Marlins Lose Series to Mets, Cling to Lead

The Mets series was the start of a crucial NL East road trip that would determine whether or not the Marlins belonged on top of the standings.

It started off well enough, but Florida blew two leads in the rubber match and ultimately lost in extra innings to drop to 30-22. It's not really a big deal, despite having our division lead shrink to just half a game. We've shown we can be competitive in the division; all that Florida needs to do is stay consistent and they'll be fine.

It is still way too much to ask of this young ballclub to make the playoffs. Philly has a ridiculous lineup, the Braves have some bats and Tim Hudson, and the Mets were preseason picks by many to make the World Series, having added Johan Santana. Still, the Marlins have managed to piece together a spectacular 1/3rd of a season and by now we can start having hope that they'll keep up the pace.

The Marlins don't play tonight but start a 3 game series at Philly to determine who will be leading the division at the start of the new week. Hopefully our ragtag bunch of starters can keep the Utley-Howard-Burrell combination off the scoreboards. That should be a tough assignment considering the recent offensive surge being made by the Phillies.