NEW YORK _ It was around this time last year that the Mets, carried on the back of their dominant pitching but otherwise struggling to stay afloat, began searching for the player that could spark their offense. Someone who could fill a hole in the outfield, and make them a contender.
It took a few weeks and a botched trade, but eventually, Yoenis Cespedes came to Flushing with his big smile, his neon green compression sleeve, and his penchant for saving this team from the brink of oblivion. One National League pennant later, he's still doing it.
In one of the largest comebacks in franchise history, the Mets, led by a host of players, but Cespedes especially, overcame a six-run deficit to defeat the Miami Marlins, 8-6, at Citi Field on Monday. They erased a troubling performance by Matt Harvey, who didn't make it out of the fourth inning, and maintained the momentum from their four-game sweep of the Cubs. All this, a week after sports pundits and more than a few fans had declared this season all but over.
"Real big," Terry Collins said of the win. "There can't be a letdown. We talked to the team before the Cubs series and we said we have a lot of games. ... We've got to grind it out for 11 days and if we do, we'll be OK."
The Mets, who trailed 6-0 in the fourth, scored a run in the bottom of the inning on Travis d'Arnaud's homer and another in the fifth on Granderson's. They then scored two each in the sixth, seventh and eighth. With the score tied at 6 with two outs in the eighth, Cespedes blasted Fernando Rodney's fastball to the gap in right-center to score d'Arnaud _ who led off the inning with an infield single _ and Neil Walker, trailing right behind d'Arnaud as the catcher waved his arms wildly for Walker to go for home.
In doing so, the Mets overcame the fourth-largest deficit in team history.
"I think even before those two home runs, we still had that positive attitude in the dugout, that there was a lot of game left to be played," Cespedes said. "After those two home runs, I think it gave us the strength that we needed to push through."
Cespedes, who went 3-for-5, extended his hitting streak to eight games, and also scored the tying run in the seventh. With David Phelps in to pitch, Walker led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on Cespedes' double. Walker scored on James Loney's groundout and, after an intentional walk to Asdrubal Cabrera, Wilmer Flores brought Cespedes home on a sacrifice fly.
The Mets bullpen, meanwhile, pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, capped by Jeurys Familia, who earned his MLB-leading 29th save. It all tempered a series of brutal innings by Harvey, who after the game said he was still looking into an issue with his mechanics.
Five of the six runs Harvey allowed were earned, and the unearned run came when he botched a throw to the plate. With the bases loaded in the fourth, Martin Prado hit a soft bouncer to Harvey, who caught it on a high hop with plenty of time to get Johnson, but Harvey threw it away to give the Marlins a 4-0 lead. Christian Yelich singled in the next at-bat to plate two more. Harvey gave up 11 hits, with four strikeouts and no walks.
Harvey came into the game with the lowest run support among qualified pitchers (2.44), but now has the highest ERA of any pitcher on the Mets' staff, at 4.86. He hasn't won a game since May 30.
"It wasn't fun being out there the way it was, but it was obviously fun watching the team battle back like that," he said. "It showed a lot of character and a lot of heart, and unfortunately, I couldn't get it done when I was out there, but we got to keep pushing."
