The Mets five game winning streak ends in Miami in walk-off fashion

The New York Mets were defeated by the Miami Marlins by the score of 6-5 on Friday night. The game took place in Miami, Florida. Johan Santana pitched well and the bullpen did pretty good until Frank Francisco blew the save. David Wright and Lucas Duda led the offense. 
Santana pitched six innings giving up six hits and three runs. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. Ramon Ramirez pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out two, Bobby Parnell pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run and Tim Byrdak faced one batter and struck him out. Francisco blew his second save of the season and took his second loss of the season. He pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a strikeout. Mark Buehrle pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and two runs with two walks and three strikeouts. The Marlins used four relievers who pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up three hits and three runs with three walks and three strikeouts.

Andres Torres drew two walks, Daniel Murphy had a hit and Wright had three hits. Duda had two hits, Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and an RBI and Ike Davis had a hit, RBI and drew a walk. Ronny Cedeno had a hit and drew two walks, Mike Nickeas had a hit and an RBI and Mike Baxter had a hit and two RBI. Nickeas, Wright, Nieuwenhuis and Baxter each had a double. Davis had a homerun and the Mets were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. Murphy got picked off and Davis committed an error.

Jose Reyes had a hit for the Marlins. Omar Infante had three hits and two RBI, Austin Kearns had a hit and two RBI and Mike Stanton had two hits. Gaby Sanchez drew a walk, Emilio Bonifacio had two hits and an RBI and Gregg Dobbs had a hit and an RBI. Infante and Stanton each had a double, Reyes had a triple and Kearns had a homerun. The Marlins were 4-9 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Infante had a stolen base and Bonifacio had two. Stanton was caught stealing.

The Marlins took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Infante hit an RBI single and Kearns hit a two run homerun. In the fifth inning Davis hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 3-1. Nickeas hit an RBI double to make it 3-2 in the seventh inning. Nieuwenhuis hit an RBI double in the eighth inning, Baxter hit a two run double to make it 5-3 Mets. Infante hit an RBI double in the eighth to make it 5-4. In the ninth Bonifacio had an RBI single to tie the game at five and Dobbs had an RBI single to give the Marlins the 6-5 win.

The Mets saw their five game winning streak come to an end and their record drop to 18-14. The Marlins improved their record to 17-15. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon.

The Yankees get to King Felix and beat the Mariners

The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners by the score of 6-2 on Friday night. The game took place in the Bronx,NY. Felix Hernandez was 3-0 in the new stadium with a 0.38 ERA coming into this game. The Yankees were able to get to him enough and beat him. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched very well and the bullpen was good as usual. Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez continued their hot hitting in the middle of the order. 
Kuroda pitched seven innings giving up two runs on six hits. He earned his third win of the season and is now 3-4. He walked three and struck out two. Clay Rapada and Cory Wade each faced one batter and retired them Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out two and David Robertson pitched 2/3 of an inning retiring both batters that he faced. Felix Hernandez took the loss pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up 11 hits and four runs. He walked two and struck out seven. Charlie Furbush pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run and Steve Delabar pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had a hit and drew a walk, Curtis Granderson had a hit and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and drew a walk. Cano had four hits and an RBI, Mark Teixeira had two hits and Nick Swisher had a hit. Raul Ibanez had a hit and three RBI, Eric Chavez had a hit and Andruw Jones had a hit and two RBI. Cano had a double and Ibanez had a homerun. The Yankees were 4-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Granderson had a stolen base.

Dustin Ackley had a hit, RBI and drew a walk, Jesus Montero in his return to the Bronx had a hit and an RBI. Kyle Seager had a hit, John Jaso drew a walk and Justin Smoak had three hits. Michael Saunders had a hit and drew a walk. Ackley and Montero each hit a homerun. The Mariners were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Saunders had a stolen base and was caught stealing. Suzuki and Carp each had an outfield assist.

