The Mets fell to the Marlins this afternoon by a score of 7-5.  Ricky Nolasco got the win for the fish. Nelson Figueroa took the loss for the Mets. For a full recap, head on over to MLB.com.

A few notes

• Starter Bobby Parnell was impressive, going five innings without allowing a run
• Carlos Delgado had arguably his best day at the plate this spring, going 2-5 with two rbis.
• It was not a good day for bullpen hopefuls Joe Smith and Figueroa, who both allowed three runs in an inning of work.
• Duaner Sanchez allowed a run in a single inning of work.

The highlight of this game was definetely Parnell. With him and Jon Niese, we may have found two diamonds in the rough…

On Sunday, the duo of Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey combined for a total of allow 17 hits and 13 runs in 7⅓ innings. With that said, Mets manager Willie Randolph still hasn’t name his fifth starter. The competition is squarely down to Hernandez, Pelfrey and 33-year old pitcher Nelson Figueroa.

Originally drafted by the Mets in the 30th round of the 1995 MLB Amateur Draft, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in 1998. He was then sent to Philadelphia in the deal that brought Curt Schilling to the desert. Following that, Figueroa bounced around the league with various clubs including the Brewers, Pirates and Nationals.

His last major-league appearance was with the Pirates in 2004, going 0-3 with a 5.72 ERA in 10 games, three of which were starts. He pitched with a torn rotator cuff and took a year off to rehab.

Finally, in September of 2007, he found his way to Taiwan to play in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, eventually being named the CPBL championship series most valuable player.

In six games, two starts, Figueroa has a 2.87 ERA and has allowed five runs in 14 2/3 innings.

Overall, in 74 appearances, 33 of which were starts, Figueroa is 7-17 with a 4.65 ERA throughout his five-year major league career.

For more on Figueroa, check out Vic Ziegel’s column for the New York Daily News.