Rodriguez enjoys sweet homecoming, Nolasco pitches Marlins past Mets 10-3 in Puerto Rico

Nolasco, Marlins beat Mets 10-3 in San Juan

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Cody Ross homered and had three hits, Ricky Nolasco pitched seven solid innings and the Florida Marlins beat the New York Mets 10-3 Monday night to give interim manager Edwin Rodriguez a sweet homecoming in Puerto Rico.

Chris Coghlan and Mike Stanton also homered for the Marlins, who handed knuckleballer R.A. Dickey his first loss in eight major league starts this season.

Back in March, Major League Baseball moved this series from Miami, where the Marlins draw sparse crowds, to Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

Rodriguez, who was managing Florida’s top farm team a week ago, took over the big club when Fredi Gonzalez was fired Wednesday, becoming the first major league manager born in Puerto Rico. Days later, Rodriguez got a chance to come home with his new squad — and what a homecoming it was.

Out in the parking lot, fans who didn’t have tickets to the game gathered around car radios. A few showed up just to soak up the atmosphere, playing the heavy BOOM-da-BOOM-BOOM bass rhythm of the popular hybrid Latin rap music of reggaeton.

Meanwhile, in the street-level corridors of the stadium, a dozen musicians with trumpets, drums, and maracas played for fans who lined up at food stands that sold tropical fruit drinks alongside hot dogs and burgers.

There were pockets of empty seats, however, in the announced crowd of 18,073.

Rodriguez, who lives about five minutes from the ballpark, has been told he’ll be with the Marlins for the entirety of the series in San Juan. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

But if Florida continues to play the way it did Monday night, he might be around for a while.

Hanley Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez and Ross each drove in two runs. Coghlan scored three times from the leadoff spot and Stanton, a prized prospect, hit his second major league homer — a three-run shot off Ryota Igarashi in the eighth.

Nolasco (7-6) struck out nine and walked none, improving to 2-0 in four starts against the Mets this season. He allowed four hits, including two homers by Jason Bay.

Florida took control with a four-run rally in the third, started by Nolasco’s leadoff double.

Dickey (6-1) had won six consecutive starts before getting tagged for five runs and five hits over five innings in this one.

NOTES: The Marlins are 2-4 under Rodriguez. They were swept last weekend at home by San Diego. … Mets CF Angel Pagan (right side) missed his fifth straight game.