Die Hard Sports Fan

The Mets have two games left with the Padres just to even up the series.  At best, they can come home from California with a 4-3 record.  All of us Mets fans are waiting for whatever it is that is going to ignite this team.  Each time we see signs, we think all is right.  It hasn’t been the case yet because they are struggling against last place teams.  Since the Mets have been playing .500 for so long, there’s no reason to assume that it’s going to get better except for my own hope.  After last season, I thought that this season didn’t even begin until they locked up the division.  I thought that they would pick up where they left off, in September but sealing the deal.  Now, I just hope they get to October.

Mets.com:

Santana hurt as Mets suffer tough loss - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Padres.  He also noted that Johan Santana suffered a bruised left shoulder when he was struck by a pitch in the sixth inning.

After Johan injury, Mets aim to regroup - Marty Noble wrote up a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Mets and the Padres.

Church doesn’t play against Padres

Holes filled by departed blue chippers - Jon Blau pointed out that the Mets replenished their farm system by going after collegiate prospects rather than high school prospects.

Meeting with Randolph benefits Reyes - After a routine ball bounced through the legs of Jose Reyes in the third inning of Wednesday’s game in San Francisco, Willie Randolph spoke with Reyes about it Thursday before the Mets played their first game of their four-game series against the Padres.  Willie stated that “Footwork … mechanics … rhythm.” was the message, and Marty Noble believes that it’s paying off on Reyes.

Newsday:

More frustration for Mets in 2-1 loss - David Lennon summarized last night’s Mets-Padres game.

Randolph hasn’t lost faith in Perez - yet - Willie said this about Oliver Perez, “I told him how disappointed I was in his performance and to get ready for the next one.”

Mets’ Church upset about benching Friday night

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday lets us know what took place at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium on June 7 of a year in the past.

New York Daily News:

Johan Santana’s gaffe aids Padres rally in 2-1 Mets loss - Adam Rubin wrote up a game summary about last night’s game between the Mets and the Padres.

Heath Bell rings ‘em up - Adam Rubin lets you know how former Met, Heath Bell, is doing.

Ryan Church out of the lineup again

New York Post:

AMAZIN’ BATS BETRAY JOHAN

TOP PICK ALREADY LOVES NY - Since the Mets drafted Ike Davis, who is the son of former Yankee Ron Davis, Ike had this to say when asked about New York, “He just said they have the best fans and it’s a blast because every game is live and die with them. He loved it, and I’m looking forward to it, too.”

New York Times:

Mistakes Mar Close Game as Mets Slip Back to .500 - Ben Shpigel summarized last night’s Mets-Padres game.

Pelfrey Throws More Pitches, Learning More

The Star-Ledger:

Mets can’t muster much, Santana falls to Padres

Church sits as playing time is monitored

Final: Padres 2, Mets 1 - Jeremy Cothran summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Padres.

Inconsistent Perez driving Mets mad

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The New York Mets (30-28) are playing Game 59 of the 2008 Regular Season against the San Diego Padres (24-37) at Petco Park.  It’s the first game of the four-game series.  The game began at 10:05 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Schneider, Chavez, Mike Pelfrey (2-6).

Padres Lineup: Gerut, Iguchi, Giles, Gonzalez, Kouzmanoff, McAnulty, Greene, Carlin, Josh Banks (2-0).

At the Plate

How does a company like Petco get naming rights on a ballpark?  Since Big Pelf has lost the last 6 games, I’m hoping that I can see him win since he was able to postpone his demotion during his last start.  I hope he’s able to prove that Mets management made the right decision.  I don’t want to assume that when a pithcer pitches that it’s an automatic loss.  In the Top of the 1st, Reyes was able to get to third but ended up stranded there because nobody could drive him in.  Pelfrey made it through the Bottom of the 1st only giving up a hit.  In the Top of the 2nd, Banks pitched a 1-2-3 inning and even fanned Delgado to the point where it made him look silly.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Adrian Gonzalez led off by lining the ball to left and Endy did what Endy does by making a spectacular turnaround catch that may be on Web Gems later.  McAnulty lined a two-out double to left, but he was left stranded there after Greene lined out to right.  In the top of the 3rd, Banks retired the side in order with three ground outs.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Banks hit a chopper to third where he beat out the throw by Wright for his first Major League hit.  Gerut followed that up with a single up the middle, and Banks advanced to second.  Tad Iguchi of all people lined a no-out double RBI double down the left field line which scored Josh Banks, and Gerut went from first to third.  Pelfrey walked Giles to load the bases which is no good.  Pelfrey was able to get Gonzalez to pop up to right to get the second out, and Gerut held up at third because he didn’t want to test Church’s arm.  I love it when a player’s reputation can stop you from doing what you want to do.  Kouzmanoff worked himself into a full count before grounded out to short to end the inning with the bases loaded.  Pelfrey was extremely fortunate to get out of that jam.

In the Top of the 4th, Beltran lined a one-out double into left center but got stranded there.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Pelfrey quickly retired the first two batters and had a full count on Carlin who ended up droving the ball 400′ for a damn triple off of the wall in right center.  Banks grounded out to short to end the inning with Carlin stranded on third.  In the Top of the 5th, Banks pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Iguchi lined a one-out double over the head of Church and just off of the tip of Church’s glove in right.  Pelfrey walked Giles.  Pelfrey then walked Gonzalez to load the bases.  Vargas began warming up in the bullpen.  Kouzmanoff grounded to short, and Reyes tagged second unassisted and turned the double play leaving the bases juiced.  Somehow Pelfrey got out of another bases loaded jam.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Reyes beat out a ground ball to short for a leadoff infield single.  Castillo dropped down a sacrifice bunt down the third base line, and Carlin made the out at first as Reyes moved over to second.  Reyes is out there sliding back and forth which is distracting Banks, and Banks doesn’t want to throw the ball home.  David Wright grounded a one-out RBI single up the middle which scored Jose Reyes and tied the game.  Beltran grounded into an inning ending double play.  In the Top of the 6th, McAnulty lined a leadoff single into center.  Greene popped up in foul ground, but Schneider caught it and ended up walking down the steps of the third base dugout.  Carlin grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as McAnulty moved over to second.  Clark grounded up the middle, but Reyes made a diving stop and then the out at first to end the inning.  After six, this is a pitchers dual.  You see, and I was all worried about Pelfrey.