Ackley hit a leadoff homerun to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the first inning Cano had an RBI single to tie the game at one. Hernandez had the longest current streak of games without giving up a first inning homerun. Montero hit a solo homerun in the sixth to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning Ibanez hit a three run homerun to make it a 4-2 game in favor of the Yankees. Jones hit a two run pinch hit homerun in the eighth to make it 6-2 and that was the final score.

The Yankees have now won two games in a row. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees saw their record improve to 18-14 and the Mariners saw their record drop to 15-19. The Yankees will try to climb to five games over 500 on Saturday and then get ready for Andy Pettitte to return on Sunday.

Yankees notes from Wednesday night-the first blown save without MO

Here are the postgame notes from Wednesday night, after David Robertson blew the save the first since Mo went down with his season ending injury.  The notes come courtesy of the Lohud Yankees blog and my own thoughts are mixed in. 

Dave Robertson and David Phelps have lockers side-by-side in the front of the Yankees clubhouse. They’re as far away from the showers and the player-only dining room as they can get.

Tonight, Robertson told Phelps to take his time . Robertson would walk out first to face the music.

“Eventually, I’m not going to be able to get all of my messes that I create,” Robertson said. “It was really tough. Just a sad way to end the game. … It’s going to happen. You’re going to lose games. It’s the worst feeling in the world. Mo does it, he comes back the next day and he’s the same guy. He goes right back out there and does his thing. I’m going to have to do that tomorrow.”

It goes without saying, but Robertson and Mariano Rivera are very different pitchers. Rivera is a model of calm efficiency. Robertson is a thrill ride. He’s cut down on the walks this year — he was basically pitching around Ben Zobrist when he walked him tonight — but he’s notorious for putting runners on base. He’s also built his Houdini reputation by getting out of those jams. He did it last night. He didn’t do it tonight.  I personally don't think they should of went right to Robertson.  I think they could of went to Soriano who has the experience and then if he failed went to Robertson.  I think Robertson could of been giving more time before being thrown into the role.  With that being said you can't judge him on one or two outings. 

“I think we might be over-evaluating pretty early here,” Joe Girardi said. “This is a strikeout guy. He can just as easily get a strikeout as he can give up a base hit. I don’t want to over-evaluate one situation here. This guy has been tremendous for us, a guy that we’ve counted on heavily. I have a ton of confidence he’s going to do a good job for us.”  I would agree with this statement by Girardi but you know how it is in New York and with the Yankees. 

Robertson was surprised that the Rays were so aggressive tonight. His first six pitches were a first-pitch single, a first-pitch single and a four-pitch walk with first base open. A strikeout put him a double play away from getting out of the jam, but the sac fly tied it, and after four straight curveballs, Robertson tried to get a fastball past Matt Joyce.

“I’m sure I’m going to think about it tonight,” Robertson said. “Turn on any channel and you’ll see it. Tomorrow can’t come fast enough. I can’t wait to get another chance, that’s for sure.”

Another chance will almost certainly come. It’s worth noting that Rivera blew three of his first six saves when became the Yankees closer in 1997.  That is amazing to think about, Rivera has been so good for so long that's hard to believe.  When Mo became the closer though he took over for a good closer in John Wetteland and he was great as a setup man but the Yankees didn't know how he would be as the closer. 

“I think we can over-evaluate this on two save opportunities,” Girardi said. “We could talk about this ad nauseam if we wanted to. Let’s give the kid a chance. Let’s give the kid a chance before we’re all ready to predict who he was.

 David Phelps pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, Boone Logan left the bases loaded in the fifth and Rafael Soriano left runners at the corners in the eighth. When Robertson struck out Carlos Pena, it gave him a chance to continue the string of great escapes. “I thought I might be able to, I honestly did,” Roberston said. “B.J. just battled in there and got enough of one to lift it to right field. I knew when he did that, that was going to tie the ball game.”  I like the job Phelps has done but I think he could use a little more seasoning and he will be taken out of the rotation for Pettitte.  Hughes has been much better the last couple of starts and they won't take him out of the rotation. 

