Home >> Mess Archive: June 2008

Monday, June 30, 2008
Get rid of them now
Oliver Perez With a career record of 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees, perhaps the Red Sox are willing to part with a few prospects for Oliver Perez. Perez is in the final year of a contract would be a great fit for the Red Sox to crush the Bronx Bombers and eliminate them from playoff contention.

Carlos Delgado is now trade bait with a big weekend against the Yankees and lets get rid of him to some American League team who needs a DH. Delgado drove in nine runs on Friday, 20% of his season total of 45 RBI. He is now projected to have 28 home runs and 91 RBI this season.

Luis Castillo should of been traded right after Friday's game at Yankee Stadium after scoring five runs and 5-14 over the weekend. We are stuck with this guy for three plus more seasons. Remember when this guy use to kill us when he was a Marlin, what happened?

Sunday, June 29, 2008
Oliver shuts down Yankees
Perez's career record against the Yankees at 5-1 in six starts. Oliver Perez always manages to drive the New York Mets mad with his inconsistency—except when he faces the New York Yankees.

Perez pitched another gem against them Sunday, Carlos Delgado homered again and the Mets won this year’s Subway Series, beating the Yankees 3-1.

Billy Wagner closed out the Mets’ fourth win in the six-game rivalry. It was just the second time since interleague play started in 1997 that they’ve taken the season series.

Perez (6-5) limited the Yankees to one run and three hits in seven sharp innings. He retired the first 10 batters and wound up striking out eight without a walk.

Perez improved to 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees, including a win last month at Yankee Stadium. How he pitches so well surely baffles the Mets and most everyone else—he had won only one of his previous seven starts since that victory in the Bronx.

The victory, the Mets' sixth in 12 games since the managerial change, put Perez's career record against the Yankees at 5-1 in six starts. He has won each of his four starts against them since joining the Mets.

Ryan Church was activated from the disabled list and went 2-for-4 in his first game since June 6. He’d been slowed by the effects of his second concussion this year.

Saturday, June 28, 2008
Santana loses again
Andy Pettitte outpitched Johan Santana for his sixth straight win Saturday, leading the Yankees past the New York Mets 3-2 at soggy Shea Stadium.

Santana (7-7) is 0-4 in his last five starts despite a 2.53 ERA. He struck out eight over six innings Saturday, yielding three runs and four hits with four walks—one intentional—while falling to 4-1 against the Yankees in the regular season.

Jose Reyes’ base running mistake cost Wright an RBI chance in the fifth. Looking to steal third with two on and two outs, Reyes was picked off second base by Pettitte.

Carlos Beltran struck out all four times up, three against Pettitte, and the Mets fell to 3-2 in the Subway Series this season. The road team has won all five games.

Ponson matches Delgado in nightcap
Carlos Delgado looked like the Delgado of five years ago, helping the Mets to a resounding win at Yankee Stadium. One rush-hour bus trip later, it was time for a new Yankee to show he has plenty left in the tank, too.

Delgado dominated the first game. He set a Mets record with nine RBIs and hit a grand slam for one of his two homers in a 15-6 win at Yankee Stadium that lasted 3 hours, 54 minutes.

Sidney Ponson pitched a gem, silencing Delgado and the rest of the New York Mets in a 9-0 victory Friday night to help the Yankees earn a split in their day-night, two-stadium doubleheader.

Ponson outpitched Pedro Martinez with six shutout innings, and the Bronx Bombers broke loose in Queens for their first win in four Subway Series games this season.

Ponson is the second bum pitcher to shut out the Mets in a week. On Tuesday, R.A. Dickey shut out the Mets.

Friday, June 27, 2008
Subway Series Weekend Again!
It's Yanks vs. Mets & Mets vs. Yanks in Subway Series doubleheader. New York baseball fans are in for a dose of doubleheader heaven Friday. It's that rarest of baseball battles: two games between two fierce rivals in two different stadiums on the same day.

Church goes 3-for-3 in rehab outing
Mets outfielder Ryan Church went 3-for-3 and played five innings in right field Thursday night in his first rehab start with Class-A Brooklyn.

Church, out with a concussion since June 6, had two infield hits and a double playing in front of general manager Omar Minaya and team vice president Tony Bernazard. The Mets said he felt fine afterward and will play at least one more game with the Cyclones.

Church is batting .300 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 50 games this season.

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Umpire suspended by MLB
Umpire Brian Runge was suspended for one game Thursday for bumping into New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel before ejecting him earlier in the week.