In the Top of the 7th, Black replaced Banks with Hampson who pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Randolph replaced Pelfrey with Feliciano.  Iguchi lined a one-out single up the middle.  Giles drew a one-out walk.  Feliciano fanned Gonzalez so Willie came out to make a pitching change.  Randolph replaced Feliciano with Smith to face Kouzmanoff who grounded to short, but the ball hit Iguchi for the final out of the inning (Iguchi had to come out of the game after falling down on the ground).  In the Top of the 8th, Black replaced Hampson with Bell.  Reyes drew a two-out walk.  Castillo has gum on his helmet, and Reyes beat out the throw by Carlin as he stole second.  Bell struck out Castillo looking to end the inning with Reyes stranded on second.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Randolph replaced Feliciano with Sanchez.  Greene lined a one-out single into left center.  Carlin popped in foul ground near the bleachers, and Wright made the catch.  Gonzalez lined a two-out single into center, and Greene went first to third.  Beltran tried to get the out at third, but it was not in time.  Gerut grounded right back to the pitcher, and Sanchez made the out at first leaving runners stranded on the corners.  Thank God.  Somebody has to break the tie or it could be a really long night.  In the Top of the 9th, Black replaced Bell with Hoffman.  Hoffman pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Randolph replaced Sanchez with Schoeneweis.  Schoeneweis had an 0-2 count on Hairston and ended up walking him to give the Padres a leadoff runner.  Giles worked the count full before drawing a no-out walk.  Gonzalez grounded off to the pitcher, but the ball deflected towards the first base line.  Schoeneweis made the out at first, and both runners advanced a base.  Schoeneweis intentionally walked Kousmanoff to load the bases.  This is scary.  Scott Schoeneweis drilled Paul McAnulty in the arm which scored Scott Hairston who is the winning run.

Final Score: New York Mets 1 - San Diego Padres 2.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Scott Schoeneweis (0-2) got the loss and Trevor Hoffman (1-4) got the win.

Game Notes:

• Mike Pelfrey pitched a pretty good game.  Lots of base runners, but only one run in 6 innings.  He gave up 8 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 1 SO. 
• The Mets could not score enough runs to win.
• Scott Schoeneweis lost another game in stupid fashion.  I got pissed for like two minutes, and then I started cracking up because who hits a batter?  Between Heilman and Schoeneweis, if I don’t laugh I’m going to break a lot of household items.

Series Notes:

• The Padres are leading the series with the Mets 1-0.

Other Notes:

• Since June 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l-w-w-l.
• The Mets are currently 2-2 on this road trip.
• The Mets are one game over .500 with a 30-29 record.

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The Mets pulled off the victory and won the series which is great.  They are on a nice little hot streak, and I hope it continues.  The Amazin’s had to trave down to San Diego for a 4-game series which I’m looking forward to.  Here’s the probable pitching matchups for the series:

• 06/05/2008 - Mike Pelfrey (2-6) - Josh Banks (2-0)
• 06/06/2008 - Johan Santana (7-3) - Randy Wolf (3-4)
• 06/07/2008 - Oliver Perez (4-4) - Cha Seung Baek (1-2)
• 06/08/2008 - Pedro Martinez (1-0) - Wilfredo Ledezma (0-2)

Mets.com:

Maine unsinkable in series finale - Marty Noble summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Giants.

With spot secure, Pelfrey marches on - Jon Blau wrote a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Mets and the Padres.

Pedro’s progress: Righty regains health - Marty Noble pointed out that Pedro Martinez feels no soreness after tossing six frames on Tuesday.  It made me happy that Petey got to pitch until Willie pulled him rather than having to leave the game due to an injury.  Hopefully he’ll be able to make at least a few starts.

Alou unlikely to return before homestand - Moises Alou said, “The way they do things here, trying to be extra careful, it’s probably going to be when we get back.”

Newsday:

Mets top Giants behind Reyes homer, Maine - David Lennon also summarized yesterday’s Mets-Giants game.

Mets’ Pedro feeling just fine day after start

Could the Mets have used Tatis last year? - Ken Davidoff pointed out that, “Fernando Tatis has already won two games for the Mets this season, during a time that Willie Randolph’s club desperately needed some victories. You can’t help but wonder if Tatis could have been helpful at a similar time - last September.”

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday lets us know what took place at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium on June 5 of a year in the past.

New York Daily News:

Jose Reyes comes through for Mets in 5-3 win over Giants - Adam Rubin wrote up a game summary for yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Giants.

Frank Robinson says Willie Randolph erred on timing, not on race point

Pedro Martinez ‘not even sore’ on day after victorious return

New York Post:

REYES OF LIGHT - Bart Hubbuch stated that Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran helped fuel the resurgent Mets.

MARTINEZ OK AFTER OUTING

METS DEFEAT GIANTS, 5-3 - Bart Hubbuch summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Giants.

New York Times:

Mets and Reyes Changing Attitudes and Getting Results - Ben Shpigel summarized yesterday’s Mets-Giants game.

Martínez Feels Fine but Keeps Outlook Day to Day

The Star-Ledger:

Pedro feels fine after long start

Mets eat up another series - Jeremy Cothran pointed out that the Mets have won their third consecutive series.

Final: Mets 5, Giants 3 - Jeremy Cothran wrote up a game summary for yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Giants.

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The New York Mets (28-28) are playing Game 57 of the 2008 Regular Season against the San Francisco Giants (25-33) at AT&T Park.  It’s the second game of the three-game series.  The game began at 10:05 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Easley, Wright, Beltran, Church, Tatis, Delgado, Castro, Martinez.

Giants Lineup: Lewis, Durham, Winn, Molina, Rowand, Bowker, Aurilia, Vizquel, Zito.

