Die Hard Sports Fan

The Metropolitans will host the Nationals to a 4-game series beginning tonight.  Some good pitching and some clutch hitting should lead to a thrashing.  The Mets should be able to sleep walk through the Nats, but they haven’t gotten to that point yet in ‘08.  The Mets keep us on the edges of our seats by playing to the level of the competition.  Here’s the pitching probables for this series:

• 04/12/2008 - Odalis Perez (0-3) - Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-2)
• 04/13/2008 - John Lannan (3-3) - John Maine (4-2)
• 04/14/2008 - Tim Redding (4-3) - TBD
• 04/15/2008 - Michael O’Connor (1-1) - Johan Santana (4-2)

Mets.com:

Reliever Wise the Mets’ invisible man - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Using pink bat, Beltran enjoys big day

Newsday:

Mets in the pink after beating Reds - Anthony Rieber summarized yesterday’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Inconsistent Perez finds his rhythm for Mets

Reds bat out of order in ninth - Erik Boland attempted to explain what took place yesterday when the Reds batted out of order in the ninth inning.

Schoeneweis turning boos into cheers

New York Daily News:

Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church hit back-to-back homers as Mets blast Reds - Peter Botte summarized yesterday’s Reds-Mets game.

Mets’ Oliver Perez baffles even Willie Randolph with turn for better

In ninth, Mets-Reds get out of order

Mets turn to Johan Santana to get Subway Series rolling

Mets’ minor league report - Adam Rubin lets us know what’s going on in the minors.

New York Post:

AMAZIN’S PINK BATS RED HOT - Mike Puma summarized yesterday’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

OLIVER’S LEFTY PERSONALITY ALL RIGHT

DOING A RAIN DANCE - Mike Puma wrote, “With today’s forecast calling for rain, the Mets might not wait long to postpone their scheduled game against the Nationals.”

CASTILLO HURT - Fred Kerber reported that Luis Castillo will not be in tonight’s lineup.

BUMBLING REDS DELAY INEVITABLE - Fred Kerber stated that the lineup confusion in the ninth inning slowed down the game.

New York Times:

Snapping Out of a Slump, Beltrán Is Starting to Click

The Star-Ledger:

Mets’ Perez shows his better side

Beltran the driving force in Met bats’ revival

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Die Hard Mets Fan would like to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!  The Mets won the weekend series against the Reds, and then the Nats are coming to Queens tomorrow for a four-game series.  Hopefully, we can continue to watch the Metsies beat up on the scrubs of the NL.  Next weekend begins the first interleague series, and the Mets will be in the Bronx for the weekend for the first Subway Series of ‘08.

Mets.com:

Quirks and all, Perez picks up victory - Marty Noble summarized today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Strained left quad stops Castillo - Marty Noble reported that Luis Castillo had to leave today’s game against the Reds because he strained his left quad in the 5th Inning.

Pelfrey undergoing transformation - Marty Noble stated that last night’s loss to the Reds was in some ways a moral victory for Mike Pelfrey because he pitched 6 innings allowing 2 runs.  After a couple of poor performances, Pelfrey made some changes which led to an improved outing last night.  His teammates informed him that he was tipping off his pitches by chewing on his mouthpiece when he threw fastballs, but not when he threw breaking balls.  So one change was getting rid of the mouthpiece, and the other change was not using what he claims is his best pitch (the two seam fastball) because it hasn’t been successful lately.

Pelfrey solid, but Mets fall in nightcap - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Beltran powers Mets in matinee - Marty Noble summarized yesterday’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Mets aim to stay solid vs. weaker clubs - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Son of former Met a chip off old block - Marty Noble lets us know how the son of former Mets’ catcher Ron Hodges, Casey Hodges, who pitches for Mount Olive College is doing so far in his collegiate career.

Newsday:

Subpar Santana still good enough for Mets - Mark Herrman summarized yesterday’s double header between the Reds and the Mets.

Pelfrey still improving despite loss

Mets’ Beltran primed to break funk - Ken Davidoff stated that Carlos Beltran may get out of the funk after his 5-RBI game in the first game against the Reds.

New York Daily News:

Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church hit back-to-back homers as Mets blast Reds - The AP summarized today’s Reds-Mets game.

Mets are like night and day in doubleheader, split games vs. Reds - Anthony McCarron also summarized yesterday’s Reds-Mets double header.

Johan Santana seems slow to change up Mets’ fortunes

Wagner loses his cool on watercooler - Kristie Ackert tells us that Billy Wagner took out his frustrations on the water cooler in the dugout after he stunk it up in the 9th Inning of last night’s game against the Reds.

Like night & day for Aaron Heilman - Kristie Ackert explained how different Aaron Heilman was when used in both games of yesterday’s double header.

Lucky 7th for Carlos Delgado - Mark Lelinwalla describes how successful Carlos Delgado was when batting in the seventh spot of the lineup in yesterday’s day game against the Reds.

Junior achievements wow Willie - Since the Reds are in town and Griffey is close to hitting his 600th Home Run, Anthony McCarron found out what Willie Randolph’s thoughts are on Ken Griffey Jr.’s exceptional career.  McCarron also provided some stats for what could’ve been for the slugger.

Griffey has struggled to stay healthy his entire career. He could have played 3,115 games over his career if he had played every game of every season he’s been in the majors, including this one. But he’s only played in 2,414, or 77.5%. He’s missed 701 games, or more than four full seasons. Still, he’s hit 597 homers.

Bobby Valentine has ‘zen’ moment in new movie - Patrick Huguenin found out that three NYU students made a documentary about Bobby Valentine titled, ”The Zen of Bobby V”.  The documentary “examines Valentine’s remarkable adaptation to a baseball culture far from home.”  Bobby V is now the manager of Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines.  I gotta check out this flick because it seems like it will crack me up.

New York Post:

BELTRAN, CHURCH POWER METS OVER REDS - Mike Puma summarized today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

METS SUFFER FROM SPLITTIN’ RED-ACHE - Mike Puma summarized both games of yesterday’s double header between the Reds and the Mets.

DELGADO GETTING THINGS IN ORDER

PASSION IS KEY TO BEIN’ AMAZIN’ - Kevin Kernan believes that the Mets didn’t have enough passion to win both game of the double header yesterday.

