Game Recap: Hefner Ends Season on High Note in 4-2 Win

Jeremy Hefner followed his best start of the year with another pretty good one, helping the Mets end the 2012 season, one that has been up-and-down (to say the least), on a high note, helping beat the Marlins 4-2. Now, it’s officially the off-season for New York, as Sandy Alderson tries to put together a team that will be competitive for the whole season in 2013.

Mets Offensive Highlights:

Andres Torres got the scoring started for the Mets in the third inning, as he clubbed his third homer of the season, a line drive over the right field wall. Hefner tried to keep the rally going with a single of his own, but Ruben Tejada grounded into a double play, followed by an inning-ending ground out from Daniel Murphy. There was more long ball in the next inning, as Ike Davis doubled in front of Scott Hairston, who hit his 20th homer of the year. That total is the second-most bombs in franchise history with less than 400 plate appearances, only bested by Richard Hidalgo‘s 21 homers in 359 PAs in 2004. The last run of the year for New York came in the sixth, as Davis hit his 32nd homer of the season. Tejada collected three hits and Davis collected two himself to lead the offense to victory.

Oct. 3, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Jeremy Hefner (53) throws during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. The Mets won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Marlins Offensive Highlights:

Miami was playing catch-up most of the afternoon, as they didn’t start their scoring until they were down 4-0. Donnie Murphy doubled to left to lead off the sixth inning, then moved to third off a ground out by Bryan Peterson. Gorkys Hernandez had the honors of driving in the first run with a single to left. The Marlins put together another run in the eighth, as Peterson singled, Hernandez walked, then Jose Reyes singled to load the bases for Giancarlo Stanton. Peterson ended up scoring on a passed ball, but that was all the offense that would come from the home team on this day, ending a sour season on a sour note. Murphy and Peterson both had multi-hit games, as Miami went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding 8 men on base.

Pitching Highlights:

For the second straight start, Jeremy Hefner pitched into the eighth inning, and pitched effectively. He threw 7.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 7. Elvin Ramirez and Manny Acosta each pitched 0.1 innings to finish off the eighth to hand it off to Bobby Parnell, who set the side down for his 7th save of the season.

Tom Koehler was thrown into his first MLB start late because of the extra inning game on Tuesday, as he threw 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Chad Gaudin, who was the original starter, came in to throw 2 innings of relief, giving up a run in the process. Dan Jennings threw a third of an inning, and A.J. Ramos capped the year for the Marlins with 1.2 frames.

The win leave the Mets with a 74-88 record, officially ending up in fourth place in the NL East. They finished 24 games back of the division champion Washington Nationals, and 13.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot.

And that’s a wrap, folks. Unfortunately for us, we have no more games to cover in 2012. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout this season, some for good, some for bad, but at the end of the day, it was a helluva season, and the staff at Rising Apple has been honored to witness every game and piece of news with you. Just because the season is over doesn’t mean we are…we’ll be here throughout the winter evaluating 2012, reporting news and rumors, and giving you our opinion on what our beloved team is doing. So please, keep coming back and telling us what you think!

Let’s go Mets!