MIAMI — It simply was an embarrassment.
The Mets did not belong on a major league baseball field Monday afternoon, playing the kind of game that signaled they have packed it in for 2014.
In a Labor Day debacle, the Mets committed six errors — including three during Miami’s three-run eighth inning — and lost 9-6 at Marlins Park.
“It’s not a big-league baseball game, I could tell you that,” manager Terry Collins said after watching his Bad News Bears come within one of the franchise record for errors in a game.
But David Wright, who misplayed a grounder in the fifth that led to three unearned runs scoring, was more diplomatic.
“I think all and all we’ve played pretty good defense throughout the year,” Wright said. “One game isn’t going to tarnish that, but at the same time we can’t expect to win and be successful when we play as sloppy as we did today.”
Jeurys Familia had a brutal eighth, as he committed two throwing errors and unloaded a wild pitch. The righty reliever has struggled with his throws all season, and Monday he wasn’t helped by rookie Dilson Herrera, who couldn’t scoop Familia’s low throw to first base on Adeiny Hechavarria’s sacrifice bunt. Familia’s wild pitch followed to give the Marlins a 7-6 lead.
Familia had another throwing error on a sacrifice bunt later in the inning, helping the Marlins build a cushion. All told, five of the runs allowed by the Mets were unearned.
Herrera finished with two errors, giving him three in his first four games since arriving from Double-A Binghamton.
“I have no excuses,” said Herrera, who hit his first major league homer in the third. “Errors are going to happen here and there — I’m not perfect — but I am also going to continue to work on it and get better, because that is a big part of my game.”
Christian Yelich’s RBI single in the sixth tied the game 6-6 after Herrera’s second error of the game put a runner on second base with nobody out. Herrera tried to make an off-balance fling to first on Hechavarria’s bunt, but threw it away before former Met Jordany Valdespin walked to put runners on first and second for Yelich.
Herrera’s two-run triple in the sixth gave the Mets a 6-5 lead after the Marlins had knocked out Zack Wheeler the previous inning.
Wheeler lasted only 4 ²/₃ innings and allowed five runs, three of which were unearned, on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. The right-hander’s afternoon was finished after Garrett Jones’ RBI single in the fifth made it 4-4.
The big play in the inning was Wright booting a Donovan Solano grounder for an error. With two outs, Casey McGehee delivered an RBI double, and Jones’ single tied the game. Marcell Ozuna then delivered an RBI single against Buddy Carlyle to put the Marlins ahead.
“They are not mental errors, they are just execution errors,” Wright said. “That is not an excuse for them, and obviously you’re not going to win games committing six errors, but they happen and a lot of times they happen in bunches.”
Wright’s two-run single in the third gave the Mets a 3-2 lead, and a fourth run scored on Ozuna’s throwing error.
Herrera’s first major league homer, a shot that cleared the left-field fence leading off the third against Henderson Alvarez, pulled the Mets within 2-1 to start the rally.
Ozuna’s RBI triple in the second inning gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead after Giancarlo Stanton homered in the first. The blast was Stanton’s NL-leading 34th of the season.
“There were a lot of phases of the game that just weren’t very good,” Collins said. “I don’t know how many runs they attributed to us not catching the baseball, but we didn’t pitch all that good either, so it wasn’t just one area.”