Mets fall short, 4-3

All Jose Reyes could do was wait.

With his speed, the Mets just needed a single to tie the score in the ninth. And with the heart of the order due up, none out and a rookie closer on the mound, there was every reason to believe the speedy shortstop eventually would score.

But minutes later, the Mets could only lament their missed opportunities. Jordan Walden struck out Carlos Beltran, Daniel Murphy and Angel Pagan on 13 pitches, stranding Reyes at second and Justin Turner at first to preserve the Angels' 4-3 interleague win Friday night at Citi Field.

Passing thunderstorms that delayed the start of the game 33 minutes did little to slow down the Angels, who tagged the Mets for 10 hits. But it was Walden's nasty slider -- which he set up masterfully with a 100-mph fastball -- that proved too difficult for the Mets to overcome.

"It's hard enough when guys throw 90 mph," said Turner, who worked an eight-pitch walk after Reyes walked and stole second base. " . . . If that situation comes up again, I'd put my money on those three guys to get it done."

But this time they didn't, and the Mets - who were 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base -- fell to 2-7 in games decided by one run at Citi Field and 8-13 overall.

Said Beltran, "I was looking to put the ball in play . . . Unfortunately, I wasn't picking up the breaking balls out of the pitcher's hand . . . He was tough. He has kind of like a funky motion at the same time. He looks like he's jumping from the mound toward you.''

Pagan had two hits and two RBIs against Joel Piñeiro (3-3), but he whiffed on an 80-mph slider to end the game after Beltran and Murphy struck out on sharp 82-mph sliders in the dirt.

Said Pagan, "The guy started wild but then he found his rhythm and started throwing some nasty pitches. You have no idea how difficult it is [to pick up Walden's slider]. He threw me the best pitch of the night. I was just trying to foul it off at least. I was just trying to stay alive.''

The Mets moved within 4-3 in the eighth when Jason Bay reached on a one-out infield single, got to second on Erick Aybar's throwing error and scored on Ronny Paulino's double. But Ruben Tejada grounded out, moving pinch runner Jason Pridie to third, and Scott Hairston struck out swinging against Scott Downs.

After Torii Hunter singled off Chris Capuano (5-7) to start the sixth, he was caught stealing by Paulino for the second out. But Capuano gave up three straight hits -- a single by Howie Kendrick, an infield single by Mark Trumbo and an RBI double by Peter Bourjos -- as the Angels took a 3-2 lead.

"You want them to put the ball in play," said Capuano, who gave up eight hits, three runs (two earned) and three walks and struck out five. " . . . Sometimes it doesn't go to fielders."

Bobby Parnell took over for Capuano to start the seventh and allowed Maicer Izturis' double and Hunter's RBI single. That gave the Angels a 4-2 lead.

"Those are the balls that are coming back to kill us," said Terry Collins, a self-described "purist at heart" who said he doesn't see the point in interleague play outside of rivalries."I think it's really important to play the Yankees," he said. "I think it's great for the city; I think it's great for baseball to have the rivalries. But I'm not a big fan of interleague play . . . If we're going to play somebody that people in this area are probably excited to see, it might be Baltimore or those East Coast teams.''