Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - There was no comeback on Wednesday night for the resilient New York Mets.
Will Venable finished with four hits and three runs scored, and San Diego took advantage of some shoddy New York defense to down the Mets, 9-5, in the third contest of a four-game set at Citi Field.
New York charged back for five runs in the last two frames to win Monday's series opener in its last at-bat then put up three runs in the eighth frame to take Tuesday's game. The late-game rally came again on Wednesday, as the Mets loaded the bases with two outs against Padres closer Heath Bell, and just when it appeared the game was ending, Logan Forsythe booted a routine grounder to allow a run to score and the tying run to reach the plate. Willie Harris then smoked a liner, but Forsythe made up for his miscue by climbing the ladder to rob Harris and end the game. Jesus Guzman finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI and Cameron Maybin drove home a pair of runs without a hit. Aaron Harang (11-3) constantly pitched out of the stretch, allowing 10 hits and two walks in 5 2/3 frames, but he limited the damage to three runs. R.A. Dickey (5-11) was not as fortunate, giving up five runs -- three earned -- on six hits with one walk and one strikeout over six frames. Josh Thole had a four-hit game and Ruben Tejada finished with three hits in the loss. "There were a lot of parts of this game (that didn't go right)," said Mets manager Terry Collins. "We had 15 hits, four walks, and when you look up and you score only five runs, it is not a good night." San Diego got off to a quick start in its first at-bat, as Venable tripled to right and scored on Jason Bartlett's sacrifice fly. In the second, Kyle Blanks singled then Forsythe reached first on a wild throw to second by Dickey that allowed Blanks to take third. Luis Martinez drove one home with a single to right, and Venable's soft single allowed another runner to score, but in between those two batters, Dickey thwarted a safety squeeze attempt by Harang, tossing home to nab Forsythe. Guzman found real estate in center with a one-out single in the third, moved to second on a walk and scored on Forsythe's double to left. Alberto Gonzalez followed with a sacrifice fly to score Blanks for a 5-0 lead. Yet, as the Padres found out the hard way already this week, no lead is safe. The Mets chipped away with Dickey's RBI single in the fourth, along with Nick Evans' run-scoring double and Jason Pridie's RBI single in the sixth. San Diego, however, added an insurance run in the seventh with Venable setting the table. The center fielder doubled, moved to third on Bartlett's single and scored on Maybin's sacrifice fly. The Mets got that run back on Harris' run- scoring single in the eighth, but again the Padres added to their lead. James Damell singled to lead off the ninth and scampered to third on Venable's second double of the game. The first runner scored on Maybin's groundout and the latter on Guzman's single. He stole second, and the inning stayed alive when pitcher Bobby Parnell missed the first-base bag after catching a soft toss on a grounder to first by Aaron Cunningham. San Diego then executed a double-steal, as the Mets threw through to second, and Guzman just slid in before a swipe tag from Thole. The Mets threatened in the ninth, loading the bases before Tejada hit a one- hopper to Forsythe, who lifted up and booted the ball, allowing Jason Bay to score. He made up for it on the next play, snagging Harris' liner. Game Notes In the ultimate sign that run support helps dictate pitching records, Dickey has a 3.75 earned run average and 11 losses, while Harang has a 3.95 ERA and 11 wins...The Mets left 13 men on base...Dickey had never faced San Diego before Wednesday night. He dropped to 1-8 this season at Citi Field...San Diego second baseman Orlando Hudson missed the game with a strained right groin...Harang improved to 6-0 away from Petco Park...Bay's hitting streak ended at 11 games.