 Great throw from Swisher, but it wasn’t quite enough to keep the tying run from scoring. “I don’t know man, Rodriguez is pretty fast,” Swisher said. “But in a situation like that, you just give it all you’ve got.”  Swisher has improved his defense so much and become good in right field, no one talks about his defense. 

 Pretty impressive start by Phelps. That 28-pitch first inning came back to haunt him and kept him limited to four and two-thirds, but those were 4.2 scoreless innings that lowered his ERA to 3.08. “These first two games out of the gate I haven’t been as in the attack mode as I should have,” Phelps said. “That’s what I’m really kicking myself for. It leads to a big pitch count in the first inning and that’s two starts in a row I’ve done that. It’s really frustrating. Having a 10-12 pitch first inning makes it a lot easier.”

 Phelps said the two-out fifth inning double kind of threw him off his game. He’d retired 12 of the past 13 batters he’d faced, but after the double, Phelps decided not to give Pena anything to hit. Nibbling in that at-bat changed Phelps approach, and he followed with the walk that loaded the bases and chased him from the game. “It wasn’t so much fatigue,” he said. “But I might have been a little frustrated with the 0-2 pitch (that led to the double) and it carried over.”

 With Phil Hughes pitching much better lately, there’s a solid chance this was Phelps last start for a while. With Andy Pettitte coming back on Sunday, he could be moved back to the bullpen. “I’m not really worried about that,” Phelps said. “Hopefully, it will just take care of itself, and whatever role I’m in I’m just going to try to help the team win as much as I can.”

 Four runs charged to Robertson was his highest single-game total since July 2, 2010. He had allowed just one other home run since August 31, 2010, a stretch of 99 games.

 Cory Wade has stranded all nine of his inherited runners this season.

Derek Jeter became the first Yankee to ever reach 50 hits within the team’s first 30 games.  I don't know what is going on with him but it is amazing.  Jeter has found the fountain of youth. 

 Curtis Granderson snapped a streak of 28 straight games reaching base by walk or hit. It was the longest such streak of his career.

 Brett Gardner went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a triple in tonight’s Triple-A rehab game. His night was overshadowed by Dellin Betances who allowed one run on two hits through eight innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

The New York Yankees are able to take the series from the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 5-3 on Thursday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx,NY. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and was outstanding. He had it all working on this night. Rafael Soriano earned the save in the game as new closer David Robertson had worked two days in a row and thrown a lot of pitches. David Price started for the Rays and the Yankees were able to get to him. Robinson Cano had a strong game as he is coming out of his early season slump. Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson also had good games, Rodriguez also seems to be swinging the bat better. 
Sabathia pitched eight innings giving up two unearned runs and seven hits. He walked one and struck out ten. Sabathia got his fifth win of the season against no losses. Soriano pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run, it was his first save of the season. Price took the loss his second of the season, pitching seven innings and giving up 11 hits and five runs. He walked three and struck out four. Burke Badenhopp pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

Derek Jeter drew a walk, Nick Swisher had a hit and Robinson Cano had three hits and two RBI. Rodriguez had two hits, Mark Teixeira drew a walk and Granderson had a hit and an RBI. Andruw Jones had a hit and an RBI, Eduardo Nunez had two hits and drew a walk and Chris Stewart had a hit and an RBI. Rodriguez and Jones each had a double. Granderson and Cano each hit a homerun, the Yankees were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Nunez had two stolen bases and also committed two errors. Swisher had an outfield assist.

Sean Rodriguez had two hits and an RBI for the Rays. Jeff Keppinger had a hit, Carlos Pena had a hit and an RBI and Elliott Johnson had two hits and drew a walk. Gimenez had two hits and Will Rhymes had an RBI. The Rays were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Johnson had a stolen base, Price and Rodriguez each committed an error.