DAVID HAS RIGHT IDEA - Mike Puma stated that “When David Wright is going right, he’s thinking right (field).”

25 BEST MOMENTS AT SHEA: NO. 20

METS BEAT REDS 12-6 - Mike Puma summarized the first game of yesterday’s double header between the Reds and the Mets.

New York Times:

Mets’ Offense a Safeguard Against a Potential Pérez Combustion - Ben Shpigel summarized today’s Reds-Mets game.

The Star-Ledger:

Mets roll over Reds, 8-3 - Alex Delanian summarized today’s game Reds-Mets game.

BREAKING NEWS: Delgado’s agent is insane - Dan Graziano walks us through his encounter with Delgado’s Agent David Sloane.

Get your pink caps on - Alex Delanian provided the lineup for today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Santana gets himself out of a jam

Mets’ pop goes flat - Colin Stephenson explains some reasons why the Mets were not able to win the nightcap of the double header against the Reds.

What to do with three hours of dead time - Colin Stephenson lets us know what some of the players did during the three and a half hour break in between yesterday’s double header.

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The New York Mets (18-16) are playing Game 35 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Cincinnati Reds (15-22) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the rubber game of a three-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on CW11.

Today is “Mother’s Day at Shea”

Reds Lineup: Freel, Votto, Griffey Jr., Phillips, Encarnacion, Dunn, Keppinger, Bako, Cueto.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Perez.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (2-3) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Griffey drew a two-out walk.  Phillips flied out to right.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Keppinger lined a two-out single into center.  Perez caught Bako looking at strike three.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Perez pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Phillips drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Eencarnacion popped up near home, and Schneider made the catch.  With Dunn at the plate, Phillips stole second with no throw.  Perez fanned Dunn to end the inning.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Keppinger drew a leadoff walk.  Perez struck out Bako swinging.  Cueto dropped down a bunt down the first base line, and Delgado made the out at first as Keppinger advanced to second.  Perez hit Freel with the pitch.  Perez fanned Votto to end the inning.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Griffey drew a leadoff walk.  Phillips hit the ball foul of the right field wall, and Church made the out.  Encarnacion lined the ball to deep left, and Alou dropped it so Encarnacion ended up with a double as Griffey went first to third.  Adam Dunn hit a sacrifice fly to center, and Ken Griffey Jr. tagged up and scored and Encarnacion tagged up and went to third.  Jeff Keppinger worked the count full before lining a two-out RBI triple to the gap in left center, and Edwin Encarnacion scored.  With Bako in the batters box, Perez threw a wild pitch that went to the backstop and Jeff Keppinger scored.  Bako flied out to center.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 8 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Scott Schoeneweis to begin the Top of the 7th.  Freel dropped a one-out single into left.  Schoeneweis picked off Freel at first, and the Mets got him in a rundown and then got Freel out at second.  Schoeneweis struck out Votto looking.  Schoeneweis gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Phillips grounded a one-out single up the middle.  Encarnacion drove a one-out single to the gap in right center, and Phillips went first to third.  Schoeneweis struck out Dunn swinging.  Schoeneweis gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.  Schoeneweis left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Joe Smith with two outs in the Top of the 8th.  Smith fanned Keppinger.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 9th.  The inning has been slowed down because the Reds batted out of order.  It seems like the Coaches and the Umpires don’t know how to deal with the situation.  Ross grounded a one-out single up the middle.  Freel grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first as Ross advanced to second.  Votto grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first to end the game.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Johnny Cueto (2-3) was the starting pitcher for the Reds.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Reyes lined a leadoff single to center.  With Castillo at the plate, Reyes stole second by a mile.  Luis Castillo hit the ball into the gap in right center, and miscommunication between Griffey and Freel allowed the ball to fall so Castillo ended up with an RBI triple while Jose Reyes came around to score.  Wright flied out to shallow center, and Castillo held up at third.  Carlos Beltran lined a one-out RBI double into the gap in left center, and Luis Castillo came home to score.  Church lined out to first.  Moises Alou lined a two-out opposite field RBI double to the right field corner, and Carlos Beltran scored.  Delgado flied out to center to end the fun.  Cueto gave up 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Perez drew a one-out walk.  Reyes popped up to center, and Freel made the catch.  With Castillo at the plate, Perez stole second with no throw because the Reds were very confused.  Cueto struck Castillo out on a called strike.  Cueto gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Wright drew a leadoff walk.  Cueto struck out Beltran swinging as Wright took off for second, and Bako threw Wright out at second.  Cueto fanned Church.  Cueto gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Delgado drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Schneider popped up foul of the third base line, and Encarnacion made the catch.  Perez dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher, and Cueto did not field the ball properly so Perez beat it out and Delgado went to second.  Cueto got Reyes swinging at a pitch in the dirt to end the inning.  Cueto gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Castillo beat out a slow grounder to short for a leadoff single.  Cueto fanned Wright.  Carlos Beltran crushed a one-out 2-run homer to right field scoring Luis Castillo.  Ryan Church followed that up with a solo shot to center.  Alou grounded out to short.  Cueto gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Cueto left the game after pitching 4.2 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 6 Runs, 6 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 5 SOs.

Baker replaced Cueto with Bill Bray with two outs in the Bottom of the 5th.  Bray fanned Delgado.  Bray gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Reyes grounded over the third base bag and down the line for a two-out double.  Bray gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  Bray left the game after pitching 1.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Baker replaced Bray with Jared Burton with two outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Easley replaced Castillo, and Damion Easley lined a two-out RBI single into right which scored Jose Reyes.  With Wright at the plate, Burton threw a wild pitch and Easley stole second.  David Wright worked the count full before grounding an RBI single through the hole on the left side which scored Damion Easley.  Beltran grounded to third, and Encarnacion made the force out at second to end the inning.  Burton gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Baker replaced Burton with Jeremy Affeldt to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Delgado dropped a two-out opposite field single to left.  Schneider grounded to the pitcher, and Affeldt made the out at first to end the inning.  Affeldt gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Baker replaced Affeldt with David Weathers to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Anderson pinch hit for Smith, and Anderson led off with a leadoff double into the right field corner.  Reyes chopped the ball to third and beat it out without a throw, and Anderson went to third.  Weathers caught Easley staring at strike three.  With Wright at the plate, Weathers threw a passed ball so Reyes stole second.  Weathers struck out Wright swinging.  Beltran grounded out to second to end the inning.  Weathers gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: Cincinnati Reds 3 - New York Mets 8.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Oliver Perez (3-3) got the win and Johnny Cueto (2-4) got the loss.