Manuel and center fielder Carlos Beltran also were fined by Major League Baseball for arguing with Runge in the fourth inning of the Mets’ game against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

Beltran started talking to Runge after he took two called strikes from R.A. Dickey to begin the inning. Runge took off his mask and continued the dialogue before he brushed dirt off home plate. Manuel then came out and started arguing.

Runge bumped into Manuel before throwing him out of the game. The manager walked to the bench after getting a few more words in as the Shea Stadium crowd roared.

Beltran continued the conversation and Runge quickly threw him out. An incensed Beltran then got in Runge’s face and had to be held back before Manuel came out to escort the All-Star to the dugout.

Manuel received a $500 fine and Beltran’s was $400. MLB said Runge’s suspension will be served immediately.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Where's The Heart?
Jerry Manuel has been thrown out of out as many games as Willie Randolph in three plus seasons. Once!

Jerry Manuel was ejected from his second home game as New York Mets manager, upset with how plate umpire Brian Runge handled a disagreement with center fielder Carlos Beltran.

Beltran also was thrown out after taking consecutive called strikes from Seattle Mariners knuckleballer R.A. Dickey leading off the fourth inning of New York’s 11-0 loss Tuesday night.

Runge appeared to bump into Manuel before throwing him out of the game. The manager walked to the bench after getting a few more words in as the Shea Stadium crowd roared.

The Mets offense looked like an all-star line up circa the year 2000. With Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, Fernando Tatis and Trot Nixon. Too bad all are their last legs.

Oliver Perez trade value diminishes with every pitch he throws. Perez's record dropped to 5-5, while his ERA jumped to 5.29. Another problem has been the inconsistency of Oliver Perez, who is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA over his last seven starts.

Mets designated Claudio Vargas for assignment after last night's game. A game too late. The 30-year-old Vargas, who went 3-2 in 10 appearances with New York, allowed four runs and five hits in two innings of relief on Tuesday. In a corresponding move, the Mets recalled righthander Carlos Muniz from Class AAA New Orleans of the Pacific Coast League. Muniz went 0-0 with a 5.14 ERA in six games during his first stint with New York.

Fans in the loge began the "Fire Omar" and "Where's the heart" chat in the 6th inning as many other fans hit the exits.

The Mets offense made R.A. Dickey look like Phil Niekro in his prime. Hitting coach Howard Johnson has not been mentioned in any discussions of the Mets horrible offense.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Hernandez hits first granny by AL pitcher in 37 years
Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years when the Seattle Mariners ace connected Monday night off Johan Santana of the New York Mets.

With two outs in the second inning, Hernandez took a healthy hack at Santana's first pitch and drove an opposite-field shot over the right-center fence to give Seattle a 4-0 lead.

Hernandez hit the first home run by a pitcher in Mariners history, and the first slam by an AL hurler since Cleveland's Steve Dunning connected off Oakland's Diego Segui on May 11, 1971, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

That was two years before the American League began playing with a designated hitter -- and six years before the Mariners' expansion season of 1977.

The last National League pitcher to hit a grand slam also did it at Shea Stadium. Dontrelle Willis, then with Florida, accomplished the feat against the Mets on July 7, 2006.

Monday, June 23, 2008
Randolph did 'good job,' but change needed to be made
Mets owner Fred Wilpon praised Willie Randolph's performance as manager but agreed with general manager Omar Minaya's decision to replace him last week.

"I think Willie did a good job. I think that the results the last, say, 14 months were not up to what we thought it had to be," Wilpon said. "What Omar finally decided was that he had to make that change."

Randolph was fired on June 17 with the Mets at 34-35. New York has gone 3-2 under new manager Jerry Manuel. "Obviously, we've been playing well in the last few games," Wilpon said.

Wilpon said Minaya made the initial decision to fire Randolph on Sunday, after a doubleheader split against Texas. After speaking with ownership, Minaya made the final call Monday.

Big Mouth Manuel
Jerry Manuel Angry Mets interim manager Jerry Manuel then ripped Shea Stadium fans yesterday, comparing them to cow manure for booing beleaguered reliever Aaron Heilman.

Adding to his fast-developing reputation for making outrageous comments, the Mets' interim boss said Heilman and his teammates would flourish in the "fertilizer" left behind by the Amazin's booing fans.

Mets fans are particularly angry at the veteran reliever because he's saved his worst games for Shea Stadium - where he's 0-2 with a sky-high 6.17 ERA so far in 2008.

