MIAMI — In the eighth inning, with the score tied and two runners on base, Juan Lagares charged a ground ball coming toward him in center field.
Lagares, who had erased a three-run Marlins lead in the seventh inning with a double, fielded the ball cleanly, reared back and fired home. But Martin Prado, the runner on second base, charged hard round third and slid safely home, just ahead of the ball. Prado pumped his fist, having bested Lagares, the Gold Glove-winning center fielder.
The Mets then went down quietly in the ninth and lost, 4-3, Tuesday.