The Mets were able to win on Mother’s Day, and they were able to win this series against the Reds.  Oli pitched in classic Oli fashion as he pitched 5 shutout innings and then gave up 3 runs out of no where.  The ‘pen put up goose eggs today.  The offense scored 8 runs, and Beltran led the charge again with 3 RBIs.  The best thing about the past few games is that other batters are driving in runs while David is in his slump.  In April, Wright drove in almost all of the team’s RBIs.  For this team to dominate, everybody needs to contribute.  If nobody else drove in the runs then the Metsies would lose these games against the last place teams.  I hope it’s a good sign of things to come.

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The New York Mets (17-15) are playing Game 33 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Cincinnati Reds (14-21) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the first game of a three-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Reds Lineup: Patterson, Freel, Griffey Jr., Phillips, Votto, Encarnacion, Keppinger, Ross, Belisle.

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

On the Mound

Johan Santana (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Patterson dropped down a bunt towards first and Delgado made a bad flip to Santana so Patterson beat it out for a leadoff single.  With Freel at the plate, Santana threw to first and the Mets tagged Patterson in a rundown.  Freel grounded out to first.  Griffey lined a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Phillips lined a two-out double into the corner in left, and Griffey went from first to third.  Votto lined out to right leaving two Reds stranded.  Santana gave up 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Keppinger drew a one-out walk.  Ross popped up to second.  Santana struck out Belisle to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Freel lined a one-out double near the left field line.  Griffey popped up to short.  Phillips grounded out to short to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Edwin Encarnacion drove a one-out solo jack over the left field wall.  Keppinger flied out to center.  Santana fanned Ross.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Belisle grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Santana struck out Patterson on a foul tip.  Freel dropped a bunt towards third, and Wright made the out at first as Belisle advanced to second.  Griffey grounded out to second to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Phillips lined a leadoff triple into the right field corner.  Votto popped up to short.  Edwin Encarnacion grounded a one-out RBI single under the diving Wright, and Brandon Phillips came home to score.  Keppinger grounded a one-out single under Reyes’ glove, and Encarnacion moved over to second.  Santana got Ross looking.  Hatteberg is pinch hitting for Belisle, and Scott Hatteberg lined a two-out RBI single into right while Edwin Encarnacion scored and Keppinger went to third.  Santana fanned Patterson to end the inning.  Santana gave up 4 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 10 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 1 BB, and he had 5 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Freel lined a leadoff single into left.  Griffey lined out to center.  With Phillips in the batters box, Freel stole second without a throw.  Phillips drew a one-out walk.  Joey Votto lined a one-out RBI double into left, and Ryan Freel scored and Phillips advanced to third.  Heilman got Encarnacion swinging.  Keppinger grounded out to short to end the inning.  Heilman gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 8th.  Ross lined a leadoff single up the middle.  Hairston is pinch hitting for Lincoln, and Hairston popped up to center and Beltran made the catch.  Patterson popped up to third, and Wright made the catch.  Freel lined a two-out single into center, and Ross moved over to second.  Ken Griffey Jr. drove a two-out 2-run double halfway up the wall in right field which scored David Ross and Ryan Freel.  Patterson grounded out to second to end the inning.  Feliciano gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 9th.  Votto drew a leadoff walk.  Encarnacion grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play.  Keppinger grounded in front of home plate, and Schneider made the out at first to end the game.  Sosa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Matt Belisle (1-2) was the starting pitcher for the Reds.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran drew a two-out walk.  Belisle fanned Church to leave two Mets stranded.  Belisle gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Alou lined a leadoff single into center.  Delgado drove a single into the gap in right center, and Alou moved over to second.  Schneider grounded to first, and Votto only got the out at second.  Santana struck out, but Ross could not handle the ball and it went to the backstop so Santana beat out the play at first while Moises Alou came home and Schneider went to second (Since first base was occupied, Santana could not take first base so Schneider is the only baserunner).  Reyes flied out to left to end the inning.  Belisle gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Castillo drew a leadoff walk.  Wright lined a no-out single into right, and Castillo went from first to third.  Carlos Beltran lined a no-out RBI single into center which scored Luis Castillo, and Wright advanced to second.  Church grounded out to first, and both runners advanced.  Moises Alou dropped a one-out bloop single over the head of Phillips, and David Wright and Carlos Beltran scored.  Delgado grounded to first, and the Reds turned the inning ending double play.  Belisle gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Belisle pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Belisle gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Castillo grounded to the pitcher but Belisle (Error on Matt Belisle) made a bad throw to first so Castillo went to second.  Wright lined a no-out single, and Castillo advanced to third.  Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly to center, and Luis Castillo tagged up and scored and Wright tagged up and went to second.  Ryan Church lined a one-out RBI single into right center, and David Wright came around to score.  Alou grounded to third, and the Reds turned the double play.  Belisle gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Belisle left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 6 Runs, 5 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Baker replaced Belisle with Bill Bray to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Delgado lined a leadoff double down the left field line.  Schneider lined a no-out single into right, and Delgado advanced to third.  Bray gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Baker replaced Bray with Mike Lincoln with no outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Easley is pinch hitting for Santana, and Easley grounded to third and was thrown out at first by Encarnacion.  Reyes drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Lincoln caught Castillo looking at strike three.  David Wright drew an RBI two-out walk which brought Carlos Delgado home.  Carlos Beltran lined a two-out 3-run triple down the right field line which scored Brian Schneider, Jose Reyes, and David Wright.  Church grounded out to second to end the inning.  Lincoln gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Carlos Delgado hit a one-out jack to right field.  Brian Schneider followed that up with a solo shot of his own to the right field corner.  Chavez is pinch hitting for Heilman, and Lincoln fanned Chavez.  Reyes grounded out to first to end the inning.  Lincoln gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Lincoln left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 2 SOS.