At the Plate

Barry Zito (1-8) was the starting pitcher for the Giants.  In the Top of the 1st, Reyes grounded to third but Aurilia (Error on Rich Aurilia) misfielded the ball so Reyes ended up on first giving the Mets a leadoff runner.  Easley lined a no-out single into center, and Reyes went first to third.  David Wright hit a sacrifice fly to right which scored Jose Reyes.  Beltran grounded to short, and turned the inning ending double play.  Zito gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Tatis drove a one-out double to the gap in left center.  Delgado worked the count full before lining out to left.  Zito intentionally walked Castro.  Martinez grounded to short, and Vizquel tagged second to end the inning leaving runners on first and second.  Zito gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Easley lined a one-out single into center.  Wright drew a one-out walk.  Beltran popped up along the first base line, and Molina made the out.  Church flied out to left to end the inning leaving runners on first and second.  Zito gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Delgado drew a one-out walk.  Castro lined out to left.  Martinez grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Delgado advance to second.  Reyes grounded to third, and Aurilia tagged third to end the inning leaving two Mets stranded.  Zito gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Easley drew a leadoff walk.  Wright grounded a on-out single through the hole on the left side, and Easley went to second.  Carlos Beltran lined a no-out RBI double down the left field line which scored Damion Easley, and Wright went from first to third.  Ryan Church hit a sacrifice fly to center which scored David Wright, and Beltran tagged up and went to third.  Tatis drew a one-out walk.  Carlos Delgado grounded to short, but Vizquel tried to tag second himself but Tatis was already there and then the throw to first was not in time so everybody is safe.  Zito gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Zito left the game after pitching 4.1 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 6 Runs, 5 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Bochy replaced Zito with Vinnie Chulk with one out in the Top of the 5th.  Ramon Castro lined a single into shallow right center which scored Carlos Beltran, and everyone moved up a base.  Pedro Martinez lined an RBI single over the head of Durham which scored Fernando Tatis, and everyone is safe.  Jose Reyes grounded to second, and Durham (Error on Ray Durham) could not field the ball properly so Carlos Delgado scored, and everyone is safe.  Damion Easley lined a one-out bases clearing double into the gap in left center which scored Ramon Castro, Pedro Martinez and Jose Reyes went from first to third.  Wright flied out to right.  Beltran flied out to center to end the inning stranding Easley on second base.  Chulk gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Church grounded to first but Bowker (Error on John Bowker) botched the ball so Church ended up on first giving the Mets a leadoff runner.  With Tatis in the batters box, Chulk threw a wild pitch so Church stole second without a throw.  Tatis grounded to second, and Denker held up Church at second before making the out at first.  Delgado grounded to second, and Denker made the out at first as Church moved over to third.  Castro popped up to shallow left, and Vizquel made the out stranding Church on third.  Chulk gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Chulk left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Bochy replaced Chulk with Patrick Misch to begin the Top of the 7th.  Misch pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Misch gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Misch retired the side for the second inning in a row.  Misch gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Misch now retired the Mets for the third straight inning.  Misch gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Pedro Martinez (0-0) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Lewis grouned a leadoff single up the middle.  Durham flied out to left.  With Winn at the plate, Lewis stole second on a bad throw by Castro.  After the ball went into center field, Lewis went to third.  Randy Winn lined an RBI double down the left field line which scored Fred Lewis.  Molina grounded to short, and Reyes made the throw to third because Winn took off for third and Wright applied the tag.  Rowand flied out to center to end the inning.  Martinez gave up 1 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Pedro walked Bowker on four straight pitches to give the Giants a leadoff runner.  Aurilia flied out to right.  Vizquel flied out to left.  Zito grounded to second, and Easley tagged second himself to end the inning leaving Bowker stranded on first.  Martinez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Durham drew a one-out walk.  Pedro struck out Winn swinging.  Molina grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first to end the inning stranding Durham on first.  Martinez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Bowker hit a routine fly ball to left which Tatis (Error on Fernando Tatis) dropped so Bowker ended up on second.  Aurilia grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first as Bowker went to third.  Martinez intentionally walked Vizquel.  Zito grounded to short, and Reyes got the force out at second to end the inning leaving runners stranded on the corners.  Martinez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in te 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Lewis led off with a Ground Rule Double to right.  Denker is pinch hitting for Durham, and Denker lined a no-out single into right, and Lewis moved over to third.  Randy Winn lined a no-out RBI single into left which scored Fred Lewis, and Denker advanced to second.  Molina flied out to left, and both Denker and Winn tagged up and advanced a base.  Aaron Rowand grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first so Travis Denker scored and Winn went to third.  Bowker flied out to center to end the inning with Winn stranded on third.  Martinez gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Aurilia drove a leadoff double to the gap in left center.  Vizquel grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Aurilia advanced to third.  Horwitz is pinch hitting for Chulk, and Pedro fanned Horwitz.  Pedro struck Lewis out looking.  Durham grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to end the inning with runners stranded on the corners.  Martinez gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Martinez left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Martinez with Joe Smith to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Smith pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Feliciano pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Scott Schoeneweis to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Holm is pinch hitting for Misch, and Holm drew a leadoff walk on four pitches.  Lewis drew a no-out walk.  Travis Denker hit a no-out 3-run shot to left field scoring Steve Holm and Fred Lewis.  Winn lined out to second.  Molina grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side.  Schoeneweis gave up 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Billy Wagner with one out in the Bottom of the 9th.  Rowand grounded to short, and the Mets turned the game ending double play.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 9 - San Francisco Giants 6.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Pedro Martinez (1-0) got the win and Barry Zito (1-9) got the loss.

Game Notes:

• Pedro Martinez was pretty effective in his first game back from the DL.
• The Mets put up an 8 spot in the 5th.
• Barry Zito sucks so I’m glad we didn’t get him.  I wanted him to come to the Mets until he expressed his contract demands, and then I didn’t want him on the Mets anymore.

Series Notes:

• The Mets evened up the series with the Giants 1-1.

Other Notes:

• Since June 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l-w.
• The Mets are currently 1-1 on this road trip.
• The Mets are one game over .500 with a 29-28 record
• Jose Reyes had an 18-game hitting streak, and a 33-game on-base streak which came to an end tonight.

