Starter Zack Wheeler (above) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. (AP)
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MIAMI — For the Mets, the night was headed from no-no to “No, no!” until John Buck drove a Steve Cishek pitch through the middle in the 10th inning at Marlins Park.
Zack Wheeler’s no-hit bid had long ended by then, but the Mets were allowed to celebrate the more mundane: a 4-2 victory over the Marlins in the fourth extra-inning game between the division rivals this season.
The Mets (48-56) won their second straight, recovering from a disastrous eighth inning in which they failed to score the go-ahead run with Marlon Byrd on third base and nobody out. In the 10th, they loaded the bases with nobody out before the former Marlins catcher Buck smacked a two-run single.
It came after Wheeler took a no-hitter into the seventh and got the first out. Logan Morrison then walked, and Ed Lucas singled on Wheeler’s 80th pitch of the night. Before the inning was finished, Wheeler has surrendered two runs to make it 2-2.
“I felt smooth about my mechanics, the rhythm was good,” Wheeler said. “I did get away with a few mistakes tonight, but that happens.”
After Lucas ended the no-hit bid, Donovan Solano’s RBI single scored Morrison. Jake Marisnick then tied the game with an RBI single. Wheeler escaped the inning by getting Jeff Mathis to hit into a double play. Though he had thrown just 87 pitches, he was removed for the eighth.
“His velocity went down about 3-4 mph, that is why I took him out,” manager Terry Collins said. “With that adrenaline, which is pumping through that body, when it kind of comes to an end, they are shot. But he was really something.”
It was the fifth time this season a Mets pitcher took a no-hitter into the seventh inning only to lose it. Matt Harvey has done it three times and Dillon Gee took a no-no into the seventh just nine days ago against the Braves at Citi Field.
Wheeler’s final line over seven innings included two earned runs allowed on three hits and three walks and five strikeouts. In his last three road starts he has combined to pitch 19 innings and allow only four earned runs for a 1.89 ERA.
The Mets had a chance to go ahead in the eighth after Byrd’s leadoff triple, but Ike Davis struck out against Chad Qualls before Buck grounded out and Juan Lagares walked. Qualls then struck out Omar Quintanilla and tumbled over celebrating as he came off the mound.
In the 10th, David Wright and Byrd singled in succession against Cishek before Davis walked to load the bases. Buck then delivered the go-ahead hit.
“I felt I had a pretty good at-bat [against Qualls] and that helped me against Cishek,” Buck said. “I felt good about the at-bat and when I came up and kind of had a similar situation, I said, ‘Alright, stick with that approach,’ and he left it over the plate and I got the results I wanted.”
LaTroy Hawkins, Scott Atchison and Bobby Parnell combined for three shutout innings to drop the bullpen’s ERA to 2.24 in July.
Lagares’ two-run triple in the fourth gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Wright doubled leading off the inning and Buck walked with two outs before Lagares tripled to right-center, scoring both.
Wheeler retired the first 11 batters before Giancarlo Stanton walked with two outs in the fourth.
“I just tried to keep on doing the same thing I was doing in the first part of the game,” Wheeler said.
Collins said Wheeler’s first six innings might have been the most dominant by a Met this season.
“He pounded the strike zone,” Collins said. “You look up in the sixth inning and he’s got [66] pitches. He was getting outs, wasn’t trying to strike anybody out, throwing the ball over the plate. It was plus, plus stuff.”
mpuma@nypost.com