MIAMI — Jeremy Hefner does a better job of owning the Marlins than Jeffrey Loria.
The Mets right-hander doesn’t consider it a fluke. Sometimes, he says, a pitcher just matches up well against an opponent.
Hefner, tonight’s scheduled starter for the Mets, owns a 2.21 ERA in four career appearances against the Marlins. Overall, he has posted a 5.10 ERA in his 31 games in the majors.
The secret of Hefner’s success against the Marlins?
“They are not as disciplined as other teams,” Hefner said yesterday. “Obviously I don’t want to say too much, because I don’t want to give it over to them, but as far as being able to chase pitches, it seems to work to my advantage against them more than maybe other teams.”
Hefner allowed one run over six innings against the Marlins at Citi Field earlier this month to take the loss. He followed that with consecutive clunkers against the Phillies and Nationals before allowing one run over seven innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers on Thursday.
Hefner went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in two starts at Marlins Park last year.
“It’s a big park — you can get away with a few mistakes here as far as the home run ball, as opposed to Philadelphia,” Hefner said. “If you want to contrast [the Marlins] and Philly, they have a smaller ballpark and more veteran lineup in Philly. Here, it’s a bigger ballpark and younger lineup.”
* David Wright applauded Jason Collins’ decision to come out as the first openly gay player in the four major sports leagues.
“It’s very admirable,” Wright said. “And obviously it’s a different sport [the NBA], but if you can play the game I don’t care the color of your skin, religion, sexual orientation, if you can play the game, come on in. You applaud how brave it must be to come out and make that announcement.”
Wright said baseball is ready for an openly gay player. But he didn’t want to guess why no players have stepped forward.
“I play third base,” Wright said. “I’m not philosophical. You’re asking a little much of me.”
* Frank Francisco threw 15 pitches in an intersquad game in Port St. Lucie. … With 25 RBIs, John Buck needs one more to match Jeff Kent’s team record in the month of April. Kent drove in 26 runs in April 1994.