Mets' bullpen collapses in loss to Arizona

Mets starter Dillon Gee pitched with a stubborn determination that matched his billy-goat beard, leaving with a two-run lead over Arizona after six innings of four-hit ball Friday night at Citi Field.

But first baseman Ike Davis compounded his problems at the plate with an error to start the eighth inning, and the Mets' bullpen collapsed as the Diamondbacks rallied for a 5-4 victory that extended the Mets' losing streak to four games and dropped them to .500.

Reliever Bobby Parnell got three outs in the seventh on only five pitches, but he was lifted when Davis booted Justin Upton's scorching grounder down the line to open the eighth. Tim Byrdak came on and walked Jason Kubel before striking out Miguel Montero. He then gave way to Jon Rauch, whose first-pitch slider was drilled to right-center for a tying two-run double by Paul Goldschmidt.

"It was a hanging slider," Rauch said. "It probably looked as big as a beach ball coming in . . . He put a good swing on it. It's on me."

Cody Ransom, who was responsible for the only runs off Gee with a two-run homer in the second inning, then singled to drive in Goldschmidt with the go-ahead run before Rauch finally got out of the inning.

The Mets threatened to tie it in the eighth when they got a runner to third, but Josh Thole's liner to left-center was run down by Kubel. J.J. Putz closed out the Mets in the ninth.

The Mets wasted a terrific effort by Gee, who struck out six. After giving up Ransom's home run, Gee allowed a single and then found his comfort zone, retiring 11 of the next 12 hitters he faced. Kubel and Montero worked walks to start the sixth, but manager Terry Collins left Gee in, and he completed the inning with two strikeouts, throwing a 92-mph fastball on his 109th and final pitch.

Asked if he appreciated the chance to finish a quality start, Gee said, "Absolutely. It gives me a chance to prove I can battle and stick it out. Lately, I've made good pitches late in games. I feel I've grown a little bit as a pitcher this year."

The Mets' four-run third gave Gee a 4-2 lead. Ruben Tejada, who tore it up on the recent road trip with 13 hits for a .464 average, singled up the middle and went to third when Daniel Murphy drilled a double to the wall in right-center. With first base open, Wade Miley walked David Wright to load the bases.

Miley struck out Lucas Duda, but Scott Hairston roped a two-run double down the leftfield line. That brought up Davis, who continued to struggle at the plate but managed to bring in Wright with his broken-bat groundout. Then Andres Torres ripped a single to left to drive in Wright.

Wright extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a leadoff single in the fifth and went to second when Goldschmidt failed to handle Duda's smash that was ruled a hit. Hairston struck out and Davis, who showed signs of breaking out of his slump in Colorado, grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Collins blamed Davis' early-season woes on the fact he missed most of last season while recovering from an ankle injury. He rolled the ankle during his first at-bat but said it responded well.

"What we're seeing is the result of a guy getting 130 major-league at-bats last year when he should have had 500," Collins said. "He's searching. He's showing the effects of not playing enough."

Davis blamed his troubles the past four games on facing four tough lefthanders. "I'm not looking foolish at the plate," he said. "I'm just not finding holes. It's definitely on me tonight for sure."