In the first inning Pena had an RBI single giving the Rays a 1-0 lead. Rodriguez had an RBI single in the second to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. The runs came after Nunez committed errors which put them in position to score so they were unearned runs. In the bottom of the second Granderson hit a solo homerun and Stewart had an RBI single to tie the game at two. Cano hit a two run homerun in the fifth to break the tie and put the Yankees ahead 4-2. Jones hit an RBI double to make it 5-2. The Rays scored in the ninth on a Johnson single, stolen base and two groundouts to score him.

The Yankees took two out of three in this series and are tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for third place. The Rays are tied with the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the tough AL East. The Yankees saw their record improve to 17-14 and the Rays record dropped to 20-12. The Yankees will begin a three game series at home against the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Andy Pettitte will make his return on Sunday afternoon for the Yankees. It should be a fun and emotional weekend at the stadium. The Yankees are 2 ½ games behind the Rays and Orioles for first place.

The Mets sweep the Phillies in Philadelphia

The New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 10-6 on Wednesday night. The game took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets were able to complete the three game sweep. Dillon Gee struggled a little bit, the bullpen pitched ok. The top four hitters in the lineup each had two hits and Ike Davis had a couple of hits for the Mets. 
Gee pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up 10 hits and four runs with four strikeouts. Tim Byrdak earned his second win of the season pitching to one batter and retiring him. Manny Acosta pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Jon Rauch pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout and D.J. Carrasco pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout. Cliff Lee pitched six innings for the Phillies giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and six strikeouts. Kyle Kendrick got charged with a blown save and the loss his third of the season. He pitched an inning giving up four hits and five runs with two walks. Jose Contreras pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs, one of them earned with a strikeout and Brian Sanches pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout.

Andres Torres had two hits, two RBI and a walk, Daniel Murphy had two hits and an RBI and David Wright had two hits and an RBI. Scott Hairston had two hits and an RBI, Kirk Nieuwenhuis drew a walk and Justin Turner had a hit and an RBI. Davis had two hits and three RBI, Rob Johnson had a hit and drew a walk and Lucas Duda had an RBI. Murphy, Turner, Davis, Wright and Hairston each had a double. Torres had a triple and a homerun. Davis also hit a homerun. The Mets were 5-11 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base.

Jimmy Rollins had two hits for the Phillies. Juan Pierre had two hits, Hunter Pence had a hit and an RBI and Placido Polanco had two hits and John Mayberry had a hit. Brian Schneider had two hits, Freddy Galvis had three hits and three RBI and Lee had a hit and an RBI. Laynce Nix had a hit and an RBI. Galvis had a double and a triple and Pence had a triple. The Phillies were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Pence committed an error.

In the second Lee hit an RBI single to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Murphy had an RBI double in the third inning to tie the game at one. In the fourth Galvis grounded out scoring a run and making it 2-1 Phillies. Wright hit an RBI single in the sixth inning to tie the game at two. In the bottom of the inning the Phillies go the lead back. Galvis hit an RBI double and Nix had an RBI single to make it 4-2 Phillies. The Mets came back again in the seventh inning. Turner hit an RBI double to make it 4-3 and Duda was hit by a pitch to tie the game at four. Torres grounded out to score a run and give the Mets a 5-4 lead. In the eighth Hairston hit an RBI double and Davis hit a three run homerun to make it 9-4 Mets. Galvis hit an RBI triple in the ninth to make it 9-5, Torres hit a solo homerun in the ninth to make it 10-5 and Pence hit an RBI triple in the ninth for the final run. The final score was 10-6 Mets.

The Mets swept the three game series. The Mets are now 18-13 on the season which is surprising. The Phillies dropped to 14-18 which is also surprising. The Mets will have the day off on Thursday. The Mets will head to Florida to take on the Miami Marlins in a three game weekend series.

