Marlins 3

Mets 1

No words could describe the gap between the Mets and Marlins better than the image of Alex Gonzalez’ game-winning, two-run triple in the ninth inning. While Andy Fox crossed the plate with his fist thrust skyward, Raul Gonzalez was face down in the grass in center field, defeated.

The Mets’ 3-1 loss to red-hot Florida in front of an alleged crowd of 29,410 at Shea typified much of their season.

The Marlins won for the 10th time in 12 games to try to keep pace with the Phillies in the NL wild-card chase. The Mets lost their sixth straight and ninth in 12 tries to sink further into the morass. And they wasted yet another solid pitching performance .

David Weathers (1-6) came into a 1-1 game in the ninth. After giving up Jeff Conine’s leadoff single and Juan Encarnacion’s sacrifice bunt, he plunked Derrek Lee in the hip. Lee slammed the bat down and angrily stalked to first base, as if he thought Weathers hit him on purpose.

Clearly not. The game was on the line, and in the end, lost right there. After Weathers fanned Miguel Cabrera with an 84-mph slider, Alex Gonzalez drilled a 3-1 pitch just past a diving Raul Gonzalez in left-center, plating pinch-runner Fox and Lee.

The Mets wasted a gem by Tom Glavine, who has been stellar since returning from the painful strained right oblique that cost him a start in July. His oblique is fine now; it’s the lack of run support that has proven to be a pain.

Glavine has complained repeatedly about the QuesTec umpiring system, but last night he gave up seven hits, two walks and one run. When you pitch for the Mets, one is enough.

Over the last 31 games, Met starters are 15-9 with a 2.80 ERA. Glavine – 6-11 with a 5.10 ERA after being forced out of the game against Milwaukee after just one inning on July 29 – is 3-1 with a 2.58 since. But it’s still not quite enough.

He locked up in a pitching duel with Florida starter Carl Pavano, getting a first-inning Mike Piazza RBI sac fly and not allowing a Marlin to reach third until the seventh when Lee drove an RBI double over Raul Gonzalez’ head in center.

He didn’t allow a single Marlin to reach third until tiring in the seventh. Encarnacion doubled, and Lee’s RBI double tied the game and got the bullpen working.

Weathers relieved Glavine after he allowed one-out singles to Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo, and he got Rodriguez to hit into a 5-5-4 double play to keep the score tied 1-1.

After the Phillies put up 10 runs in the first two innings last night in Atlanta, one got the feeling the Mets and Marlins couldn’t have plated 10 in 100 innings.

Still, it’s been an amazing breakthrough for the Marlins, who usually hold an annual June fire-sales to help other teams’ postseason hopes instead of their own. This year they kept their club together, and are a major league-best 60-36 since May 23.