Baker replaced Lincoln with Jeremy Affeldt to begin the 8th Inning.  Affeldt pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Affeldt gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: Cincinnati Reds 6 - New York Mets 12.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Johan Santana (4-2) got the win and Matt Belisle (1-3) got the loss.

The Mets put up double digits for the second game in a row.  The entire lineup was hitting except for Reyes and Castillo.  Delgado had 3 hits, and Beltran had 5 RBIs.  Santana got the ‘w’, but he didn’t look so good on the mound.  He gave up 10 hits, and had men on base all game.  Somehow, he got out of it only giving up 3 runs.  Heilman and Feliciano were responsible for the rest of the runs.

The Reds and the Mets will begin the second game of the day at 7:30 p.m.

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The New York Mets (16-15) are playing Game 32 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (19-14) at Dodger Stadium.  It’s the final game of a three-game series.  The game began at 3:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Pagan, Anderson, Casanova, Maine.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Ethier, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, DeWitt, Hu, Penny.

At the Plate

Brad Penny (5-2) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Top of the 1st, Penny retired the side in order.  Penny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Church lined a one-out single into center.  Pagan lined a one-out opposite field single into left, and Church moved over to second.  Marlon Anderson worked himself into a full count before driving a one-out RBI Ground Rule Double over the center field fence, and Ryan Church came around to score while Pagan advanced to third.  Raul Casanova grounded a one-out 2-run single through the hole on the right side which scored Angel Pagan and Marlon Anderson.  Maine dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher, and Penny made the out at first as Casanova moved over to second.  Reyes drew a two-out walk.  Luis Castillo grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle which brought Raul Casanova around to score and Reyes advanced to second.  Penny fanned Wright after the Mets batted around the order.  Penny gave up 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Beltran led off by grounding a single through the hole on the left side.  Church hit a no-out broken bat line drive into shallow right, and Beltran went first to third.  Angel Pagan grounded to second, and Kent only made the out at second while Carlos Beltran scored.  Anderson flied out to the warning track in right.  With Casanova at the plate, Pagan stole second by beating out the pitch out.  Casanova grounded out to second to end the inning.  Penny gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Castillo lined a two-out double down the right field line.  Wright grounded out to third to end the inning.  Penny gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Penny hit Church with the pitch to give the Mets a one-out base runner.  Chavez replaced Pagan, and Penny fanned Chavez on three pitches.  Anderson grounded to short, and Anderson beat out the throw for a two-out single as Church moved over to second.  Casanova worked himself into a full count before drawing a walk that loaded the bases.  John Maine lined a two-out 2-run single into center which scored Ryan Church and Marlon Anderson while Casanova advanced to second.  Reyes drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Penny gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Penny left the game after pitching 4.2 Innings allowing 10 Hits, 10 Runs, 10 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Torre replaced Penny with Scott Proctor with two outs in the Top of the 5th.  Luis Castillo drew a two-out walk which brought home Raul Casanova.  David Wright drove a two-out Ground Rule Double over the left field wall which scored John Maine and Jose Reyes while Castillo advanced to third.  With Beltran in the batters box, Proctor threw a wild pitch which brought home Luis Castillo.  Beltran grounded out to second to end the inning.  Proctor gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the Top of the 5th.  In the Top of the 6th, Ryan Church hit the first pitch of the inning over the wall in right center.  Chavez flied out to center.  Proctor struck out Anderson swinging.  Casanova drove a two-out double that one-hopped the wall in left center.  Proctor fanned Maine on three straight pitches.  Proctor gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Proctor left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs.

Torre replaced Proctor with Chan Ho Park to begin the Top of the 7th.  Park pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Park sent the Mets down in order again.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Maine was still batting and he struck out looking.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

John Maine (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Ethier flied to foul territory along the left field line and Pagan dove over the wall to make the catch and landed on his head in the stands (Randolph and the Trainors came out to check up on him, and he got up eventually and recieved a standing ovation which is the opposite of what Reyes got in Philly).  Maine pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Maine retired 6 straight Dodgers.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Hu pulled the ball down the right field line for a leadoff double.  Penny popped in foul ground along the third base line, and Wright made the catch.  Pierre grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to leave Hu at second.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Maine pitched another 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Loney drove a leadoff double into the gap in left center.  Martin drew a no-out walk.  Maine fanned DeWitt.  Hu grounded to second, and the Mets turned the inning ending double play.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Maine pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Maine retired the side in order again.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Maine now retired 10 straight (John Maine is the first Mets pitcher to record an out in the 8th Inning).  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Jones blooped a pinch hit double near the right field line.  Pierre drew a no-out walk.  Ethier lined out to deep left.  Matt Kemp lined a one-out RBI single into center which brought Andruw Jones around to score and Ethier moved over to second.  Maine gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.  Maine left the game after pitching 8.1 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Maine with Duaner Sanchez with one out in the Bottom of the 9th.  Young grounded to third, and Wright tagged third and attempted to make the out at first but Young beat it out.  Sanchez struck out Loney on a check swing.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 12 - Los Angeles Dodgers 1.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  John Maine (4-2) got the win and Brad Penny (5-3) got the loss.

Close, but no cigar.  The Maine Man was two outs away from handing the Mets their first complete game shutout of ‘08.  I knew this game was over when Maine drove in 2 runs in the 5th, and Maine only allowed 1 hit up to that point.  Maine went into the Bottom of the 9th with a two-hit shutout and got into some trouble and gave up a run.  Once the run scored, Willie replaced Maine with Sanchez.  Offensively, the Mets batted around in two separate innings.  Everybody but Reyes got a hit, but Reyes did walk twice and score once.  Church had 3 Hits today including a solo shot.

It was a great game for the Amazins’, but they lost the series to Dem Bums.  The Mets finished their road trip 3-3 against the team with the best record and against the hottest team in baseball.  3-3 isn’t good, but it could be worse.  The Mets have an off day tomorrow before they host the Reds for a weekend series.

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The New York Mets (16-14) are playing Game 31 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (18-14) at Dodger Stadium.  It’s the second game of a three-game series.  The game began at 10:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.Mets Lineup: Reyes, Church, Wright, Alou, Delgado, Pagan, Schneider, Castillo, Figueroa.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Jones, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, DeWitt, Hu, Kuroda.

