Saturday, May 31, 2008
Heilman makes it HELL for Met fans again
Aaron Heilman gave up hits to all four batters he faced, allowing four runs on 13 pitches. The right-hander, who had pitched well lately after a poor start this season, was booed loudly by the crowd of 52,176 -- as was Willie Randolph when he returned to the dugout following the pitching change.
With the Dodgers trailing 5-4, speedy Juan Pierre led off the eighth with a slow grounder to shortstop. He was called safe at first by umpire Tim Welke, though replays showed Jose Reyes' throw was in time.
Heilman came on and promptly gave up Matt Kemp's tying double past diving right fielder Fernando Tatis. Jeff Kent, James Loney and Russell Martin followed with RBI singles to make it 8-5.
Loney scored on Scott Schoeneweis' wild pitch, and Blake DeWitt capped the rally with a run-scoring single.
New York RF Ryan Church missed his 10th consecutive start with a concussion. He took swings during batting practice, shagged flies and did some running. He said he'd like to play Saturday, but it's unclear when the Mets might put him back in the lineup.
A photo of former Mets and current Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine was seen posted in a urinal in the loge to help drunken slobs improve their aim.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wright homers twice, Mets beat Dodgers 8-4
David Wright delivered two huge hits. Pitcher Claudio Vargas took a big swing, too—off the catcher’s mitt.
Wright hit two more home runs off Brad Penny and the newly inspired New York Mets dampened Joe Torre’s return home, taking advantage of a rare catcher’s interference call to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on Thursday night.
The Mets won their third in a row and sent the Dodgers to their fourth straight loss.
Always popular in town, Torre managed his first game in New York since parting ways with the Yankees last October after 12 winning seasons. Many fans in the crowd of 52,886 at Shea Stadium stood and cheered when he made a pitching change in the seventh inning, and Torre waved and doffed his cap while walking back to the dugout.
Wright had his first multihomer game of the season and eighth of his career. He picked on a familiar victim, improving to 11-for-19 (.579) with four home runs and five walks against Penny (5-6).
Penny’s problems at Shea continued as he fell to 1-10 lifetime at the ballpark that’s in its final year. The two-time All-Star didn’t fare any better against the Mets three weeks ago at home when they tagged him for a career-high 10 runs in 4 2-3 innings
- Ryan Church insists that there was nothing wrong with the way the Mets handled his second concussion in 11 weeks, but in retrospect he admits pushing himself didn't do him any good.
- Thursday night, subscribers of Time Warner - the Mets' partner in SportsNet New York - were left in the dark for a few minutes during a crucial part of the Mets' game with the Dodgers.
- Jose Reyes singled twice and has reached base in 29 straight games.
- David Wright grounded out and struck out in his final two at-bats. No Met has hit three home runs in a game at Shea.
- While Russell Martin was charged with an error for the catcher’s interference that let Claudio Vargas reach, the runs that scored after the two-out play were officially earned. According to scoring rules, it couldn’t be assumed that Vargas would have made the third out.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tatis’ 2-run double in 12th rallies Mets
In the end, the heroes for the New York Mets were a couple of extra hands, Endy Chavez and Fernando Tatis. It’s hard to decide which one was less likely to bail out this struggling team.
Chavez hit his first home run in over a year to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning and Tatis, who sat out two seasons trying to figure out if he could still play this game, delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the 12th Wednesday night for an exhilarating 7-6 victory over the Florida Marlins.
Pedro Martinez took another step toward getting back on a major league mound, tossing six solid innings for the Class A St. Lucie Mets on Wednesday.
Martinez, who strained his left hamstring in his first start of the season on April 1, allowed two runs and four hits while striking out six and not issuing a walk against the Vero Beach Devil Rays.
Barring any further setbacks, Martinez is expected to return to the New York Mets next week against the San Francisco Giants. The 36-year-old righthander did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when Vero Beach plated both runs.