New York Yankees lose to the Tampa Bay Rays as David Robertson blows a save

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 4-1 on Wednesday night. The game took place in the Bronx,NY. David Phelps made the start for the Yankees. It was his second career start and he pitched well, he just didn’t pitch too deep into the game. The Yankees bullpen was good until David Robertson blew the save in the ninth. The Yankees offense was anemic once again as they left a bunch of guys on base. The only Yankees run came in the first inning. 
Phelps pitched 4 2/3 innings giving no runs and three hits. He walked four and struck out three. Boone Logan pitched an inning giving up a hit with two strikeouts, Cory Wade pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings and Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up a hit and struck out one. Robertson blew the save and took the loss. He pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and four runs with a walk and a strikeout. Clay Rapada pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit. Jeff Niemann pitched seven innings giving up six hits and one run with a walk and five strikeouts. Fernando Rodney got hit second win of the season pitching two innings giving up three hits and he struck out two.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Alex Rodriguez had two hits and Robinson Cano had two hits and an RBI. Nick Swisher had two hits, Raul Ibanez had a hit and drew a walk and Russell Martin had a hit. Cano had a double and the Yankees were 0-8 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Rodriguez had a stolen base, Cano committed and error and Martin had a passed ball.

Ben Zobrist had two hits and drew a walk for the Rays. Carlos Pena drew two walks and B.J. Upton had a hit, RBI and drew a walk. Matt Joyce had two hits and three RBI, Luke Scott had a hit and drew a walk and Elliott Johnson had a hit. Sean Rodriguez had a hit and Brandon Allen had a hit. Zobrist, Johnson and Scott each had a double.. Joyce hit a homerun. The Rays were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base.

The Yankees scored a run in the first inning on a Cano RBI double. It was 1-0 all the way until the ninth inning. In the ninth inning the Rays had back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs. Robertson struck out Pena. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Upton to tie the game at one and then Joyce hit a three run homerun to make it a 4-1 game in favor of the Rays. The Yankees would not rally in the ninth and that is how the game ended.

The teams split the first two games of this three game series. The rubber game will take place on Thursday night. David Price and CC Sabathia will be the pitchers. This is a marquee pitching matchup in the rubber game of an important three game series between division rivals. The Rays are in first place and the Yankees are in third place 3 ½ games behind the Rays.

The Yankees take the first game of their series with the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 5-3 on Tuesday night. The game took place in the Bronx,NY at Yankee Stadium. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched very well. The Yankees new tandem of Rafael Soriano and David Robertson were able to close the game out. Raul Ibanez led the Yankees offense. James Shields started for the Rays and lost his first game of the season. 
Nova pitched seven innings giving up two runs on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He improved his record to 4-1 on the season and hopes this will start a new winning streak. Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and he struck out the side and Robertson earned his first save of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit and two walks. He did strike out two batters. It was the Yankees first save situation since Mariano Rivera went down with a season ending injury. Robertson made it interesting but he got the job done. Shields pitched six innings giving up three runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out four. Burke Badenhop pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run, Jake McGee pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run and striking out one and Joel Peralta pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had a hit and drew a walk. Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk, Mark Teixeira had a hit, RBI and drew a walk and Ibanez had two hits and three RBI. Eduardo Nunez had a hit, Cano and Teixeira each had a double. Ibanez hit two homeruns and Granderson had a homerun. The Yankees were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.

Ben Zobrist had two hits and drew two walks for the Rays. Matt Joyce drew a walk, Luke Scott had a hit and an RBI and Jeff Keppinger had a hit and drew a walk. Will Rhymes had two hits and drew a walk, Sean Rodriguez had a hit and Jose Molina had a hit and an RBI. Rhymes had a double and Zobrist had a triple. Molina and Scott each hit a homerun. The Rays were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Zobrist was caught stealing and Upton committed an error.

