Mets Lose; Shaun Marcum Now 0-9

Could we please say goodbye to Shaun Marcum? Please? He was terrible again on Wednesday, giving the Braves a lead, then giving it to them again after the offense actually came to life and tied the game up. In the end the Mets lost and Marcum is now an ugly 0-9.

Marcum was actually cruising until the fourth when he allowed two singles and then a three-run home run to Chris Johnson to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.

But instead of wilting as usual, the offense came back to tie the game in the fifth, with a little help (make that a lot of help) from Braves starter Kris Medlen. Marlon Byrd led off with a single and Lucas Duda was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs. John Buck hit a comebacker and Medlen tried to get the lead runner at third. Instead his throw was wild and two runs scored to cut the lead to 3-2. Buck then scored on a Kirk Nieuwenhuis single to tie the game at three.

It didn’t last long because in the bottom of the fifth, Jordan Schafer led off with a double. He was sacrificed to third and Freddie Freeman walked to put runners on first and third. Schafer scored when Marcum uncorked a wild pitch to make it 4-3. Marcum then walked Brian McCann and allowed a double to B.J. Upton to make it 5-3. At that point Terry Collins had seen enough and pulled Marcum from the game. Carlos Torres came in to clean up the mess.

Marcum went 4.2 innings, allowing five runs on six hits. He also walked four batters to go along with six strikeouts. His ERA went up to an even more unsightly 5.76. Time for Shaun Marcum to go far, far away.

Torres, by the way, pitched very well — 2.1 innings, no hits, one walk, four strikeouts.

Eric Young, just acquired Tuesday night, started in center and batted leadoff, going one-for-four.

The Mets come back down to earth after that spectacular doubleheader to lose 5-3.