Martinez was saddled with the loss, however, as the Devil Rays countered the former Cy Young Award winner with the No. 1 pick from last June’s draft, 22-year-old David Price. The phenom allowed just two hits while striking out nine. He did not allow a walk.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Santana pitches struggling Mets past Marlins
This was precisely the type of performance the New York Mets hoped for when they acquired Johan Santana.
Santana worked around eight hits and two walks, allowing three runs in seven innings, helping the struggling Mets top the first-place Florida Marlins 5-3 on Tuesday night.
“He’s the guy that we look for to stop the bleeding, and that’s what he did tonight,” manager Willie Randolph said. “That’s what he gets paid to do.”
Santana (6-3), acquired from Minnesota in February and signed to a $137.5 million, six-year contract, helped the Mets win for only the second time in nine games.
The left-hander earned his 99th major league win, retiring surging slugger Dan Uggla in three key situations.
Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro each hit a pair of two-out RBI singles for the Mets one day after embattled manager Willie Randolph kept his job—for now — following a much-publicized meeting with ownership. New York improved to 24-26 with its fifth victory in 15 tries.
Pedro Martinez likely to rejoin Mets next week
Pedro Martinez is likely to rejoin the New York Mets’ rotation early next week in San Francisco.
On the disabled list nearly all season with a strained left hamstring, Martinez is scheduled to make a minor league rehab start Wednesday night for Class-A St. Lucie. If all goes well, his next outing probably will come during New York’s series June 2-4 against the Giants.
On Wednesday, Martinez is slated to face Tampa Bay’s Vero Beach affiliate and left-hander David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft out of Vanderbilt.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner has been sidelined since straining his hamstring in his only start this season, April 1 at Florida.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Mets still have Randolph, but losing continues
Willie Randolph kept his job -- for now. Meanwhile, the New York Mets kept losing.
After their embattled manager had a much-anticipated meeting with ownership Monday, the Mets got another ineffective outing from Mike Pelfrey and fizzled on offense following a strong start in a 7-3 loss to the Florida Marlins.
"A lot of stuff was taken care of," Randolph said, describing his entire day. "Now, we move on and try to win some ballgames."
Luis Gonzalez hit a three-run double for the young and hungry Marlins (30-20), who moved 10 games over .500 for the first time since Sept. 14, 2005. They lead the NL East despite a major league-low payroll of $22 million on opening day.
Jose Reyes homered twice for the $138 million Mets but committed a two-out error at shortstop in the first that led to two unearned runs.
Pelfrey (2-6) lasted only four innings and dropped his sixth straight start as fourth-place New York (23-26) fell three games below .500 for the first time since Sept. 18, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Mets have lost seven of eight and 10 of 14 overall. With few fans remaining at Shea Stadium in the late innings, a chant of "Fire Willie!" could clearly be heard.
"It's like being booed," Randolph said. "It's the same thing more or less. They're expressing themselves."
Mets RF Ryan Church missed his sixth straight start with a concussion. He grounded out as a pinch hitter and said he would see a neurologist Tuesday.
Kazmir whiffs 10 batters, fuels Rays past Rangers
Scott Kazmir won his fourth straight start, striking out 10 in seven innings to lead the AL East-leading Rays over the Texas Rangers 7-3 Monday night.
Kazmir (4-1) retired his first 10 batters, seven on strikeouts, before Michael Young singled to center with one out in the fourth. Kazmir allowed one run and three hits, striking out the side in the first and third innings. He has given up two runs over 26 innings during his winning streak.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Cook, Smith lead Rockies past slumping Mets 4-1
John Maine on the mound facing essentially a Triple-A lineup. It appeared to be the perfect pick-me-up for Mets manager Willie Randolph.
Aaron Cook and Seth Smith would have none of it.
The Colorado Rockies beat New York 4-1 Sunday when Smith hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot to back an impressive start by Cook (7-3). The right-hander allowed four hits, all singles, in his seventh career complete game and first since July 25.
