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 Tuesday night’s 10th inning.
Zack Wheeler’s no-hit bid had long ended by then, but the Mets were able 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.
LaTroy Hawkins, Scott Atchison and Bobby Parnell combined for three scoreless innings behind Wheeler. Parnell earned his 22nd save in 26 chances with a scoreless 10th.
Ed Lucas’ single on Wheeler’s 80th pitch, with one out in the seventh, ended the rookie’s no-hit bid, but the Marlins were just getting started. Donovan Solano’s RBI single scored Logan Morrison, who had walked with one out, before Jake Marisnick tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single. Wheeler then escaped the inning by getting Jeff Mathis to hit into a double play.
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. Harvey’s flirtations came on April 13 in Minnesota, May 7 against the White Sox at Citi Field and June 18 in Atlanta — the same day Wheeler made his major league debut, as part of a Super Tuesday doubleheader.
Wheeler’s final line over seven innings included two earned runs allowed on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts. In his past three road starts he has combined to pitch 19 innings and allow just 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 to third 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 before Davis walked to load the bases. Buck then delivered the go-ahead hit.
Wheeler was at 60 pitches after striking out Mathis to end the fifth and had an easy sixth to keep his pitch count in check. It was a sixth inning in which the right-hander needed just six pitches to retire Juan Pierre, Christian Yelich and Adeiny Hechavarria.
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 he faced before Giancarlo Stanton walked with two outs in the fourth. Marisnick walked with two outs in the fifth for the Marlins’ second base runner.
The Mets had lost their three previous extra-inning games against the Marlins this season. Included was a 2-1 loss in 20 innings on June 8 at Citi Field. The teams played a 10-inning game the next day that the Mets lost 8-4. The extra-inning fun got started at Marlin Park on April 29, when the Mets lost 4-3 in 15 innings.