Marlins visit surging Mets at Citi Field

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Miami Marlins begin the next leg of their road trip on Thursday night with the first of four straight meetings against the New York Mets.

The Marlins began a 10-game swing by winning the final two contests of a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves. They plated 14 runs in the two victories after getting held to a pair of runs or fewer in five of their first seven games.

Adeiny Hechavarria celebrated his 26th birthday on Wednesday by going 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in Miami's 6-2 win over Atlanta. Dee Gordon added two hits and drove in two runs, while Michael Morse homered.

Dan Haren started for Miami and got his first win, allowing two runs on three hits over seven innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked two, as the Marlins won their first series of the young campaign and improved to 3-6.

"It's so early, but you don't want to get off to too bad of a start," said Haren. "It's nice to win a couple here."

Jarred Cosart will try to pitch Miami to a third consecutive win tonight after taking a tough-luck loss to begin this season.

Cosart put together a strong second half for the Marlins last year after being acquired from the Houston Astros and was solid in a 2-0 setback to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. The right-hander yielded one run on three hits and three walks over six innings.

The 24-year-old Cosart has made one prior start versus the Mets, getting a no- decision while allowing two runs over six frames.

New York began a 10-game homestand with a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, giving the Mets a victory in four straight with a 6-3 mark on the young season.

Lucas Duda and Travis d'Arnaud both hit solo homers in Wednesday's 6-1 decision, while Jon Niese worked in and out of trouble to get the win. He allowed the Phillies' only run in the first frame and finished his 6 1/3- inning outing having yielded nine hits and two walks to go with four strikeouts.

"Nothing came easy," said Niese. "Our offense did a great job and gave us the lead."

New York picked up the win despite having lost David Wright to a mild right hamstring strain the previous outing. He was placed on the disabled list Wednesday after hitting .333 with a homer, four RBI and two stolen bases over his first eight games.

Dillon Gee draws the start for the Mets in this series opener and is coming off a loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

Gee yielded five runs on eight hits over five innings. The righty gave up a solo homer in the second frame and then was touched for four run-scoring hits in the fifth.

Still, Gee extended his personal streak by making a 46th straight start of at least five innings dating back to May 19, 2013. That is the longest active run in the majors and fourth longest in Mets history.

The 28-year-old is 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in six starts against the Marlins.

The Mets have won eight of their past 11 versus the Marlins and won six of the nine meetings in New York last season.