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The New York Mets (28-27) are playing Game 56 of the 2008 Regular Season against the San Francisco Giants (24-33) at AT&T Park.  It’s the first game of the three-game series.  The game began at 10:05 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Tatis, Delgdo, Castro, Perez.

Dodgers Lineup: Winn, Castillo, Rowand, Molina, Aurilia, Durham, Horwitz, Burriss, Sanchez.

At the Plate

Jonathan Sanchez (3-3) was the starting pitcher for the Giants.  In the Top of the 1st, Wright lined a two-out single into center.  Beltran drew a two-out walk.  Church drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Sanchez struck Tatis out looking to end the inning with the bases loaded.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Delgado led off with a double to the base of the base of the right field wall.  Castro grounded to third, and Delgado held up.  Sanchez fanned Vargas.  Jose Reyes lined a two-out RBI double down the left field line, and Carlos Delgado came around to score.  Castillo popped up in foul territory along the right field line, and Winn made the catch to end the inning with a runner on second.  Sanchez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Wright struck out swinging at a wild pitch that went to the backstop so he ended up beating it out to give the Mets a leadoff baserunner.  Sanchez fanned Beltran.  Church grounded to first, and Aurilia got the lead runner out at second.  Tatis grounded to short and beat out the throw by Burriss for a two-out single, and Church moved over to second.  Delgado popped up to shallow center, and Burriss made the catch to end the inning with Mets stranded on first and second.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Castro drew a leadoff walk.  Vargas bunted towards third, and Castillo made the out at first as Castro advanced to second.  Reyes lined out to second.  Luis Castillo grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle, and Ramon Castro came around to score.  Wright grounded to deep second, and the ball deflected off of the glove of Durham (Error on Ray Durham) so Wright ended up on first and Castillo on second.  Beltran grounded to short, and Burriss got the force out at second to end the inning with runners on first and second.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Sanchez hit Delgado with the pitch to give the Mets a two-out base runner.  Castro grounded to third, and Castillo made the out at second to end the inning.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Beltran grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side.  Sanchez fanned Church.  Tatis grounded to third, and Castillo made the final out of the inning at second.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Sanchez left the game after pitching 7.0 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 8 SOs.

Bochy replaced Sanchez with Billy Sadler to begin the Top of the 8th.  Sadler pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Sadler gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Sadler retired the side in order for the second straight inning.  Sadler gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.  Sadler left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (4-3) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Randy Winn led off with a solo shot to left.  Rowand pulled a one-out double down the left field line.  Bengie Molina lined an RBI single into left, and Aaron Rowand came around to score.  Aurilia drew a one-out walk.  Ray Durham lined a one-out 2-run double to the gap in left center scoring Bengie Molina and Rich Aurilia.  Brian Horwitz crushed a one-out 2-run homer to left scoring Ray Durham.  Burriss drew a one-out walk.  Perez gave up 5 Hits, 6 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  What starting pitcher only records one out?  It was like Tom Glavine on that Sunday in September against the Marlins.

Randolph replaced Perez with Claudio Vargas with one out in the Bottom of the 1st.  Sanchez bunted right into the glove of Delgado.  Vargas fanned Winn to end the inning.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Castillo grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Vargas struck out Rowand on three pitches.  With Molina at the plate, Castro threw out Rowand as he attempted to steal second.  Molina grounded a two-out single through the hole on the left side.  Aurilia grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at second to end the inning stranding a runner on first.  Vargas gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Durham grounded the ball down the first base line but got thrown out by Church when trying to take second base.  Horwitz grounded out to third.  Burriss grounded out to short to end the inning.  Vargas gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Vargas pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Vargas retired the side for the second inning in a row.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Vargas left the game after pitching 4.2 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Vargas with Carlos Muniz to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Durham lined a leadoff single into right.  Horwitz grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Durham went from first to third.  Burriss grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Jonathan Sanchez hit a one-out 2-run double off of the right field wall which scored Ray Durham and Brian Horwitz.  Winn lined out to right, and Church doubled up Sanchez at second.  Muniz gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Rowand grounded a one-out single up the middle.  Molina lined a one-out single into left, and Rowand moved over to second.  Aurilia grounded to third, but Wright could not field it properly so everyone was safe.  Ray Durham drew a one-out walk which scored Aaron Rowand.  Brian Horwitz hit a sacrifice fly to center which scored Bengie Molina.  Burriss drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Muniz gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Muniz left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Muniz with Aaron Heilman with two outs in the Bottom of the 7th.  Bowker is pinch hitting for Sanchez, and Bowker flied out to right to end the inning with the bases loaded.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Winn drew a leadoff walk.  Castillo hit a no-out Ground Rule Double to center, and Winn ended up on third.  Heilman hit Rowand with the pitch which loaded the bases.  Aurilia popped up to second, and Castillo made the out.  Durham grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to end the inning.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Heilman left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO.

Final Score: New York Mets 2 - San Francisco Giants 10.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Oliver Perez (4-4) took the loss and Jonathan Sanchez (4-3) got the win.

Game Notes:

• Oliver Perez gave up 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning which was too much for the Mets to climb back from.
• Ryan Church had 2 assists from right.

Series Notes:

• The Dodgers are winning the series against the Mets 1-0.

Other Notes:

• Since June 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l.
• The Mets are currently 0-1 on this road trip.
• The Mets are at .500 with a 28-28 record
• Jose Reyes has an 18-game hitting streak, and a 33-game on-base streak.

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The New York Mets (27-27) are playing Game 55 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (27-28) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the final game of the four-game series.  The game began at 8:05 p.m., and it was aired on ESPN.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, Young, DeWitt, Maza, Kuroda.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Church, Schneider, Chavez, Santana.

