Missing eight games didn’t hurt Jeff Conine–or the Marlins.
Conine, who missed eight straight because of a sprained left shoulder, homered in his first at-bat as Florida won its franchise-best seventh straight.
“I was surprised that I got the home run my first time up,” Conine said. “This was a first time in 10 days that I swung a bat. I was very calm going to the plate and got a fastball and just hit it out. I had no problems with my shoulder and that was very encouraging.”
It was encouraging for Florida to have it’s homer and RBI leader back, but the team had won 7 of 8 without him.
“Winning is a fun thing,” Conine said. “The entire team has a completely different attitude and since we are having fun, they would have gotten on me if we hadn’t won.”
John Burkett who only lasted five innings for the victory, took himself out of the game with pain in his lower back.
Mets rookie Jason Isringhausen gave up four runs in the second as 10 Marlins batted. Greg Colbrunn doubled, went to third on a balk and scored on a wild pitch.
Three straight singles by Andre Dawson, Charles Johnson and Jesus Tavarez loaded the bases, then Burkett walked for one run, Quilvio Veras singled for another, and Kurt Abbott hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
“I don’t think he had much command at all,” Mets manager Dallas Green said of Isringhausen. “I don’t think he had a good feel for what he was doing out there and that’s unusual for him.”
The Mets got one run back in the third inning on Kelly Stinnett’s homer, and Bill Spiers’ RBI single.
Florida scored twice in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk to Abbott and a sacrifice fly by Conine.