After a losing streak that dropped the Mets (23-25) below .500, general manager Omar Minaya made a surprise visit Friday to Coors Field and issued a tepid statement of support for Randolph to reporters. Randolph, however, said his boss gave him no similar assurances behind closed doors.
The Mets have dropped six of seven and nine of 13. They averaged only 2.4 runs in their past seven games.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Mets snap five-game losing streak
The pressure was off Willie Randolph at least for a day.
The New York Mets finally ended their five-game skid with a 9-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.
Claudio Vargas (1-2) threw seven solid innings for his first win with the Mets and Nick Evans had three doubles and two RBIs.
David Wright hit his ninth homer of the season, and Carlos Beltran had a three-run double as part of a five-run first.
- Mets RHP Pedro Martinez will throw a bullpen session Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
- INF Jose Valentin went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI on Friday night for Single-A St. Lucie in a rehab assignment. Valentin had surgery to fix his torn right ACL on Sept. 25.
- Willie Randolph sat OF Ryan Church (mild concussion) for another game. "He still says he feels a little funny," Randolph said.
- New York’s five-run first was its biggest opening inning since scoring five on Aug. 15, 2007, at Pittsburgh.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Rockies past struggling Mets
The New York Mets were two outs away from a much-needed win when Matt Holliday ruined their night.
Holliday hit a tying homer in the ninth inning off Billy Wagner, then singled home the winning run in the 13th to rally the Colorado Rockies past the struggling Mets 6-5 Friday.
Holliday then hit a one-out shot to center for his seventh homer, the only earned run allowed by Wagner in 20 innings this season.
“I was looking for a fastball,” Holliday said. “A guy with that kind of stuff, you want to get him early in the count before he gets to his slider.”
It was Wagner’s second blown save in 11 chances. The other one was April 29 against Pittsburgh.
Mets GM Omar Minaya voiced support for embattled manager Willie Randolph during the game, but New York lost its fifth straight and fell to 22-24.
The Mets have dropped nine of 13 overall despite an opening-day payroll of $138 million, leading to speculation that Randolph’s job is in jeopardy. Two games under .500 matches their low-water mark for the season—New York was 2-4 after losing its home opener to Philadelphia on April 8.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Braves complete 4-game sweep of Mets
Clipper Jones drove in the go-ahead run during a three-run seventh inning against Johan Santana, and Atlanta beat New York 4-2 Thursday night behind Tim Hudson to complete its first four-game sweep of the Mets in five years.
A career .329 hitter against the Mets, Jones was 6-for-14 with a homer in the series to boost his average to a major league-best .412.
Santana (5-3) couldn’t hold the 2-0 lead while giving up a career-high 12 hits and four runs, three earned, in seven innings.
The left-hander did not walk a batter but had only one strikeout, a season low, while losing for the first time since April 12. The struggling Mets fell to 22-23 with their seventh loss in 10 games, a frustrating stretch that has led to speculation about manager Willie Randolph being fired.
Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado homered on consecutive pitches from Hudson in the second inning, but the Mets didn’t have another baserunner advance past second.
Atlanta outscored the Mets 27-9 in the series for its 11th sweep of New York at Turner Field, the team’s home since 1997. The Braves also improved to 7-2 this season against their NL East rivals, including 6-0 in Atlanta.
- The Braves’ last four-game sweep of the Mets was in July 2003, also at Turner Field.
- Mets RHP Pedro Martinez is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Sunday at the team’s complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Martinez, on the disabled list since April 2 with a strained hamstring, returned to the Dominican Republic this week to be with his ailing father, who has a form of brain cancer.
- Mets OF Ryan Church (slight concussion) and Braves SS Yunel Escobar (sore knee) missed their second straight starts following their collision near second base in Tuesday night’s game. Church had a pinch-hit single in the eighth.
