MIAMI — Who knew the Mets were capable of beating the worst team in the National League?
After five straight losses to the Marlins, the Mets refused to take “L” for an answer Monday night, using a three-run rally in the seventh inning to secure a 6-5 victory at Marlins Park.
Jeremy Hefner struggled for a third straight start, but the Mets broke their recent offensive silence — they had scored one run in each of three straight losses to the Nationals over the weekend — by collecting key hits late.
The Mets (47-56) also received superb relief from David Aardsma, Josh Edgin, LaTroy Hawkins and Bobby Parnell, who combined for 3 ²/₃ scoreless innings. Parnell’s save was his 21st in 25 chances this season.
The drama ended with Parnell retiring Giancarlo Stanton for the final out, with the potential tying run at third base and the potential winning run on first. Stanton swung at the first pitch and grounded weakly to second base.
Overall, the Mets have lost eight of 12 games against the Marlins this season. But the previous five straight perhaps hurt the Mets the worst — they came in a stretch of nine days following a four-game Subway Series sweep of the Yankees in which manager Terry Collins’ club had appeared to turn a corner.
Ike Davis’ RBI double in the seventh gave the Mets a 6-5 lead, after Hefner put his team in a two-run hole the previous inning. It was Davis’ second big hit in less than a week: On July 23 at Citi Field, he stroked a sixth-inning RBI double that put the Mets ahead in a 4-1 victory over the Braves.
The Mets started the seventh-inning comeback with Daniel Murphy’s RBI single against A.J. Ramos. Murphy stole second before Marlon Byrd delivered a run-scoring single to tie the game. Davis then hit a shot into the right-field corner and Byrd hustled around third, just beating the throw home.
Eric Young Jr.’s leadoff double started the rally. Murphy’s ensuing hit gave him three RBIs in the game, increasing his season total to 52. Murphy, Young and David Wright each had two hits to lead the Mets’ 10-hit attack.
Hefner lasted 5 ¹/₃ innings in which he surrendered five runs (three earned) on four hits and five walks. The right-hander was removed after Jeff Mathis’ two-run single in the sixth gave the Marlins a 5-3 lead.
It was a third straight shaky outing for Hefner, who had a 1.76 ERA in his eight starts leading into the All-Star break. Since then, he has posted a 12.34 ERA, with Monday’s the best of his three second-half starts.
Omar Quintanilla booted pitcher Jacob’s Turner’s grounder with two outs in the fourth, allowing the Marlins to tie the game at 3-3. Hefner should have escaped the inning with only one run across, but was forced to watch Ed Lucas and Donovan Solano cross the plate when Quintanilla couldn’t handle Turner’s routine grounder.
Lucas’ RBI triple to center scored Stanton, who had doubled leading off the inning. After Solano was hit by a pitch, Jake Marisnick walked to load the bases. Mathis popped up for the second out and Turner hit the grounder Quintanilla botched. Marisnick got caught in a rundown between second and third on the play and was tagged for the inning’s final out.
Wright’s RBI double in the third against Turner gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. Moments earlier, Murphy had stroked a two-run single for the game’s first runs. That continued a torrid stretch for Murphy, who is 18-for-44 (.409) in his past 11 games.
Hefner started strong, with three hitless innings before Stanton’s double leading off the fourth.
mpuma@nypost.com