Diamondbacks hand Mets fifth loss in row

PHOENIX -- Charlie Sheen took batting practice before Sunday's game at Chase Field, and in a way, that seemed fitting. The Mets are on their very own "Torpedo of Truth" tour as this season winds down, and the truth ain't pretty.

Shortly after Sheen flailed away with an aluminum bat, the Mets didn't look much better in a 5-3 loss to the Diamondbacks, who completed the three-game sweep and extended their winning streak to six.

A lack of timely hitting, combined with Chris Capuano's usual middle-inning troubles, sent the Mets spiraling to their fifth straight loss and 11th in 14 games. It left them four games under .500 (58-62) for the first time since June 4, when they were 27-31.

"It was frustrating," Capuano said. "I felt like it was there for us to take the last one."

Lucas Duda twice put the Mets ahead. His solo homer off Jason Marquis in the fourth inning gave them a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Duda smacked an RBI single up the middle for a 3-2 edge.

But the Mets finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and were unable to capitalize on Angel Pagan's leadoff double in the seventh.

Pagan, who represented the tying run, made it as far as third when rightfielder Justin Upton ran a long way to grab Justin Turner's fly ball at the track. But Diamondbacks reliever Micah Owings struck out David Wright on three pitches, and after a walk to Duda, he whiffed Jason Bay to end the threat.

"We've been battling hard without much luck," said Pagan, who had three hits, scored a run and stole second. "We just have to keep trying to see if that can change somehow. We're a fighting team and we have to keep doing that."

Capuano (9-11) reportedly has cleared waivers, which means he now can be traded to any team, and the Diamondbacks found themselves thrust back into the market Sunday when Marquis suffered a fractured right fibula. But would Capuano make sense for a contender?

On Sunday, he twice failed to hold leads before Arizona nudged in front to stay on Henry Blanco's RBI double with two outs in the sixth inning. He allowed nine hits and four runs in six innings, with six strikeouts and no walks.

Capuano never has pitched less than five innings in any of his 23 starts this season, so he's reliable in that sense. But he's 1-4 with a 5.44 ERA in his last seven starts. Also, the later it gets in the game, the worse things get for Capuano, especially in the sixth inning, when his ERA jumps to 9.78. From innings four through six, Capuano has a 5.51 ERA.

"I seem to be making more mistakes in the middle part of the game," Capuano said. "I don't see a reason for it."

Capuano got two quick outs in the sixth before serving up Paul Goldschmidt's second double of the game. Then Blanco stung his former team with the RBI double.

Earlier, Capuano was one pitch away from holding the 3-2 lead through five innings, but Upton sent that pitch flying deep into the leftfield seats, nearly reaching the concourse with his 25th homer. It was the identical pitch that Capuano used to strike out Upton in the third -- a two-seam fastball -- but it didn't work a second time.

"You have to give him credit," Capuano said. "He didn't want to get burned on the same pitch."

The day after the Diamondbacks' Gerardo Parra drilled Mike Pelfrey on the right elbow with a line drive, Pagan smacked a ground ball off Marquis' right ankle with two outs in the third inning.

The Diamondbacks didn't realize how badly Marquis was hurt until the fourth, when he fell off the mound while throwing a pitch that nailed Josh Thole on the knee. Both players tumbled to the ground almost simultaneously and remained there, but Marquis was in more obvious distress.

In three games, the Mets seriously injured two Arizona players -- Marquis and Xavier Nady (fractured hand) -- but as they made the short trip to San Diego, they were the ones who felt battered.