- The Mets placed LF Moises Alou (strained right calf) on the disabled list before the game and purchased the contract of C-1B Raul Casanova from Triple-A New Orleans.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Mets' Randolph apologizes to ownership
New York Mets manager Willie Randolph slid a sheet of white paper with handwritten notes out in front of him in Atlanta Wednesday, thoughts on his apology for suggesting that criticism of him was racial in nature. He wanted to get the matter over with according to the New York Times. The Times reported Randolph was not told to apologize.
"I want to apologize to Met ownership and SNY and my team for the unnecessary distraction that I created, and I caused, the last couple days," Randolph said. "I shouldn't have said what I said. It was a mistake; there are no excuses for that. The fact of life is we have not been playing well as a team. When that happens you are going to get criticized for that. I take full responsibility for what I said out of frustration. I wanted to publicly apologize."
In a column that appeared in The Record of Hackensack, N.J., on Monday, Randolph was quoted as questioning the way he had been portrayed during broadcasts on SportsNet New York, the Mets' television network, and wondered whether he was being held to a different standard than white managers.
"I never said anything about anybody being a racist," Randolph said. "What I said was kind of like what it felt like to me."
May 22, 2008
Francoeur leads Braves past Mets, 11-4
Jeff Francoeur, refreshed by his rare night off, homered and drove in four runs to help the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 11-4 Wednesday night for their third straight win in the series.
Braves rookie Jair Jurrjens (5-3) gave up only one earned run in seven innings for his second win over the Mets this season. Jurrjens gave up five hits and two runs with two walks and a strikeout.
The Braves, 6-2 against the Mets this season, swept a doubleheader on Tuesday night to open the four-game series.
The Mets (22-22) fell to .500 for the first time since April 25, when they were 11-11 following a home loss to the Braves.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Mess Hall
Carlos Delgado shows little sign of escaping his season-long slump. He went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts and is hitting just .222.
Pedro Martinez, on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring, will be in Atlanta on Wednesday to throw a bullpen session with pitching coach Rick Peterson and bullpen coach Guy Conti. Martinez threw 77 pitches in an extended spring training Monday night. Manager Willie Randolph said it is conceivable Martinez could rejoin the Mets on the tail end of their next homestand.
2B Luis Castillo homered off Braves LHP Tom Glavine in the first inning Tuesday. It was his 25th career homer in 5,597 at-bats.
Manager
Willie Randolph downplayed comments attributed to him that he was being treated unfairly because of race, and the Mets’ television network, SNY, was deliberately portraying him in a negative light. Randolph said owner Fred Wilpon hired him “to win games and not because of the color of my skin.”
INF Jose Valentin (pinched nerve in neck) has been sidelined all season. He hopes to be ready to play for the Mets by late May.
Mets’ Church taken to hospital with another concussion
While trying to break up a game-ending double play, Ryan Church of the New York Mets sustained a mild concussion when his head banged into the right knee of Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar on Tuesday night.
Church had a red scrape on the right side of his forehead, and the Mets said he would be taken to Piedmont Hospital for a precautionary examination since he sustained a concussion in spring training. The right fielder was not available for comment.
Escobar was helped off the field and had a large wrap on his knee in the clubhouse. He shooed away reporters, only saying, “No DL.”
The play happened in the ninth with Atlanta leading 6-2. After Carlos Beltran and Church provided a glimmer of one-out hope with back-to-back singles, Damion Easley hit a hard grounder back to the mound.
Manny Acosta fielded it and turned quickly to throw to second. Escobar took the throw and veered off to the side of the bag to make the relay to first. Church slid toward the shortstop, hoping to break up the double play, but his helmet collided with Escobar’s right knee, which was up in the air as he completed his follow-through.
Church was sprawled face down in the dirt for several minutes, but he never lost consciousness. He finally rolled over and walked slowly to the Mets clubhouse.
This was his second concussion of the year. During spring training, he went down in a collision with teammates Marlon Anderson while chasing Andruw Jones’ popup in a game against the Dodgers.