At the Plate

Hiroki Kuroda (1-2) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Top of the 1st, Ryan Church hit a one-out solo shot to center.  Wright drove the ball just foul of the right sideline, and Kemp made the out.  Alou lined a two-out single into center.  Delgado grounded to short, and Hu made the force out at second to end the inning.  Kuroda gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Pagan dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher and Kuroda made a bad throw to first so Pagan is safe.  Schneider pulled a single down the right field line, and Pagan went first to third.  Luis Castillo lined a no-out RBI single into center which brought Angel Pagan home, and Schneider advanced to second.  Figueroa dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher, and Kuroda (Error on Hiroki Kuroda) made a bad throw to third so the bases are loaded.  Jose Reyes lined a no-out RBI single into center, and Brian Schneider scored.  Church grounded to the pitcher, and Kuroda got the out at home before Martin got Church out at first.  Kuroda fanned Wright with Mets on second and third.  Kuroda gave up 4 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Alou grounded to third and DeWitt (Error on Blake DeWitt) couldn’t field it properly so Alou is on base.  Delgado grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Alou went first to third.  Pagan grounded to third, and DeWitt got the force out at second.  With Schneider at the plate, Pagan stole second so Martin attempted to throw him out but didn’t and then Moises Alou stole home.  Schneider drew a one-out walk.  Castillo grounded to second, and the Dodgers only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  With Figueroa in the batters box, Castillo stole second.  Figueroa drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Reyes grounded to short, and Hu tagged second to leave the bases loaded.  Kuroda gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Wright drew a one-out walk.  Alou lined a one-out single into left, and Wright advanced to second.  Kuroda gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  Kuroda left the game after pitching 3.1 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Torre replaced Kuroda with Hong-Chih Kuo with one out in the Top of the 4th.  Kuo fanned Delgado.  Then Kuo fanned Pagan leaving two Mets stranded.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Kuo hit Castillo with the pitch to give the Mets a one-out base runner.  Figueroa drew a one-out walk.  Reyes worked the count full before looking at strike three.  Church also worked the count full prior to staring at strike three with two Mets on base.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 3 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Kuo quickly retired the side.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Kuo sent the Mets down in order again.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Kuo left the game after pitching 3.2 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 8 SOs.

Torre replaced Kuo with Jonathan Broxton to begin the Top of the 8th.  Church lined a two-out double into the right field corner.  Broxton struck out Wright looking.  Broxton gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Torre replaced Broxton with Takashi Saito to begin the Top of the 9th.  Pagan lined a two-out bloop single into center.  Schneider lined a two-out single into right, and Pagan advanced to second.  Saito caught Castillo looking at strike three to end the game.  Saito gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 S in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Jones drew a one-out walk.  Kemp grounded to third, and the Mets only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  With Kent at the plate, Kemp stole second.  Kent drew a two-out walk.  Loney grounded the ball hard down the third base line, and Wright dove to make the stop but couldn’t get the out so the bases are loaded.  Martin flied out to center to leave the bases juiced.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, DeWitt grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  Figueroa fanned Hu.  Kuroda dropped down a bunt towards first, and Figueroa made the out at first as DeWitt moved over to second.  Juan Pierre lined a two-out RBI single into right, and Blake DeWitt came around to score.  With Jones in the batters box, Pierre attempted to steal second and Schneider threw him out.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Kemp drew a one-out walk.  Kent grounded to third, and the Mets only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  Loney grounded a single up the middle, and Kent went first to third because Pagan bobbled the ball.  Martin drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Blake DeWitt pulled a two-out 2-run single past Delgado and into right which scored Jeff Kent and James Loney, and Martin advanced to second.  Hu flied out to right to leave two Dodgers stranded.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Jones lined a two-out single up the middle.  Kemp lined out to third to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Martin lined a two-out single into center.  Blake DeWitt hit a two-out in the park home run off of the top of the wall which scored Russell Martin and himself (Church attempted to make the catch and just laid on the ground thinking it was a Homer, and didn’t make a play).  Hu grounded to third, and Wright (2 Base Error on David Wright) made a poor throw to first so Hu advanced to second.  Kuo grounded to third, and Wright tagged Hu as he was running to third.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 5 Runs, 5 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Aaron Heilman to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Kemp lined a one-out single into right field.  With Kent in the batters box, Kemp stole second.  Kent grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Heilman pitched the Mets first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Heilman left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Hu grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Young is pinch hitting for Broxton, and Young dropped down a sacrifice bunt which moved Hu to second while Feliciano made the out at first.  Pierre grounded to first, and Delgado tossed it to Feliciano who tagged first while Hu advanced to third.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Joe Smith with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Smith got Jones looking.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 4 - Los Angeles Dodgers 5.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-2) took the loss and Hong-Chih Kuo (2-1) got the win.

The Mets already lost this series against the Dodgers.  The Mets were smacking the ball around the park against Koruda, but Torre had enough of that and replaced him with Kuo.  Kuo was lights out against the Mets giving up no hits, one walk, and 8 K’s.  Then the Dodgers’ Bullpen continued to keep the Mets from scoring.  The inside the park homer by DeWitt was pathetic because Church just laid there on the ground.  In the Bottom of the 9th, I had no confidence in Castillo to do anything at the plate.  He had an RBI in the 2nd Inning so it was very unlikely that he would do it again.  This slump he’s in is serious.  The Mets left a ton of men on base all night though so it’s not just his fault.

Maybe the Mets can get out of there without getting swept.  Maine is facing their ace Penny tomorrow.

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The Mets are out in Arizona right now.  The first game between the Mets and the Diamondbacks is set to take place in about an hour.  The way the pitching rotations are matching up is clearly in their favor because our ace doesn’t pitch until Sunday.  Fortunately, the Metsies have had success out in Arizona over the past few seasons so maybe that will continue.  Here’s the probable pitching matchups for this series:

• 05/02/2008 - John Maine (2-2) - Micah Owings (4-0)
• 05/03/2008 - Mike Pelfrey (2-1) - Brandon Webb (6-0)
• 05/04/2008 - Johan Santana (3-2) - Dan Haren (4-1)

Mets.com:

Prized acquisitions square off on TBS - Steve Gilbert pointed out that Dan Haren and Johan Santana will lead their new squads in front of a national audience on Sunday.