The Yankees got on the board first in the fourth inning on an Ibanez two run homerun. Granderson would make it 3-0 with a solo homerun in the fifth inning. The Rays would score their first run of the game in the sixth on a Molina solo homerun. In the seventh the Rays cut the lead to 3-2 on a Scott solo homerun. The Yankees got the run back in the bottom of the seventh on a Ibanez solo homerun. In the eighth the Rays would cut the lead to one again on a wild pitch by Soriano after he gave up a leadoff triple but came back to strike out the next two guys. It was a 4-3 game. The Yankees would get that run back in the bottom of the inning on a Teixeira RBI double. In the ninth Robertson got the first out but then walked Rhymes, Rodriguez singled and after a strikeout he walked Zobrist. The bases were loaded and he struck out Pena to end the game. It was a little different then having Mariano Rivera out there that is for sure.

The Yankees improved their record to 16-13 as they won their second game in a row. The Rays record fell to 18-11 and they are tied for first place with the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees are 2 ½ games back tied with the Toronto Blue Jays. The two teams will play the second game of their three game series on Wednesday night weather permitting. The two teams will complete their series on Thursday night.

The Mets win their second straight game in Philadelphia

The New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 7-4 on Tuesday night. The game took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets were down 4-1 and rallied back to win the game. The Mets bullpen pitched very well and the Mets top four hitters in the lineup each had a couple of hits. Miguel Batista started the game for the Mets and pitched pretty well. Joe Blanton started for the Phillies and started out great but then lost it in his last inning of work. 
Batista pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs with two of them being earned. He walked two batters and struck out one. Manny Acosta pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out one, Ramon Ramirez pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk and striking out two batters and Tim Byrdak got the only batter out that he faced. Jon Rauch picked up his first save of the season. He pitched an inning giving up a hit. Blanton pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up five hits and four runs with three walks and seven strikeouts. Chad Qualls got charged with a blown save and the loss. He gave up a hit and a run without recording an out. The Phillies used four other relievers to pitch 2 2/3 innings and they gave up three hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout.

Andres Torres had two hits, Kirk Nieuwenhuis had two hits, two RBI and a walk and David Wright had two hits and an RBI. Lucas Duda had two hits and two RBI with a walk, Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI and Jordany Valdespin drew a walk. Mike Baxter drew a walk, Nieuwenhuis and Wright each had a double. The Mets were 5-14 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Davis was caught stealing and Valdespin and Batista each committed an error.

Jimmy Rollins drew a walk for the Phillies, Juan Pierre two hits and Shane Victorino had a hit, RBI and drew a walk. Hunter Pence had a hit and two RBI, Carlos Ruiz had a hit and Placido Polanco had a hit. John Mayberry had two hits, Orr had two hits and an RBI and Blanton drew a walk. Ruiz, Victorino and Orr each had a double. Pence had a homerun and the Phillies were 3-12 with runners in scoring position. They left nine men on base. Pierre had a stolen base and Orr committed an error.

The Phillies got on the board first in the first. Pence hit a two run homerun to give them a 2-0 lead. In the second Orr hit an RBI single and Victorino hit an RBI double to make it 4-0. In the fourth Murphy hit an RBI single to make it a 4-1 game. In the seventh Nieuwenhuis hit an RBI single to cut the lead in half at 4-2. Wright had a two run single to make it a tie game at four. Duda hit an RBI single to give the Mets their first lead at 5-4. In the ninth inning Nieuwenhuis hit a sacrifice fly and Duda hit an RBI single to make it 7-4. That would be the final score.

The Mets improved their record to 17-13 and the Phillies record fell to 14-17. The two teams will play the third game of their three game series on Wednesday night. The Mets will be looking for the three game sweep. The Mets will then head to Florida to take on the red hot Marlins in a three game weekend series. The Mets have the day off on Thursday.