Manuel says Moises Alou might not return to the Mets this season and could decide to hang them up at age 41. What a genius he is, who had the brillant idea to sign this guy in the first place.

Alou's latest stint on the DL began June 13, when he lasted less than one full game before aggravating a strained left calf that had originally sidelined him in late May.

Friday, June 20, 2008
Randolph writes about how Mets fired him
Willie Randolph said a “weird chill” went through him once he realized general manager Omar Minaya was about to oust him as manager of the New York Mets in a California hotel suite.

“‘Omar, are you firing me?’ I asked. He looked away for a minute and then met my eyes.”

Randolph wrote a first-person account of his dismissal in Friday’s Daily News, under the front-page headline “How They Fired Me!”

Randolph and Minaya spoke after the Mets defeated the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Randolph expected the conversation to be about the possible firing of pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto.

“Omar went on and on, looking very uncomfortable, this weird chill started to course through my body. I could feel myself going cold. He kept talking, almost stammering, and the chill got worse,” Randolph wrote. “Suddenly, it occurred to me that maybe he was talking about me. Maybe I was the one about to get whacked.”

Randolph said the two spoke two days before the flight to California and he was reassured. But the general manager finally acknowledged what he was going to do when they talked in the hotel.

“Yeah, I’m going to make a move,” he said. “It’s a hard decision, but I have to make it.”

Randolph wrote that he thanked Minaya for the chance to manage the Mets since 2004. Minaya then handed Randolph an envelope with a copy of his contract, saying to review it with his agent.

Randolph said the contract outlines not saying anything detrimental about the team or “I might jeopardize the rest of the money I have coming to me.”

Randolph was set to earn $2 million this season and is owed $2.25 million in 2009. It’s unclear if Randolph’s bylined story will have any bearing on what he is due.

The Mets, who made an epic collapse last season, were 35-36 entering Friday night’s game at Colorado. Randolph called the team “maddeningly inconsistent” the last year and a half.

“If I want to take credit for 2006—when I felt we were the best team in baseball and our season ended one hit short of the World Series—then I have to take the hit for what happened since,” he wrote.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Reyes leaves with tight hamstring, not considered serious
Jose Reyes has pissy fit as Jerry Manuel tells Reyes to leave the field. New manager Jerry Manuel and the New York Mets lost Jose Reyes to a tight left hamstring just four pitches into the game, then watched ace Johan Santana look mortal in a 6-1 interleague loss to the Angels.

Reyes led off the first inning with a single, then came up limping at first base and was pulled by Manuel as a precaution. The decision didn't go over well with Reyes, who flung his helmet along the front of the dugout as he exited.

"Really, the behavior is pretty much unacceptable," Manuel said of Reyes' tantrum. "But the attitude is something that can help us win ballgames."

Reyes, who is expected back in the lineup tonight, apologized to Manuel in the next inning and said he understood his new manager's thinking.

"I want to play, but Jerry was just trying to take care of me," Reyes said. "He made the right decision, because it's a long season and I need to stay healthy the whole season."

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Mets Fire Willie in the middle of the night
Mr. Mess was in Anaheim to see the Mets play the Angels on Monday evening, flying 3000 miles to see the bullpen almost blow another game. Driving back to my hotel I hit traffic on I-5, middle of the night construction. Two hours after the game I finally arrived in Santa Monica and noticed a message on the phone. Who was contacting me, it's 3:47 AM in New York and who's up? Well it was a text message from MLB saying the Mets dismissed manager Willie Randolph.

The New York Mets manager was fired about two hours after his team defeated the Los Angeles Angels 9-6 on Monday night. Bench coach Jerry Manuel takes over on an interim basis for Randolph, who led the Mets to within one win of the 2006 World Series.

Pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto also were dismissed early Tuesday morning.

Ken Oberkfell, the club’s manager at Triple-A New Orleans, and Dan Warthen, pitching coach for the Zephyrs, will join the major league staff along with Luis Aguayo, a Mets field coordinator.

The Mets will have to do that without Randolph now. The announcement of Randolph’s firing—the first in the majors this season—came at a stunning time because the Mets had won three of four and just completed a win over the AL West leaders to start a six-game road trip.

Friday, June 13, 2008
The pain continues and continues
The Mets bullpen has allowed 49 runs in the 8th innings this, more than any team in baseball. Thanks for great job, Aaron Heilman, Jorge Sosa, Joe Smith, Duaner Sanchez, Scott Schoenweis and Billy Wagner.