On the Mound

Johan Santana (6-3) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Pierre led off with a double down the third bas line.  Matt Kemp lined a no-out RBI single into center, and Juan Pierre came around to score.  Santana struck out Kent looking.  Santana picked off Kemp at first, and the Mets got Kemp in a rundown and Reyes applied the tag.  Santana struck out Loney looking to end the inning.  Santana gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Martin drew a leadoff walk.  Santana fanned Young.  Santana struck out DeWitt on three straight pitches.  Maza drew a two-out walk.  Kuroda popped up to first, and Delgado made the final out of the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Kemp beat out a one-out infield single to short that Wright barehanded and threw to first.  Kent grounded to short, and the Mets turned the inning ending double play.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Santana pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Santana retired the side for the second straight inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Pierre lined a leadoff single up the middle.  Kemp grounded to short, and Reyes got the lead runner out at second.  Kent grounded to third, and the Mets turned the inning ending double play.  Santana gave up 1 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the7th, Loney lined a leadoff single up the middle.  Martin flied out to left center, and Beltran made the catch.  Young grounded to first, and Delgado made the throw to second to get the lead runner out.  Santana struck out DeWitt looking at strike three.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Pierre drew a two-out walk.  Kemp grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Pierre advanced to second.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 7.2 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 6 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Joe Smith with two outs in the Top of the 8th.  Smith hit Kent with the pitch which loaded the bases.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Scott Schoeneweis with two outs in the Top of the 8th.  Loney grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to end the inning with the bases loaded.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 9th.  Feliciano slammed the door on the Dodgers.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Reyes grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  With Castillo at the plate, Reyes beat out the throw as he stole second base.  Castillo flied out to center, and Reyes held up.  David Wright lined a one-out RBI single into right, and Jose Reyes came around to score.  Beltran hit a slow ground ball towards third, and Kuroda made the out at first as Wright advanced to third.  Delgado flied out to center to end the inning with Wright stranded on third.  Kuroda gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Kuroda pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Kuroda gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Reyes lined a one-out double into the gap in left center.  Castillo grounded to short, andent made the out at first as Reyes moved over to third.  David Wright grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the left side, and Jose Reyes scored.  Carlos Beltran hit a two-out 2-run bomb to right field scoring David Wright.  Kuroda hit Delgado with the pitch.  Ryan Church drilled a two-out 2-run jack to right field scoring Carlos Delgado.  Schneider pulled a two-out double down the left field line.  Kuroda intentionally walked Chavez.  Kuroda gave up 5 Hits, 5 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  Kuroda left the game after pitching 2.2 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 6 Runs, 6 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs.

Torre replaced Kuroda with Hong-Chih Kuo with two outs in the Bottom of the 3rd.  Santana grounded to first, and Loney tagged first to end the inning.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the Bottom of the 3rd.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Wright grounded a two-out single up the middle.  With Beltran at the plate, Wright beat out the throw by Martin as he stole second.  Kuo intentionally walked Beltran.  Delgado lined out to left to end the inning leaving Mets on first and second.  Kuo gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Church led off with a leadoff double over the head of Loney.  Schneider grounded to short, and Maza looked Church back to second before making the out at first.  Chavez grounded to second, and Kent made the out at first.  Santana lined out to left ending the inning leaving Church stranded on second.  Kuo gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Kuo pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Beltran grounded to short but Maza (Error on Luis Maza) made a wild throw to first to Beltran is on first.  Delgado grounded to second, and Kent got the lead runner out at second.  Church grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side, and Beltran advanced to second.  Kuo struck out Schneider looking.  Chavez lined out to left to end the inning.  Kuo gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Torre replaced Kuo with Cory Wade to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Wade quickly retired the side in order.  Wade gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: Los Angeles Dodgers 1 - New York Mets 6.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Johan Santana (7-3) got the win and Hiroki Kuroda (2-5) took the loss.

Game Notes:

• Johan Santana pitched a great game tonight allowing only 1 run.
• David Wright drove in Jose Reyes twice.
• Carlos Beltran hit a 2-run bomb the second game in a row.
• Ryan Church had a 2-run jack in his first game back from the concussion.

Series Notes:

• The Mets won the series against the Dodgers 3-1.

Other Notes:

• Since June 1st, this is the Mets trend: w.
• The Mets are currently 5-2 on this homestand.
• The Mets are one game above .500 with a 28-27 record

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The New York Mets (26-27) are playing Game 54 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (27-27) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the third game of the four-game series.  The game began at 3:55 p.m., and it was aired on FOX.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, Ethier, DeWitt, Maza, Billingsley.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Chavez, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Easley, Schneider, Tatis, Pelfrey.

On the Mound

Mike Pelfrey (2-6) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Pierre grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Kemp lined a no-out single down the right field line so Pierre went first to third, but Kemp tried to make it a double but Reyes (Error on Jose Reyes) could not catch the throw so Kemp was safe at second while Juan Pierre scored.  Kent grounded to short, and Kemp moved over to third.  Loney grounded to second, and Easley made the throw home and Schneider applied the tag in time.   Martin lined a two-out single up the middle.  Ethier flied out to center to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, DeWitt grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  Maza grounded to second base, and Reyes tagged second and turned the double play.  Pelfrey fanned Billingsley to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Kent lined a two-out single up the middle.  Loney flied out to left to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Martin drew a leadoff walk.  Ethier worked the count full before lining a no-out single into right, and Martin went from first to third.  Blake DeWitt lined a no-out RBI single into right which scored Russell Martin, and Ethier went to second.  Maza flied out to right, and the runners held up.  Billingsley struck out trying to bunt with two strikes.  Pierre flied out to left to end the inning with two Dodgers stranded.  Pelfrey gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Pelfrey pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Pelfrey gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Pelfrey now retired the side for the second straight inning.  Pelfrey gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Pelfrey retired the side for the third straight inning.  Pelfrey gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Pelfrey left the game after pitching 7.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and he had 6 SOs.