Church has been one of the best players for the up-and-down Mets, hitting .311 with nine homers and 32 RBIs.
Mets Swept In Doubleheader
Jorge Campillo outpitched his future Hall of Famer teammate and got quite a bonus: his first major league win.
The 30-year-old journeyman followed up Tom Glavine’s strong performance in the first game with six scoreless innings of his own Tuesday night, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 6-2 victory over the New York Mets and a sweep of their doubleheader.
Campillo (1-0) was making his second big league start, and this was sure better than the last one. With Seattle in 2005, the right-hander got only four outs before leaving with an elbow injury that led to season-ending surgery.
The long day ended with a scary play. While turning a double play at second base, Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar struck Ryan Church in the head with his right knee. Church was face down on the field for several minutes before staggering off, while Escobar had to be helped to the Braves dugout.
Church had a mild concussion but was taken to Piedmont Hospital as a precaution. Escobar’s knee was heavily wrapped and he would only say, “No DL.”
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Piazza retires from baseball
Mike Piazza is retiring from baseball following a 16-season career in which he became one of the top-hitting catchers in history.
The 39-year-old Piazza batted .275 with eight homers and 44 RBIs as a designated hitter for Oakland last season, became a free agent and did not re-sign.
Piazza’s 396 homers are easily the most as a catcher, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Carlton Fisk is second with 351, followed by Johnny Bench (327) and Yogi Berra (306).
Piazza finished with a .308 career average, 427 home runs and 1,335 RBIs for the Dodgers (1992-98), Florida (1998), Mets (1998-05), San Diego (2006) and Oakland (2007).
Piazza thanked his family, teams and managers, some of his teammates—and even owners, general managers, minor league staffs and reporters. Asked by a reporter why he is retiring?Piazza responded, "I am not gay."
Glavine Beats Mets
Tom Glavine just didn’t feel right while warming up in the bullpen, and he still was struggling to control his pitches in the first inning.
Glavine calmed down after a very shaky start against his former team, retiring his last 17 batters to lead the Atlanta Braves past the New York Mets 6-1 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Tuesday.
After that, Glavine was unhittable. The Mets went three-up, three-down over the next five innings before the starter, bothered a bit by a sore right knee, turned it over to the bullpen.
New York didn’t have another runner until Jose Reyes singled off Blaine Boyer with two outs in the eighth. The Mets, coming off a two-game sweep of the Yankees, managed just six hits.
The Braves handed John Maine (5-3) his first loss in nearly a month. The right-hander had won four straight starts but was knocked around in this one, giving up four runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Umpire admits he fouled up Carlos Delgado HR call
In the end, the home run that wasn't did not play an important role in the outcome of the Mets' 11-2 rout of the Yankees.
But the blown call on a Carlos Delgado fourth-inning shot that bounced off the left field foul pole was still reverberating in the umpires' clubhouse afterward, with home plate ump Bob Davidson giving a frank assessment of what turned out to be his incorrect ruling.
"I ----ed it up. I'm the one who thought it was a ---- foul ball. I saw it on the replay. I'm the one who ----ed it up so you can put that in your paper," Davidson told reporters. "Bolts and nuts, I ----ed up. You've just got to move on. No one feels worse about it than I do."
Friday, May 16, 2008
On the eve of the Subway Series, with Mike Pelfrey's no-hit flirtation squandered, the Mets had a clubhouse eruption Thursday. Closer Billy Wagner looked across the room, in the direction of the vacant locker of Carlos Delgado, and blurted:
"Someone tell me why the ---- you're talking to the closer. I didn't even play. They're over there, not being interviewed."
Wagner paused for dramatic effect. Then, in a scene reminiscent of last year's Paul Lo Duca comments, minus the racial overtones, the closer sarcastically added: "I got it. They're gone. ----ing shocker."