Great line from Peter Gammons, "Someone should light a firecracker next to Carlos Beltran to see if he reacts!" on the Mike and Mike show on ESPN radio. Gammons also mentioned Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal's story saying, "The players have the look of, 'Hurry up, let's get this over with. If you're going to fire him, fire him,'" says one rival scout who saw the Mets this week."

Ramon Castro is horrible behind the plate, he doesn't stay still to help set up the pitches. Too many calls yesterday were strikes earlier in the game and were suddenly balls in the 8th and 9th. Castro went to sleep in the 9th on the forceout at home plate, Jose Reyes threw to home to get Stephen Drew. But Chris Young had to wait momently while running from second to third and has less than halfway to third when the out was made. David Wright stood on third with his hands waving as Castro was thinking about his next meal and a nap.

An MRI exam on oft-injured Mets LF Moises Alou showed he re-aggravated his strained left calf. He is day to day, though Alou said earlier he thinks "the DL is a possibility -- again." Alou just came off the disabled list Tuesday, but his calf stiffened up in his first game back. "I don't feel very good," he said.

Thursday, June 12, 2008
Billy Ball strikes again
Billy Wagner blew another one for the struggling New York Mets.

Billy Wagner The All-Star closer coughed up his third consecutive save chance, this time wasting a splendid pitching performance by Johan Santana and allowing the Arizona Diamondbacks to rally past New York 5-4 in 10 innings Thursday.

Justin Upton doubled leading off the 10th against Aaron Heilman (0-3) and scored on Miguel Montero’s sacrifice fly to help the Diamondbacks take two of three in the series.

Third baseman Augie Ojeda and shortstop Stephen Drew made diving plays in the bottom of the ninth to keep the score tied.

Check out some other Memorable Mess performances by Billy Wagner.

Beltran saves Billy's Behind
Then, with one snap of his powerful wrists late Wednesday night, Carlos Beltran saved Billy Wagner and the rest of his wiped-out teammates.

Beltran hit a two-run homer with two outs in the 13th inning, and New York overcame a blown save by Wagner to snap a five-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Mets chased a bruised Brandon Webb early and took advantage of a key error by third baseman Mark Reynolds, who tied it by hitting a three-run shot off Wagner with two outs in the ninth for his fourth home run in four games. Reynolds was 0-3 with three strikeouts before homering. Reynolds was hit in the foot with a pitch but did not get the call. As SNY's Gary Cohen said the Mets get a break, Reynolds hit Wagner's next offering beyond the picnic area in left.

That cost Mike Pelfrey a win in the best outing of his big league career, but New York refused to fold and avoided falling four games below .500 for the first time since Sept. 17, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Looking for his first win in 10 starts, Pelfrey outpitched Webb and took a four-hit shutout into the ninth. He was pulled after Stephen Drew’s leadoff single on his 112th pitch and received a rousing ovation from the crowd of 46,503.

Pelfrey is 0-6 in 10 starts since beating Washington 6-0 on April 15, though he carried a no-hit bid into the seventh May 15 against the Nationals and still lost 1-0.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Schoenweis and Wagner make biggest save of season
At the start of the 7th inning at Shea Stadium, gusting winds caused infield dirt and hot dog wrappers to fly around the ballpark like air traffic at nearby La Guardia Airport.

Play was halted by the umpires as the grounds crew was called in to cover the field with a severe thunderstorm about to hit the area.

As the grounds crew struggled to get the tarp down in the high winds, Met relievers Billy Wagner and Scott Schoeneweis ran out of the bullpen to help out with cheers from the dust and paper wrapper covered Met fans.

At one point Schoenweis laid on the grass holding the tarp down as Wagner stood on the tarp. Good thing Wagner did not get rolled up into the tarp and was injured. Billy wasn't thinking again.


At the edge of the Mets dugout, teammates like Carlos Delgado stood in amazement as the two relievers pitched and helped the grounds crew. Delgado could have easily helped by weighting down the tarp by just standing on it.

Aaron Heilman was asked why he did not run out on the field to assist. "There was enough garbage flying around out there" Heilman replied.

Pitch counts are bullshit Willie and Rick the Jacket

John Maine throws so many pitches that are hit for foul balls, last night there were 12 pitches hit for foul balls. Eight of them while two strikes on the batter. Maine threw 101 pitches and was on deck when Endy Chavez made the last out in the bottom of the 5th inning.