The Mets rally to beat Roy Halladay and the Phillies

The New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 5-2 on Monday night. The game was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Mets were trailing 2-0 but they fought back. The game was tied at two in the ninth and the Mets got a three run homerun off of Jonathan Papelbon to take the lead. The Mets got an ok start from Jonathan Niese but he walked too many and was out of the game early. The bullpen did a great job for the Mets. Roy Halladay pitched very well but he did give up a two run lead and Jonathan Papelbon gave up three runs to allow the Mets to win the game. 
Niese pitched five innings giving up four hits and two runs with four walks and five strikeouts. Manny Acosta pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Bobby Parnell pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up four hits and a walk and Tim Byrdak got the win pitching to one batter and striking him out. Frank Francisco earned his eighth save with a perfect inning including a strikeout. Halladay pitched seven innings giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and seven strikeouts. Bastardo pitched an inning giving up two walks and Papelbon pitched an inning giving up two hits and three runs with a walk and two strikeouts. Papelbon took his first loss of the season.

Andres Torres drew two walks, Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and David Wright had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk. Daniel Murphy had a hit, Ike Davis had a hit and drew a walk and Josh Thole had a hit. Mike Nickeas had a hit and Jordany Valdespin had a hit and three RBI. Wright and Nickeas had a double and Valdes pin a homerun. Valdespin it was his first major league hit and to make it a game winning homerun is incredible. The Mets were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Murphy had a stolen base, Torres committed an error.

Jimmy Rollins had two hits for the Phillies. John Mayberry had a hit and an RBI, Shane Victorino had two hits and drew a walk and Hunter Pence drew a walk. Ty Wigginton had a hit, Carlos Ruiz had a hit and drew two walks and Placido Polanco had a hit and an RBI. Juan Pierre drew a walk, Rollins and Polanco each had a double. The Phillies were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and they left ten men on base.

Mayberry hit a sacrifice fly in the first to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. In the second inning Polanco had an RBI double to make it 2-0 Phillies. In the sixth Wright hit an RBI double to tie the game at two. In the ninth inning Valdespin hit a three run homerun to give the Mets a 5-2 lead which they would hold onto.

The Mets have now won two games in a row and won the first of three in Philadelphia. The two teams will play game two on Tuesday night. The Mets will try to win the series and then have a chance at a sweep on Wednesday.

The Mets take the rubber game over the Arizona Diamondbacks

The New York Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks by the score of 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing,New York. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and pitched brilliantly. Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy led the offense. 
Dickey pitched eight innings giving up four hits and a run with four walks and four strikeouts. He won his fourth game of the season and is 4-1. Tim Byrdak retired the only batter that he faced and Frank Francisco earned his seventh save of the season facing two batters and retiring them both, one on a strikeout. Trevor Cahill pitched seven innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Cahill suffered his third loss of the season and is 2-3. Mike Zagurski pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one.

Andres Torres had a hit and drew a walk, David Wright had a hit and Murphy had a hit and two RBI. Ike Davis drew a walk, Ruben Tejada had two hits and Josh Thole had a hit and an RBI. The Mets were 2-3 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base. Torres was caught stealing.

Willie Bloomquist drew a walk, Gerardo Parra had two hits and drew a walk and Justin Upton had a hit and an RBI. Jason Kubel drew a walk, Paul Goldschmidt drew a walk and Cody Ransom had a hit. Parra and Upton each had a double. The Diamondbacks were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Parra was picked off and had an outfield assist.

In the first inning the Mets took a 2-0 lead on a Murphy two run single. In the fourth inning they took a 3-0 lead on a Thole RBI single. The Diamondbacks would get on the board and score the final run of the game in the ninth inning. Upton hit an RBI double.

The Mets improved their record to 15-13 and they won two out of three in the series. The Diamondbacks saw their record drop to 14-15 on the season. The Mets begin a three game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies on Monday night.

The Yankees break out in Kansas City to split the four game series

The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals by the score of 10-4 on Sunday afternoon. The game was in Kansas City Missouri and was the final of four games played between the two teams. The two teams split the four game series. Phil Hughes started for the Yankees and by far had his best game of the season. The Yankees bats came alive after only scoring 13 runs in their last six games. They scored ten in this game including a couple of homeruns. 
Hughes pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out seven, it was the second win of the season for Hughes. Boone Logan pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit, Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and Cory Wade pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout. Luke Hochevar suffered his third loss pitching 2 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and seven runs with a walk. Luis Mendoza pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up three hits and two runs with five walks and three strikeouts and Tommy Hottovy pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a couple of strikeouts.