Just last season, with the media burden disproportionately falling on him and certain teammates, including Wagner and David Wright, the then-Met Lo Duca said: "It's the same three or four people every day. Nobody else wants to talk. Some of these guys have to start talking. They speak English, believe me."
Wagner is no stranger to creating headlines. The closer also caused a stir when he questioned teammate Oliver Perez's mental toughness for failing to complete two innings April 30 against the Pirates at Shea. During that blunt interview, Wagner likened talking with Perez to a conversation with a wall. That resulted in a meeting in the manager's office in Phoenix, during which Willie Randolph asked Wagner to keep matters in-house.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Gross Out At Shea
Last night at Shea I witnessed one of the most gross and disturbing things I ever seen. It did not involve the Mets play on the field this time. During the 4th inning I went to the men’s room to take care of business. I notice something over to my right that did not belong in a men’s room.
A young man who was tapping his kidneys brought in the men’s room and placed on top of the urinal…a hot sausage and peppers hero that he just bought. The hero is not wrapped and placed in a cardboard holder that you see french fries and hot dogs in at ballparks.
I thought, should I pull out my iPhone and take a picture of this or just throw up. The man grabbed his hero and then placed it on the sink, washed his hands before exiting much to the horror of the bathroom patrons. No he did not have a beer, probably bought that afterwards.
The Mets purchased the contracts of RHP Claudio Vargas and from Triple-A New Orleans. Vargas will start Wednesday against the Nationals. Fernando Tatis is filling Angel Pagan’s spot. Pagan was placed on the 15-day DL with a bruised shoulder. To make room for Vargas, the Mets cut Figueroa. The Mets also cut RHP Jorge Sosa.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Arroyo dominant, Reds beat Mets 7-1 to earn DH split
In the opener, Carlos Beltran hit a bases-loaded triple and drove in five runs to back Johan Santana’s first home win for the Mets in a 12-6 victory. Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider hit New York’s first back-to-back homers of the season during a makeup of Friday night’s rainout.
Bronson Arroyo pitched eight dominant innings to win a matchup of struggling pitchers and Jeff Keppinger had a career-high five hits, lifting the Cincinnati Reds over the New York Mets 7-1 for a split of their day-night doubleheader.
Ken Griffey Jr. had two hits and an RBI in the nightcap, but remained stalled in his bid to become the sixth player with 600 home runs—he is homerless in 59 at-bats. He missed No. 598 by inches in the opener when he hit a drive off the top of the wall for a two-run double that earned him a start in the second game.
The Reds outhit the Mets in the loss, 15-12, and the win, 14-4—but they also got pitching and defense in the nightcap. They broke open the game in the ninth thanks to two errors by the Mets and Scott Hatteberg’s third RBI of the game.
That prompted angry Mets closer Billy Wagner, who entered in the ninth to get some work in, to knock over a water cooler in the dugout after he was pulled.
“Our bullpen—we just stunk,” said Wagner, who was charged with three unearned runs.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Maine takes shutout into ninth of 12-1 rout of Dodgers
John Maine ended that drought and his teammates made it easy for him with their second-best offensive output of the season.
Maine took a shutout into the ninth and the Mets routed the Los Angeles Dodgers and Brad Penny, 12-1 on Wednesday.
“Offense, offense, offense—it makes a world of difference,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said. “Johnny obviously set the tone with a nice job of pitching. He almost got a complete game. What a novelty.”
Maine (4-2) helped his cause with a two-run single off Penny, and was two outs from his third shutout and complete game in the majors when Matt Kemp hit an RBI single on the right-hander’s 117th and final pitch. A day before his 27th birthday, Maine allowed four hits in 8 1-3 innings and won his third straight start—all following Mets’ losses.
