NEW YORK - Willie Randolph kept his job - for now. Meanwhile, the New York Mets kept losing.

After their embattled manager had a much-anticipated meeting with ownership Monday, the Mets got another ineffective outing from Mike Pelfrey and fizzled on offense following a strong start in a 7-3 loss to the Florida Marlins.

“A lot of stuff was taken care of,” Randolph said, describing his entire day. “Now, we move on and try to win some ballgames.”

Luis Gonzalez hit a three-run double for the young and hungry Marlins (30-20), who moved 10 games over .500 for the first time since Sept. 14, 2005. They lead the NL East despite a major league-low payroll of $22 million on opening day.

Jose Reyes homered twice for the $138 million Mets but committed a two-out error at shortstop in the first that led to two unearned runs.

Pelfrey (2-6) lasted only four innings and dropped his sixth straight start as fourth-place New York (23-26) fell three games below .500 for the first time since Sept. 18, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Mets have lost seven of eight and 10 of 14 overall. With few fans remaining at Shea Stadium in the late innings, a chant of “Fire Willie!” could clearly be heard.

“It's like being booed,” Randolph said. “It's the same thing more or less. They're expressing themselves.”

Earlier in the day, Randolph sat down with owner Fred Wilpon and his son, Jeff, the club's chief operating officer, as well as general manager Omar Minaya to discuss two things: the team's sluggish play, and Randolph's comments last week about his portrayal on Mets broadcasts in which he raised the issue of race.

Randolph subsequently apologized for those statements.

“Willie's job was never in danger going into this meeting,” Minaya said. “Willie has my support. He has the support of our ownership. ... There is no limbo period. Willie is the manager.”

So, was he told he'll definitely manage the Mets for the rest of the season?

“No, they didn't say that,” Randolph answered.

Randolph then met with his players after batting practice, but it didn't help on the field. After the game, he said he was glad the day was behind him.

“It was nice that Omar and the front office backed him up and hopefully that will settle down some of the distractions and all the speculation,” Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado said.

Coming off a doubleheader sweep of San Francisco on Sunday, the Marlins made their first trip to Shea Stadium since knocking New York out of playoff contention on the final day of last season.

Florida looked like the better team on this day, too.

“They have a lot of distractions going on for that ballclub right now, and scoring those runs early was very nice,” Gonzalez said. “Going from here to Philly and from Philly to Atlanta, it's an opportunity for us to show that we are a serious contender.”

After beating Arizona ace Brandon Webb in his previous outing, Ricky Nolasco (4-3) won his third decision in a row. He allowed three runs and nine hits in five innings.