Instead of Maine going out for the 6th, bonehead Willie Randolph sent Claudio Vargas to pitch with the pitchers spot leading off. Vargas gave up the lead and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 6th inning. Why couldn't Maine start the 6th inning? You're in the National League, Rick Peterson said he could fix Victor Zambrano in 10 minutes, wake up Willie!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Long overdue, Church is finally headed to DL
Three weeks after sustaining a concussion, the Mets finally placed Ryan Church on the disabled list on Monday. Church was re-examined by a neurologist at the Hospital of Special Surgery and said he still didn’t feel right. “He will not play until he’s able,” general manager Omar Minaya said.

Church was injured May 20 at Atlanta in a baserunning collision while attempting to break up a double play. He appeared several times as a pinch-hitter, but said he was unable to play the outfield because of dizziness. Church started June 1 against Los Angeles and went 3-for-4 including a homer, and then played the next two games at San Francisco.

Manager Willie Randolph did not start him June 4 at San Francisco, saying Church was tired and needed to build up his leg strength and stamina. After being unable to pinch-hit Friday, the Mets held him out for the remainder of the San Diego series.

Monday, June 9, 2008
Padres Sweep Mets
Laz Diaz strike zone is shown in the green. Rule book strike zone is in the red. The Mets suffered their first four-game sweep in San Diego since 1980. The Mets manager was Joe Torre at the time.

Pedro Martinez, who again comfortably hit 90 mph, wasn't thrilled with what he labeled a tight strike zone from plate umpire Laz Diaz, however. In a 97-pitch effort, Martinez was charged with four runs on 10 hits while striking out four. He hit a batter but issued no walks.

When Jose Reyes makes an error or misplays a ball in the field, why does it always lead to a big inning for the opposition? Chris Stansberry led off with a double thanks to Jose Reyes' ballerina act in short left field. Duaner Sanchez struckout Khalil Greene, Luke Carlin walked and Scott Hairston struck out swinging. Should be the end of the inning, but no. Willie Randolph decided and brought in Billy Wagner who gave up two hits including Tony Clark's three-run home run.

Ramón Castro arrived at the ballpark at 12:10 p.m. Pacific time and was immediately removed from the starting lineup. He said he thought the game was scheduled to start at 4:05 instead of 1:05. "It’s my fault," said Castro, who was replaced by Raúl Casanova. "It won’t happen again." He was fined an undisclosed amount.

Moises Alou, out since May 22 with a strained left calf, said he expected to return Tuesday against Arizona.

The Mets became the sixth team in major league history to lose three straight 2-1 games with Saturday night's loss to the Padres. The last team to do so was the 1991 Milwaukee Brewers.

Friday, June 6, 2008
Mets pitcher Scott Schoeneweis walks off the field after walking three batters, one intentionally, and hitting a batter to force in the winning run against the San Diego Padres in the ninth inning of their baseball game Thursday June 5, 2008 in San Diego. The Padres won 2-1. Schoeneweis Kerplunks In Loss
Scott Schoeneweis hit Paul McAnulty with a pitch to drive in the winning run with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, giving San Diego a 2-1 win over the New York Mets.

Schoeneweis (0-2) hit McAnulty with a first-pitch fastball in the right shoulder after three walks in the inning to score pinch hitter Scott Hairston and give the Padres their second straight win.

"It"s tough to lose a game like that," said Schoeneweis. “The last pitch just got away. It was one of those days, one of those things.”

Mike Pelfrey failed to win for the ninth time since his last win on April 15. But Pelfrey threw well for the second straight outing after Mets manager Willie Randolph had considered dropping him from rotation.

Jose Reyes singled to lead off the sixth. After going to second on a sacrifice bunt, he scored on David Wright’s single to tie the score at 1-all. Reyes singled in the first inning to reach base in the 36th consecutive game, extending his team record. Reyes also walked and had two stolen bases.

Thursday, June 5, 2008
Reyes comes through
Jose Reyes hit a leadoff double, then homered and singled to help John Maine and the Mets win the rubber game with the San Francisco Giants 5-3.

Reyes scored twice and Carlos Beltran added a two-run double as New York won for the seventh time in nine games. A night after Pedro Martinez won in his return from the disabled list, Maine (6-4) got a 3-0 lead in the first inning and made it hold up. He ended a three-start winless stretch in which he’d gone 0-2.

Reyes, who had his 18-game hitting streak stopped Tuesday night, connected off Matt Cain (2-4) for a two-run homer in the fourth. Reyes’ eighth home run of the year came after Maine walked.