Luis Castillo, David Wright and Raul Casanova also drove in two runs apiece, helping the Mets avoid getting swept in the three-game series. The Dodgers had won 10 of 11.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Status Kuo: Dodgers lefty beats Mets again 5-4
Kong-Chih Kuo (2-1) got the victory with 3 2-3 innings of hitless relief. The Taiwanese-born left-hander struck out eight of the 13 batters he faced after relieving starter Hiroki Kuroda in the fourth with one out, two on and the Dodgers trailing 4-3.
Three of Kuo’s first four big league victories have come at the Mets’ expense. On Sept. 8, 2006, he beat them 5-0 at Shea Stadium for his first career win. Last June 12 at Dodger Stadium, he beat them 4-1 and hit a 412-foot homer off John Maine—flipping his bat away as he left the batter’s box with the Dodgers’ third home run on three consecutive pitches.
- Joe Torre has had amazing timing when it comes to managing in milestone games at certain ballparks. Not only was he in the dugout for the 4,000th game at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, he also managed in the 1,000th game at the Astrodome (1977), the 1,000th at Coors Field (2007), the 2,000th at Busch Stadium (1991), the 3,000th at Angel Stadium (2003) and the 6,000th at Yankee Stadium (2001).
- Tuesday was the 25th anniversary of Darryl Strawberry’s Shea Stadium debut.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Dodgers hit 3 homers off Oliver Perez
Rafael Furcal and Blake DeWitt also connected against beleaguered Oliver Perez, and the surging Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets 5-1 on Monday night.
Furcal hit his 23rd career leadoff homer and DeWitt hit his first in the major leagues, helping the Dodgers win for the ninth time in 10 games.
Chad Billingsley (2-4) allowed a run and five hits in six-plus innings, striking out four and walking four in his first career start against the Mets. The right-hander worked with men on base in every inning except the first, and stranded four runners in scoring position.
Perez (2-3) lost his third straight start, allowing five runs and six hits over six innings. It was his first outing since Mets closer Billy Wagner’s public criticism of the left-hander, who gave up a combined total of 12 runs, eight hits and nine walks against Washington and Pittsburgh in his previous two starts.
Perez’s woes continued in the opener of this three-game series, as the switch-hitting Furcal drove an 0-2 pitch to left-center for his 11th leadoff homer with the Dodgers.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Webb, Ojeda lead Diamondbacks past Mets, 10-4
The Arizona Diamondbacks figure they’re going to win every time Brandon Webb pitches.
They didn’t expect Augie Ojeda to help make him the majors’ first seven-game winner.
Ojeda drove in a career-high six runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 10-4 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday.
“Six RBIs—that’s incredible for anybody,” said Webb (7-0), who matched Randy Johnson in 2000 for the fastest start by a Diamondbacks pitcher. “He was the difference today.”
Starting in place of injured second baseman Orlando Hudson, Ojeda entered with two RBIs. He hit a two-run single in the second, a two-run double in the fifth and a two-run double in the eighth. The last hit fueled a five-run burst that blew the game open against Duaner Sanchez.
- For the second game in a row, New York 3B David Wright turned in a defensive gem. He snagged Eric Byrnes’ bouncer down the line with his bare hand and threw him out in the sixth. On Friday night, Wright made a tumbling over-the-shoulder grab on a foul pop.
- New York CF Carlos Beltran walked and singled and has reached base in 25 of his 26 starts.
- LHP Johan Santana starts for the Mets on Sunday. He’s 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in two career starts against Arizona and threw a shutout in his only Chase Field appearance, for Minnesota on June 8, 2005.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Moises D-Lou
Moises Alou had been on the DL since March 23 following hernia surgery. He went 1-for-3 with a walk. “The first game’s out of the way so now I can play like I’ve been here a while,” Alou said.
To make room for Alou, the Mets optioned C Gustavo Molina to Triple-A New Orleans.
Willie Randolph spoke with Billy Wagnerand told him to keep critical comments in-house, two days after the closer ripped pitcher Oliver Perez following a blowout loss to Pittsburgh. Wagner had little to say Friday. “It’s all been taken care of,” he said.