ROBINSON’S NEW PLAQUE UNVEILING POSTPONED - Mets.com reported that this event ismto be rescheduled for a date during the summer.

Newsday:

On air, Mets’ Wagner continues criticism of Perez - Jim Baumbach found out that Wagner had more to say about Oliver Perez in his weekly interview with Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN Radio.  How annoying is it to listen to Michael Kay?  I was listening to 1050 ESPN one day when I was driving because WFAN was in commercials.  Michael Kay was explaining how he need his toilet paper to come down.  As soon as my mind began to process an image of this dude dropping a duece, it grossed me out and I changed the dial back to WFAN.  What does Michael Kay taking a dump have to do with sports?  Good thing I’m not a Yankees fan because it’s tough to listen to that guy.  Kay on tv is better than Sterling on the radio.  If you’re a Yankees fan then you have nowhere to go to listen to the game, except in the Stadium where they have the best voice in sports.

Mets’ second spot in lineup: Go to Church! - David Lennon believes that the Mets perform better with Ryan Church in the 2 spot rather than Luis Castillo.

Mets’ Wright needs to step right up, knock club - Johnette Howard believes that Carlos Beltran or David Wright should also be calling out their teammates like Billy Wagner did after Wednesday’s whooping by the Pirates.

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday tells us what happened at Shea Stadium and at Yankee Stadium on May 2 of another year.

New York Daily News:

Mets not afraid of Snakes - Adam Rubin reminds us of all of the success the Mets have had in the desert.

New York Post:

TRYING NOT TO TRIP OUT WEST

REYES CAN’T SHAKE SLUMP

The Star-Ledger:

Welcome to the artist formerly known as the BOB

Mets need to bring ‘A’ game to Arizona

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The New York Mets (14-11) are playing Game 26 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-16) at Shea Stadium.  The series opener got postponed so it’s the second game of the two-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Pirates Lineup: McLouth, Sanchez, Bay, Doumit, Nady, LaRoche, Bautista, Gomez, Gorzelanny.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Pagan, Molina, Perez.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Bay drew a two-out walk.  Perez fanned Doumit to leave one stranded.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Nady drew a leadoff walk.  Perez caught LaRoche looking at strike three.  Bautista drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Gomez drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Tom Gorzelanny grounded slowly to second, and Castillo (Error on Luis Castillo) barely release the ball so it ended up on the ground while everbody is safe and Xavier Nady came home to score.  Nate McLouth drew a one-out walk which scored Jose Bautista.  Freddy Sanchez grounded a one-out RBI single up the middle so Chris Gomez came home to score, and the bases remained loaded.  Jason Bay hit a one-out sacrifice fly to center, and Tom Gorzelanny tagged up and scored.  Ryan Doumit pulled an RBI single over the third base bag which scored Nate McLouth, Sanchez went first to third, and Doumit got out of being caught in a rundown and advanced to second.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 7 Runs, 4 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 7 Runs, 2 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Nelson Figueroa Jr. with two outs in the Top of the 2nd.  Nady dumped a 2-run single into right which scored Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit.  LaRoche drew a two-out walk.  Bautista grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to stop whatever it is that I’m watching on television.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, McLouth grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Sanchez flied out right to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Nady drew a two-out walk.  LaRoche grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side which moved Nady to second.  Figueroa also caught Bautista looking to leave two Pirates on base.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Gomez grounded out to short.  Grozelanny popped up to short.  McLouth grounded a two-out double over the first base bag.  Freddy Sanchez hit a two-out RBI single into left as Nate McLouth came around to score.  Figueroa fanned Bay on three straight pitches to leave one Pirate on base.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 3.1 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 6th.  Doumit led off by hitting a Ground Rule Double over the left field wall.  Xavier Nady drove a no-out RBI double to the gap in left center, and Ryan Doumit came around to score.  Sosa fanned LaRoche.  Bautista grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first while Nady advanced to third.  Gomez grounded to third, and Wright (Error on David Wright) bobbled the ball so Gomez was safe at first while Xavier Nady scored.  Bixler is pinch hitting for Gorzelanny, and Bixler hit a two-out broken bat single into right center as Gomez moved over to second.  Nate McLouth drove a two-out 2-run double over the head of Pagan which scored Chris Gomez and Brian Bixler.  Freddy Sanchez drove the ball to deep left field, and Pagan (Error on Angel Pagan) dropped the ball so Sanchez ended up with a double as Nate McLouth came around to score.  Bay lined out to short to end another ugly inning.  Sosa gave up 4 Hits, 5 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sosa with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 7th.  Nady grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side (Mientkiewicz is pinch running for Nady).  LaRoche grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 8th.  Heilman pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Heilman retired the side in order again.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Tom Gorzelanny (1-3) was the starting pitcher for the Pirates.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran also drew a two-out walk.  Gorzelanny fanned Church to leave two Mets on base.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Pagan drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Gorzelanny struck out Molina on three pitches.  Figueroa lined out to center to leave one Met on base.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Grozelanny sent the top of the lineup down in order.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Gorzelanny caught Beltran staring at strike three.  Church drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Delgado grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side, and Church went first to third.  Pagan blooped the ball into shallow center, but Sanchez made the running catch.  Molina popped up to shallow right, and Nady made the catch leaving Mets standing on the corners.  Gorzelanny gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of 5th, Reyes drew a one-out walk.  Castillo popped up in foul ground along the first base line, and Doumit made the catch.  Wright grounded out to short to end the inning.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Gorzelanny left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 5 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Russell replaced Gorzelanny with John Van Benschoten to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Ryan Church drove a no-out RBI double into the gap in right center, and Carlos Beltran came all the way around to score.  Delgado grounded out to short.  Van Benschoten fanned Pagan.  Molina flied out to right to end the inning.  Van Benschoten gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Van Benschoten retired the side in order.  Van Benschoten gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Van Benschoten left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 ER, 1 BB, and he had 3 SOs.

Russell replaced Van Benschoten with Evan Meek to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Wright drew a leadoff walk.  With Beltran at the plate, Meek threw a passed ball so Wright moved over to second.  Beltran popped up to short, and Gomez made the catch.  Church grounded out to short.  Delgado drew a two-out walk.  Pagan also drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Molina grounded out to first to leave the bases juiced.  Meek gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 3 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Meek retired the side in order.  Meek gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Pirates 13 - New York Mets 1.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.

