason Bay had two hits for the Mets.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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