Randolph replaced Pelfrey with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 8th.  Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Wagner was throwing some serious heat (97 mph on the gun) and struck out the side.  Wagner gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Chad Billingsley (4-6) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Billingsley retired the side with three ground balls.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Delgado lined a one-out opposite field single into left.  Easley grounded back to the pitcher, and Billingsley made the out at first as Delgado advanced to second.  Schneider grounded to second, and Kent made the out at first to end the inning.  Billingsley gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Reyes lined a two-out single into right.  With Chavez in the batters box, Reyes took off for second base and beat out the high throw by Martin.  Chavez lined out to center to end the inning.  Billingsley gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Wright drew a leadoff walk.  Beltran worked the count full before drawing a no-out walk.  Delgado lined out to center.  Billingsley struck out Easley looking.  Schneider flied out to center to end the inning leaving two Mets stranded.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Tatis beat out a ground ball to third that DeWitt (Error on Blake DeWitt) misfielded to give the Mets a leadoff base runner.  Pelfrey dropped down a sacrifice bunt towards the pitcher, and Martin made the out at first as Tatis advanced to second.  Reyes drew a one-out walk.  Chavez grounded to second, and Loney made the out at second.  Wright grounded to short, and Maza made the out at second leaving Mets stranded on the corners.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Billingsley pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Schneider grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  Tatis lined out to right.  Casanova is pinch hitting for Pelfrey, and Casanova grounded a one-out single down the third base line as Schneider went from first to third.  Reyes popped up in foul ground near the third base line, and DeWitt made the catch.  Chavez worked himself into a full count before popping up to third leaving Mets stranded on the corners.  Billingsley gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Billingsley left the game after pitching 7.0 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Torre replaced Billingsley with Jonathan Broxton to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Wright drove the ball to the base of the wall in right center for a leadoff double.  Carlos Beltran crushed a no-out 2-run shot to right scoring David Wright which tied the game.  Delgado lined a no-out single into center (Evans came in to pinch run for Delgado).  Easley dropped a sacrifice bunt down along the first base line, and Loney made the out at first as Evans advanced to second.  Broxton intentionally walked Schneider.  Fernando Tatis grounded an RBI single up the middle which scored Nick Evans to give the Mets the lead, and Schneider went to second.  Broxton gave up 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Torre replaced Broxton with Joe Beimel with one out in the Bottom of the 8th.  Castillo grounded to second, and Maza made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Beimel intentionally walked Reyes to load the bases.  Beimel fanned Chavez to end the inning leaving the bases loaded with Mets.  Beimel gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: Los Angeles Dodgers 2 - New York Mets 3.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Duaner Sanchez (2-0) got the win and Jonathan Broxton (2-2) blew the save and took the loss.

Game Notes:

• Mike Pelfrey had a solid outing tonight.  He pitched 7 strong innings allowing only 2 runs, he had 6 K’s, and he retired 13 hitters before being taken out of the game.  That’s impressive for his standards and those of the 5th starter.
• Carlos Beltran tied up the game with a 2-run jack in the 8th inning.
• Fernando Tatis drove in the go ahead run in the 8th inning.
• Billy Wagner slammed the door on the Dodgers by striking out the side in the 9th for the save.

Series Notes:

• The Mets are ahead in the series with the Dodgers 2-1.

Other Notes:

• Since May 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-l-l-l-l-w-l-l-w-w-w-l-w.
• The Mets are currently 4-2 on this homestand.
• The Mets are back to .500 with a 27-27 record.

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The New York Mets (26-26) are playing Game 53 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (26-27) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the second game of the four-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, Ethier, DeWitt, Maza, Kershaw.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Tatis, Castro, Delgado, Evans, Maine.

On the Mound

John Maine (5-4) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Pierre drew a leadoff walk.  With Kemp at the batters box, Pierre beat out the bad throw by Castro as he stole second.  Maine fanned Kemp.  Kent grounded to third, and Wright looked Pierre back to second before making the out at first.  James Loney drove a two-out RBI double into the gap in right center, and Juan Pierre came around to score.  Russell Martin lined a two-out opposite field RBI double down the right field line, and James Loney came around to score.  Andre Ethier grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Russell Martin came around to score.  DeWitt grounded to first, and Delgado tagged first to end the inning.  Maine gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Maine pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Maine now retired the Dodgers for the second inning in a row.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Russell Martin hit a leadoff jack to left field.  Maine fanned Ethier.  Maine struck out DeWitt on a foul tip.  Maza grounded out to third to end the inning.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Maine retired the side in order.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Martin lined a two-out single into left.  Ethier grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to end the inning.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Maine left the game after 6.0 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 1 BB, and he had 6 SOs.

Randolph replaced Maine with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 7th.  DeWitt lined a leadoff single into left.  Maza grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play (Castillo had to leave the game after this play, and Easley replaced him).  Park grounded towards the pitcher, and Feliciano made the out at first to end the inning.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Pierre beat out a ground ball to short for a leadoff single.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Feliciano left the game after pitching 1.0 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman with no outs in the Top of the 8th.  Matt Kemp drove a no-out double into the gap in right center, and Juan Pierre came all the way around to score.  Jeff Kent lined a no-out opposite field single into right, and Matt Kemp came around to score (Hu came in to pinch run for Kent).  Loney grounded a no-out single through the hole on the right side, and Hu went from first to third.  Russell Martin grounded a no-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Chin-Iung Hu, and Loney went from first to third.  Heilman gave up 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Scott Schoeneweis with no outs in the Top of the 8th.  Schoeneweis threw a wild pitch that hit the bat of Ethier and redirected to the backstop, and James Loney came home to score and Martin advanced to second.  Schoeneweis struck out Ethier looking.  Blake DeWitt lined a one-out RBI single into center which scored Russell Martin, and then the Mets got DeWitt caught in a rundown as he attempted to go to second and Delgado applied the tag.  Maza grounded to first, and Delgado tagged him to end the inning.  Schoeneweis gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Carlos Muniz to begin the Top of the 9th.  Muniz pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Muniz gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Clayton Kershaw (0-0) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Reyes grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Luis Castillo pulled a no-out 2-run shot to left scoring Jose Reyes.  Kershaw struck out Wright looking.  Beltran grounded out to short.  Tatis grounded out to second to end the inning.  Kershaw gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Kershaw pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Kershaw gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Reyes drew a one-out walk.  Castillo drew a one-out walk.  Wright drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, and Jose Reyes tagged up and scored as Castillo tagged up and advanced to third.  Tatis gounded to third, and DeWitt made the out at first leaving Mets stranded at the corners.  Kershaw gave up 0 Hits, 2 Run, 3 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Castro lined a leadoff single into left.  Delgado lined a no-out single into center, and Castro went to second.  Evans lined a single into left, and both runners advanced to load the bases.  Maine grounded to third, and DeWitt got the lead runner out at home while Maine ended up on first.  Jose Reyes grounded to third, but DeWitt could not field it cleanly so Ramon Castro scored and everybody is safe.  Castillo drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Kershaw gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  Kershaw left the game after pitching 3.2 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Torre replaced Kershaw with Chan Ho Park with two outs in the Bottom of the 4th.  Wright grounded to short, and Maza made the out at first to end the inning leaving the bases full of Mets.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Park retired the side in order with three ground outs.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Casanova drew a two-out pinch hit walk.  Reyes grounded out to second, and Kent made the force out at second to end the inning.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Wright drove a one-out double to the base of the center field wall.  Park intentionally walked Beltran.  Tatis lined a one-out single through the hole on the right side to load the bases.  Ramon Castro grounded back to the pitcher, and the ball redirected off of Park and towards third so DeWitt made the out at first as David Wright came home to score.  Park intentionally walked Delgado to load the bases.  Park fanned Evans to end the inning with the bases full of Mets.  Park gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Park left the game after pitching 3.1 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Torre replaced Park with Jonathan Broxton to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Broxton pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Broxton gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Torre replaced Broxton with Takashi Saito to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Tatis grounded to second, and Maza got the out at first and Beltran moved over to second.  Castro got hit by the pitch.  Delgado grounded to second, and Maza made the out at first to end the game.  Saito gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Los Angeles Dodgers 9 - New York Mets 5.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Aaron Heilman (0-2) blew the save and took the loss and Chan Ho Park (2-1) got the win.