The Mets already had to play a day game following a late extra innings night game.  Then, today’s game was delayed 40 minutes because a water main broke.  Oli was simply awful today.  He pitched 1.2 innings and gave up 7 runs while 5 were unearned.  The Mets made 3 errors today which made everything worse than it could’ve been.  The Bullpen allowed even more runs to score.  The offense isn’t even worth discussing since the Mets only put up 1 run on the scoreboard.  This was torture to watch.  On the Pirates, X-Man was on fire today.  Nady was 3 for 3, with 3 RBIs and 2 walks.  I hope Omar goes after him.  The Pirates put up 12 of their 13 runs in just 2 innings.

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The New York Mets (11-9) are playing Game 21 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Washington Nationals (6-16) at Nationals Park.  It’s the final game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Happy 31st Birthday to Carlos Beltran!

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Pagan, Casanova, Perez.

Nationals Lineup: Lopez, Guzman, Zimmerman, Kearns, Pena, Boone, Harris, Nieves, Hill.

At the Plate

Shawn Hill (0-0) was the starting pitcher for the Nationals.  In the Top of the 1st, Hill sent the Mets down in order on nine pitches.  Hill gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Church drove a one-out double off of the wall in left center.  Delgado grounded to second, and Lopez made the out at first as Church advanced to third.  Pagan grounded out to short to leave Church on third.  Hill gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Casanova pulled a ground ball through the hole on the right side for a leadoff single.  Perez dropped down a sacrifice bunt down along the first base line, and Nieves made the out at first while Casanova moved over to second.  Reyes grounded out to first, and Casanova advanced to third.  Luis Castillo lined an RBI single into shallow center which brought Raul Casanova home to score.  With Wright at the plate, Castillo stole second.  Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran grounded out to second to leave two Mets stranded.  Hill gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Church drew a leadoff walk.  Hill got Delgado to chase strike three.  With Pagan in the batters box, Church stole second.  Pagan drew a one-out walk.  Casanova flied out to center, and Church tagged up and went to third.  Oliver Perez grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle which scored Ryan Church and Pagan went first to third.  Reyes flied out to right to end the inning with runners on the corners.  Hill gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Castillo grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  With Wright in the batters box, Hill threw a wild pitch so Castillo advanced to second.  Hill got Wright to stare at ball four, but the Umpire called it a strike.  With Beltran at the plate, Hill attempted to pick off Castillo and the ball hit Castillo and went into center so Castillo went to third.  Hill caught Beltran looking at strike three.  Ryan Church lined a two-out RBI single into right field, and Luis Castillo came home to score.  Delgado grounded to second, and Lopez made the force out at second to end the inning.  Hill gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Hill left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 5 SOs.

Acta replaced Hill with Michael O’Connor to begin the Top of the 6th.  Casanova drove a one-out single off of the wall in center field.  Perez bunted and the ball landed into the glove of the pitcher, but O’Connor dropped it and then only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  Reyes grounded out to second to end the inning.  O’Connor gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Acta replaced O’Connor with Saul Rivera to begin the Top of the 7th.  Carlos Beltran hit a two-out solo shot that barely got over the high wall in right field.  Church grounded out to second to end the inning.  Rivera gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Acta replaced Rivera with Luis Ayala to begin the Top of the 8th.  Ayala sent the Mets down in order.  Ayala gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Acta replaced Ayala with Jon Rauch to begin the Top of the 9th.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Feliciano, and Marlon Anderson led off with a solo shot to right.  Reyes grounded a no-out single up the middle.  Castillo grounded a no-out single through the hole on the left side.  Wright flied out to center, and Reyes tagged up and went to third.  Rauch fanned Beltran.  With Church at the plate, Castillo stole second.  Church flied out to center to leave two Mets on base.  Rauch gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (2-0) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Perez retired the side in order.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Boone lined a two-out single into center.  Harris flied out to right field to leave one man on base.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Nieves drew a leadoff walk.  Hill dropped down a sacrifice bunt down in front of home plate, and Casanova made the out at first as Nieves moved over to second.  Lopez drew a one-out walk.  Guzman grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play to leave two Nationals stranded.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Zimmerman beat out an infield hit to short for a leadoff single.  Kearns lined out to center.  Perez fanned Pena.  Boone popped up near first, and Castillo made the out to end the inning.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Harris drew a leadoff walk.  Nieves grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Harris advanced to second.  Belliard is pinch hitting for Hill, and Perez walked Belliard to load the bases.  Felipe Lopez grounded a no-out 2-run single up the middle which scored Willie Harris and Wil Nieves, and Belliard moved over to second.  Guzman lined out to center, and Belliard tagged up and went to third.  Ryan Zimmerman grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as Ronnie Belliard came home to score and Lopez moved over to second.  Kearns grounded hard to third, but a diving Wright made the stop and the out at first to end the inning.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Pena grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Boone lined a no-out single over the head of Reyes and into left, and Pena moved over to second.  Harris dropped a bunt down in front of home plate, and Perez got the lead runner out at third.  Nieves grounded to first, and Delgado tagged the base as the runners advanced.  Milledge is pinch hitting for O’Connor so Randolph is making a pitching change.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 5.2 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 5 Runs, 5 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Aaron Heilman with two outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Milledge drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Felipe Lopez crushed a Grand Slam to right off of Heilman which scored Aaron Boone, Willie Harris, Lastings Milledge, and of course himself.  It’s like deja vu.  How many times do I have to watch that?  Guzman lined a two-out single to center.  Zimmerman lined a single into left, and Guzman advanced to second.  Heilman fanned Kearns to end the end of the Mets chances to sweep this mini-series.  Heilman gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Jorge Sosa to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Boone grounded to short, and Reyes (Error on Jose Reyes) misfielded it so Boone is on base with one out.  Harris drew a one-out walk.  Wil Nieves grounded a two-out RBI single under the glove of Delgado and into right field as Aaron Boone came around to score and Harris held up at third.  Estrada is pinch hitting for Rivera, and Johnny Estrada grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Willie Harris while Nieves advanced to second.  Lopez popped up in foul ground near third, and Wright made the catch.  Cristian Guzman lined a two-out single to right which brought Wil Nieves around to score and Estrada went first to third.  Zimmerman grounded to short, and Reyes made the force play at second to end another inning of hell.  Sosa gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning. 