Maine pitched six innings for the third straight start, allowing one earned run and seven hits. Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances, giving up a pinch-hit single to Rich Aurilia.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Martinez wins in return to mound
New York Mets starting pitcher Pedro Martinez throws against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, June 3, 2008. Pedro Martinez struggled at times but passed the test in his first game since April 1. Martinez was activated from the disabled list Tuesday, and he gave up three runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts in six innings in the Mets’ 9-6 victory over San Francisco.

Martinez threw 109 pitches, more than manager Willie Randolph’s projected ceiling of 100. The former Cy Young Award winner had been on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Martinez also singled twice, including an RBI hit during the Mets’ eight-run, fifth-inning rally that broke the game open.

Martinez labored after the long inning but finished and also worked the sixth. The Giants put runners on the corners in the sixth, but Martinez escaped without giving up a run. He received a standing ovation when he walked off the mound after the sixth to finish his night, then was greeted with a hug from catcher Ramon Castro in the dugout. The pitcher sat down and was all smiles.

Bullpen coach Guy Conti said Martinez would be even better as the summer progresses—if he stays healthy. “Do I expect him to be the same pitcher (Tuesday night) as I expect him to be three weeks from now? No,” Conti said. “We need his presence. We need his leadership. We need his wisdom working with the other pitchers.”

Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Giants beat Mets with big first inning
Bengie Molina had three hits and reached the 1,000 mark, Brian Horwitz hit the first home run of his career with a two-run shot in the Giants’ six-run first and Ray Durham also drove in three runs to help San Francisco beat the sluggish New York Mets 10-2 on Monday night.

Randy Winn also homered with a leadoff drive in the first, when Aaron Rowand doubled to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Durham hit a two-run double in the initial inning as the Giants knocked New York starter Oliver Perez out after he got only one out, staking Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez to a comfortable cushion.

Perez (4-4) was done after only 36 pitches for the shortest start of his career and gave way to Claudio Vargas, who happens to be the last starter San Francisco chased in the first inning—on Aug. 24 last year at Milwaukee. Perez had gone 1 2-3

Sanchez (4-3) struck out eight in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the second time this season. He allowed two runs, six hits and walked three.

“When we scored six, I was comfortable. I had no pressure,” Sanchez said.

He has been working to use his breaking pitches more to get out of tough situations, which the left-hander did when he escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first. He allowed David Wright’s two-out single before consecutive walks to Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church, but he got Fernando Tatis on a called third strike.

New York’s Jose Reyes had an RBI double in the second to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. It was also the 33rd straight game he reached base.

Moises Alou on the DL since May 22 with a strained right calf, made the trip West with the team in hopes of being activated as early as Friday at San Diego—or sometime during the weekend. “I think there’s a very good chance it will be Friday,” Alou said.

Monday, June 2, 2008
Church, Beltran back Santana in Mets’ win
A week ago, the New York Mets returned from a road trip in disarray. Key injuries left the lineup with holes, and manager Willie Randolph’s future looked bleak.

Then, Johan Santana beat Florida to stop the skid—just the way a staff ace should. And now, the suddenly surging Mets are headed back on the road after winning five of six.

Santana wrapped up New York’s turnaround homestand by pitching into the eighth inning for his 100th win, Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church hit two-run homers and the Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 Sunday night.

“It’s all about having fun,” said Santana, who gave up a run in the first but frustrated the Dodgers the rest of the night. “You have to remember this is a game and you have to have fun.”

Back in the lineup after his second concussion this year, Church capped a five-run third with his shot to right. He finished with a double and three hits for the Mets (28-27), who took three of four from the Dodgers in manager Joe Torre’s return to New York to win consecutive series for the first time since mid-April.

Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a first-inning single and scored on David Wright’s bloop single to right, but the sparkplug shortstop’s double leading off the third inning really got things going for the Mets.

Sunday, June 1, 2008
Beltran, Mets mount late comeback to clip Dodgers
Carlos Beltran hit a tying homer and Fernando Tatis singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, rallying the resurgent Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Mike Pelfrey tossed seven solid innings to keep New York close, making a strong case to stay in the majors. Stifled all afternoon by starter Chad Billingsley, the Mets (27-27) came back against Jonathan Broxton to win for the fourth time in five games following a 1-7 skid.

Duaner Sanchez (2-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the win and Billy Wagner struck out all three batters in the ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances.

The Mets improved to 3-23 when trailing after seven innings.