Game Notes:

• Luis Castillo hit another 2-run dinger.
• Aaron Heilman blew the save giving up 4 runs without recording an out.

Series Notes:

• The Dodgers and the Mets are tied up 1-1.

Other Notes:

• Since May 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-l-l-l-l-w-l-l-w-w-w-l.
• The Mets are currently 3-2 on this homestand.
• The Mets are now one game under .500 with a 26-27 record.

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So Mets.com wrote an article stating that no Mets have been voted to the top of their respective positions in the early tabulations of the All-Star ballots.  The funny thing about it was that I was going to discuss it today anyway.  Now, I have some supporting evidence thanks to Marty Noble.

Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until 11:59 p.m. ET. on Wednesday, July 2. Starting rosters will be announced during the 2008 All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet on TBS on Sunday, July 6. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the Monster 2008 All-Star Final Vote at MLB.com.

As usual, fans can vote so go out and vote if you haven’t done so already.  Obviously, I encourage you to vote for all of the Mets.

1. First Base - No Mets are currently in the Top 5.
2. Second Base - Luis Castillo is currently 5th in the All-Star ballot.  I have no idea how that happened.
3. Third Base - David Wright is currently 2nd in the All-Star ballot.  Even though Wright is struggling, vote for him over Larry Jones.
4. Shortstop - Jose Reyes is currently 3rd in the All-Star ballot.
5. Catcher - No Mets are currently in the Top 5.
6. Outfield - Carlos Beltran is currently 4th, and Ryan Church is currently 13th in the All-Star ballot.  Church has to make it in the outfield, and he should be ahead of Beltran right now.

If you want to vote for the 2008 All-Star Game, click here.

Mets.com:

Latest injury most disappointing for Alou - Moises Alou had this to say, “I got known as the person who gets injured all the time, and it’s embarrassing getting that label this late in my career.”

Mets starting slowly in All-Star ballots - Marty Noble pointed out that no Mets have been voted to the top of their respective position in the early tabulations.  The All-Star game is what I wanted to talk about today.

Santana puts a stop to Mets’ slide - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Wagner only concerned about winning - Jon Blau put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Wise the latest Mets player on the DL - Jon Blau reported that Matt Wise was placed on the 15-day DL because of a right rotator cuff tendinitis.  Carlos Muniz was called up from the Minors to take his place on the roster.

Newsday:

Santana gives Mets much-needed win - Anthony Rieber summarized last night’s Marlins-Mets game.

If Mets don’t win now, they could have long wait

Church sees neurologist, takes night off

Randolph’s mood brightens as job status improves - Anthony Rieber pointed out that,

Randolph joked with reporters before last night’s game against the Marlins. He was particularly comical about a photo on the front page of the New York Post that he said made him “look ugly.”

“You couldn’t find a better picture than that?” he asked. “That was a tired picture. Do I look that bad? It was a big ‘ Moon Mullins’ shot. I looked tired. They made sure my eyes were a little bit closed.”

Marlon, Wise are hurting

Marlins showing they are more than spoilers

Vote of confidence for Mets’ Randolph could be kiss of death

New York Daily News:

To Omar Minaya, racial divide on Mets sounds altogether wrong

Mets surpass Knicks at doctoring attendance figures

Thanks to Johan Santana, Mets and Willie Randolph get much-needed win - Peter Botte wrote up a game summary for last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Johan Santana aces Mets’ gut check

Ten ways to fix the Mets - Peter Botte provided a list of, “10 things the Mets need to do to save their season and/or Randolph’s job over the final 112 games.”

Ryan Church’s bell is still ringing

Backup plan is a hit - Mark Lelinwallasays, “Maybe Willie Randolph should give his starters the night off more often.”

Tuesday the target for Pedro’s return

Brochure chumps make ‘07 Mets champs - Brendan Brosh found out that, “A tourism brochure, printed for $9,300 by the borough president’s office, hails the Mets as winners last year - when they endured a historic collapse to miss the playoffs.”

New York Post:

SANTANA & SUBS SUBDUE MARLINS

RANDOLPH WARMS UP HIS BENCH

QUEST FOR LEADER LOST IN TRANSLATION

CHURCH MIGHT GO ON THE DL

New York Times:

Santana Provides Relief for Mets - Ben Shpigel summarized last night’s Marlins-Mets game.