Randolph replaced Sosa with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Pena grounded a two-out single up the middle.  Felician fanned Boone.  Harris grounded out to short to end the inning.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 5 - Washington Nationals 10.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Oliver Perez (2-1) got the loss and Shawn Hill (1-0) got the win.

All I can say is that it started out well.  The Mets were in complete control of this game until the Nationals tied it up in the Bottom of the 5th.  Then the Nats just kept scoring like Forest Gump kept running.  And just like the Yankees, the Mets got attacked by Gnats.  So Johan saved us yesterday, but Oli couldn’t provide the Mets with the opportunity to win the ballgame.  Then came the Heilman/Sosa tandem…they allowed 5 runs combined.  How are we going to win this series against the Braves this weekend if we can’t sweep a two-game series against the Nats?

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The New York Mets (10-9) are playing Game 20 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Washington Nationals (6-15) at Nationals Park.  It’s the first game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

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

Nationals Lineup: Lopez, Guzman, Zimmerman, Johnson, Kearns, Milledge, Pena, Nieves, Redding.

At the Plate

Tim Redding (3-1) was the starting pitcher for the Nationals.  In the Top of the 1st, Redding sent the Mets down 1-2-3.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 BBs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Beltran pulled a leadoff double into the right field corner.  Church grounded to first, and Johnson tagged first base as Beltran moved over to third.  Carlos Delgado hit an RBI ground out to second, and Carlos Beltran came home to score.  Pagan grounded out to first to end the inning.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Santana lined a one-out standup double over the head of Milledge.  Reyes flied out to left.  Redding caught Castillo looking at strike three to leave Santana standing on second.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Beltran drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Church grounded to first, and Johnson tagged first as Beltran advanced to second.  Delgado grounded out to second to leave Beltran on second.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Schneider drew a one-out walk.  Santana also drew a one-out walk.  Reyes grounded to short, and Guzman only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  With Castillo in the batters box, Reyes stole second safely.  Luis Castillo hit a chopper towards second base, and Castillo beat out the throw to first as Brian Schneider came home to score and Reyes advanced to third.  Wright grounded out to short to leave runners on the corners.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Beltran lined a leadoff single into left.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Redding left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Acta replaced Redding with Ray King after facing one batter in the Top of the 6th.  Church grounded a slow spinning ball to third, and Zimmerman (2 Base Error on Ryan Zimmerman) made a bad throw to first so Church ended up on third and Carlos Beltran came around to score.  Delgado popped up in foul territory along the third base line, and Zimmerman made the out.  Angel Pagan grounded towards first base, and King hit Pagan with the throw to first so he was safe and Ryan Church scored.  With Schneider at the plate, Pagan stole second.  Then Pagan stole third.  Brian Schneider grounded to the pitcher, and the ball deflected off of King’s glove and landed in Guzman’s glove.  Guzman made the out at first as Angel Pagan came home to score.  Santana pulled the ball into the right field corner for his second standup double of the night.  King gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Acta replaced King with Saul Rivera with two outs in the Top of the 6th.  Reyes grounded out to third to end the inning.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Rivera left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Acta replaced Rivera with Joel Hanrahan to begin the Top of the 8th.  Delgado grounded a one-out single to deep short.  Pagan flied out to left.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Santana, and Anderson flied out to left to end the inning.  Schneider lined a single into center, and Delgado went first to third.  Hanrahan gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Acta replaced Harahan with Jesus Colome to begin the Top of the 9th.  Colome fanned Reyes on three pitches.  Castillo lined a one-out single into right.  With Wright at the plate, Castillo stole second.  Wright drew a one-out walk.  Beltran grounded out to first, and Castillo advanced to third and Wright to second.  Ryan Church lined a two-out 2-run single over the head of Kearns in right which scored Luis Castillo and David Wright.  Delgado lined out to left to end the inning.  Colome gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Johan Santana (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Guzman lined a one-out single through the hole on the right side.  Zimmerman flied out to the warning track in left.  Johnson grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Pena grounded hard to third, but he beat out the throw by Wright for a two-out single.  Nieves grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Pena advanced to second.  Santana fanned Redding to leave two Nationals stranded.  Santana gave 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Guzman lined a one-out single over the head of Reyes and into left field.  Zimmerman grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as Guzman moved over to second.  Santana caught Johnson staring at strike three to leave Guzman on second.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Pena lined a two-out single into left field.  Nieves lined a two-out single into right, and Pena moved over to third.  Tim Redding drove a two-out 2-run double that one-hopped the wall in left center scoring Wily Mo Pena and Wil Nieves.  Lopez grounded out to second to leave Redding standing on second.  Santana gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Santana pitched his first 1-2-3 inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Santana retired the side again.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Boone is pinch hitting for Rivera, and Boone drew a one-out walk.  Lopez grounded to second, and the Mets turned the double play to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 7.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Sanchez sent the Nationals down in order.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Kearns drew a leadoff walk.  Wagner struck out Milledge on three straight pitches.  Pena flied out to center.  With Nieves in the batters box, Kearns stole second.  Wagner fanned Nieves.  Wagner gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 7 - Washington Nationals 2.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Johan Santana (3-2) got the win and Ted Lilly (3-2) got the loss.

The stopper, Santana, did his job tonight by holding the Nats to 2 runs.  The 3-game losing streak is over, and the Mets have a chance to sweep this mini-series before coming home to battle the Braves over the weekend.  Santana pitched 7 innings so Willie didn’t have to make 4 pitching changes in an inning.  Sanchez and Wagner put up O’s in the eigth and ninth.  Beltran was smoking hot tonight.  Castillo had two hits tonight.  One of them didn’t really count as a hit, but the other was a line drive to right.  I tought when Castillo lined out to center was his best hit of the night, but it was caught by Milledge because Milledge was playing shallow.  Church had two hits as well.  So did Santana…2 standup doubles baby.  Pay your respects to him.

The Mets are 11-9 now.  I’m just waiting for them to get on a roll.

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