"One of the hits didn't leave the infield. The other barely made it into the outfield. That's partly why Ricky Nolasco was stunned and perturbed at the sight of his manager walking toward the Citi Field mound in the sixth inning of a wind-swept Sunday.

With a run in, one out, the bases loaded and the Marlins up four, manager Fredi Gonzalez yanked Nolasco though he'd only thrown 82 pitches, 59 for strikes. Tim Wood entered and allowed two of the three inherited runners to score. The following inning he served up a tying three-run homer to Jeff Francoeur in the 7-6 Mets victory.

"I was really shocked that I had to come out of the game, but it's his decision and there's nothing I can do about it except sit back and watch the game, and see if we could hold on," Nolasco said.

Other players privately questioned the move as well. Wood, who was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans after the game, was charged with a blown save.

"We've seen him better," Gonzalez said, of Nolasco, who gave up eight hits (four in the sixth), two walks and struck out two. "It's a tough decision for a manager to pull one of your better starters. It didn't work out … We couldn't shut the door in the seventh."

Nolasco unsuccessfully pleaded his case to stay in, prompting Gonzalez to say: "He always does, and that's what you want. You want guys to compete. I didn't expect any less going out there.""