Doctors See Danger in Letting Church Play

Delgado Benched as Slump Deepens

The Star-Ledger:

Ryan Church update

Ryan Church fallout

If it ain’t broke, why fix it? - Colin Stephenson provided the lineup for tonight’s Marlins-Mets game.

Shakeup helps Mets get a win

Church told to stay away from Shea - Jeremy Cothran noted that, ”a neurologist ordered the right fielder to stay home.”

Final: Mets 5, Marlins 3 - Jeremy Cothran summarized last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

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The Metropolitans were unable to provide Willie with a post-meeting victory last night.  Various Mets were asked if Willie should be their manager, and only Wagner stated that he supported Willie.  Other players danced around the question, and tried to be politically correct.  Delgado got really weird about the question.  I’ve been trying to find the full quote, but none of the papers got it.  Here’s a portion of what Carlos said, “I’ll tell you what I think. I think we need to play better. I think they don’t pay me to think. They pay me to play baseball. … (That’s) not a good question to ask.”  When I listened to it, he finished the last question by saying that it’s not a good question to ask in front of everybody.  So when should reporters ask the question?  Also, Delgado was very nasty to the reporters after the first couple of questions.  He began swearing which is probably why I can’t find it in the papers.  Remember this, Delgado didn’t want to be on the Mets so he went to the Marlins instead.  So what did Omar do?  He went out and got Delgado.  Carlos had one good year on the Mets in ‘06.  In ‘07, he had a .258 average and was bored.  This year, he has a .215 average.  He’s a classless bum so get rid of him.  The team chemistry should improve a little bit from this.  I’m sure there’s more problems, but this is a good start.  Thanks Willie for benching Delgado tonight.  There are much bigger problems than Willie.  Omar believes that he has championship talent so he is the first person that needs to wake up and smell the coffee.  Once he realizes how wrong he is in his assessment, he will have to get rid of the bums and bring in championship talent.  Even if these players have the physical talent, they don’t have the mental talent.  Take Reyes for example.  He has been great until Willie benched him.  Once there was adversity, he has sucked.  Down the stretch in ‘07, he sucked.  Now that the Mets are supposed to win, Reyes sucks and the Mets are playing .500 ball.  Reyes was able to succeed without pressure.  After the collapse, my question was whether or not Reyes was injured or childish.  I was upset with the Mets for not stating what the problem was until Spring Training.  I thought Reyes should’ve been dealt to the Twins if he was being childish, but not if he was injured.  In Spring Training, we found out that he was being a baby and he’s still on the Mets.  Omar needs to take a better look at this team, and there are so many more issues.

Mets.com:

Mets reliving a bit of history - Marty Noble compared the ‘08 Mets to the ‘04 Mets.

Mets held at bay by first-place Marlins - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Heilman locating pitches better of late - Jon Blau put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Pedro to make return on June 3

Randolph to remain manager of Mets

Church to see a neurologist - Marty Noble reported that Ryan Church, “is to be examined by a neurologist.”  Also, Marlon Anderson was, ”assigned to the disabled list because of a strain of his left hamstring.”

Tigers and Mets have common ground - Fred Claire believes that the Mets and the Tigers are struggling despite big offseason moves.

Newsday:

In the end, this town could make Willie toast

Same old ending as Marlins top Mets, 7-3 - Arthur Staple also summarized last night’s Marlins-Mets game.

Randolph still Mets manager after meeting

Beltran on manager situation: It’s a distraction - Carlos Beltran had this to say about Willie’s status:

I think they should say that and come out with something like that. Because it is a distraction. The reality is people say, ‘No, that doesn’t affect the ballclub,’ but it does. It does because you come to the ballpark wondering what’s going to happen. It’s natural as players, we all think like that.

At one point, I was in that situation when they were talking every day about me being traded when I was in Kansas City. To me, it was thinking it might be today. Tomorrow might be the day. It’s not fun coming wondering like that every day to the ballpark.

Randolph saga is field day for media - I bet it is.  It’s been so overdone.  I was bored of the story after the first two days.

Lightning kills former Mets pitcher Gonzalez - The AP reported that “Former Mets pitcher Geremi Gonzalez was killed by a lightning strike in his native Venezuela on Sunday. He was 33.”  I’ve never actually knew anybody that was killed by lightning.  That is an awful story.  Die Hard Mets Fan sends our prayers to Geremi Gonzalez.

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday lets us know what happened at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium on May 27 of a year in the past.

New York Daily News:

Embattled Mets manager Willie Randolph has brass’ support - for now

Fielding gaffes fail to boost Willie Randolph and doom Mets vs. Marlins - Peter Botte wrote up a game summary for last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Willie Randolph survives to manage the Mets another day

One meeting can’t clean up the Mets

Met players: It’s on us and not Willie Randolph

Thank Aaron Heilman for preventing blowout vs. Marlins

Ryan Church service still on hold

Lightning kills ex-Met riding boat

New York Post:

THERE’S A WILL, BUT NOT A WAY

DON’T BLAME WILLIE

THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB ON A TEAM OF GOATS

PELFREY’S PUZZLED BY POOR START

BLAME FOR THIS MESS GOES BEYOND DUGOUT

JOSE’S HOT BAT CAN’T START FIRE

WILLIE’S REPRIEVE

PLAYERS: BLAME SHOULD FALL ON US

WILLIE RANDOLPH KEEPS HIS JOB

TRADING PLACES - Dan Tomasino pointed out that, “The first-place team in the NL East will play at Shea Stadium tonight, but it’s not the hometown Mets.”

New York Times:

Randolph Is Still Mets’ Manager

No Good News for Randolph as Mets Lose Again - Joe LaPointe summarized last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

The Star-Ledger:

Game 50: Marlins at Mets - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineup for tonight’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Wise placed on DL - Jeremy Cothran reported that, “Matt Wise was placed on the 15-day disabled list with weakness in his throwing (right) shoulder. To fill the void in the bullpen, the Mets called up RHP Carlos Muniz from Triple-A New Orleans.”

Somebody has to go, but it’s not Willie

Players speak volumes by staying silent

Reyes continues puzzling season

Willie will, for now

It’s all about the manager right now

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