Derek Jeter had two hits and drew two walks, Curtis Granderson had two hits and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and three RBI. Robinson Cano had two hits and four RBI, Mark Teixeira drew two walks and Nick Swisher had a hit and an RBI. Raul Ibanez had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and DeWayne Wise had a hit and drew a walk. Jeter and Ibanez each had a double, Cano, Swisher and Rodriguez each had a homerun. The Yankees were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Wise had a stolen base and Martin had a passed ball.

Jarrod Dyson had two hits and an RBI for the Royals. Alex Gordon had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Billy Butler had a hit and an RBI and Mike Moustakas had a hit and drew a walk. Irving Falu had two hits, Humberto Quintero had a hit and an RBI and Brayan Pena had a hit. Butler and Moustakas each had a double and Falu had a triple. Quintero hit a homerun and the Royals were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Dyson had a stolen base and Quintero committed an error.

Butler hit an RBI double in the first inning to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. In the second Ibanez hit an RBI single to tie the game at one. The Yankees broke out in the third inning with six runs. Wise and Jeter singled followed by a Granderson RBI single. Rodriguez got hit by a pitch loading the bases and Cano hit a grand slam giving the Yankees a 6-1 lead. Swisher hit a solo homerun making it 7-1. Gordon got the Royals a little closer in the fifth inning. He had an RBI single to make it 7-2, in the seventh Quintero hit a solo homerun to make it 7-3. Rodriguez hit a three run homerun in the eighth to make it 10-3 and the final run was scored in the ninth. Dyson hit an RBI single.

The two teams split the four game series and the Yankees saw their record improve to 15-13. The Royals saw their record drop to 9-18 on the season. The Yankees will have the day off on Monday and then begin a three game series at home against the first place Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees offensive woes continue in Kansas City as they drop another one

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Kansas City Royals by the score of 5-1 on Saturday night. The game was in Kansas City, Missouri and the Royals came into this series 0-10 at home. The Royals have now taken two out of the first three games of the series. The Yankees scored three runs in three games against the Orioles at home before this series. Although they have done a little better in the three games here so far, they scored once Saturday night and were shutout on Thursday night. They did score six runs on Friday night but four of them came in one inning. The Yankees offense is very anemic right now and they need to get it turned around. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and didn’t make it past the fifth inning. The bullpen did ok but not great. Curtis Granderson led the Yankees offense with a couple of hits. 
Kuroda pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits with two of them being earned. He walked three and struck out two. Kuroda is now 2-4 on the season. Clay Rapada faced one batter and retired him, Cody Eppley pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit, two runs and a walk and Boone Logan pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk. Freddy Garcia pitched two innings giving up a walk and striking out one. Felipe Paulino picked up his first win for the Royals. He pitched six innings giving up four hits and no runs with two walks and six strikeouts. Jose Mijares pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run and struck out one batter, Kelvin Herrera pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and struck out one and Tim Collins pitched one inning giving up a hit and striking out a batter.

Granderson had two hits, Alex Rodriguez drew a walk and Robinson Cano had a hit. Raul Ibanez had a hit, Russell Martin had three hits and an RBI and Eduardo Nunez had a hit and drew a walk. Granderson had two doubles, Martin and Nunez each had one. Martin also hit a homerun. The Yankees were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. They have had a big problem with that this year, last year as well especially in the postseason. Jeter committed an error

Tyler Dyson had an RBI for the Royals. Alex Gordon had four hits and an RBI, Billy Butler had two hits and three RBI and drew a walk and Eric Hosmer drew a walk. Jeff Francoeur had a hit and drew a walk, Mike Moustakas drew a walk and Chris Getz drew two walks. Alex Escobar had a hit. Butler had two doubles and Gordon had a double. The Royals were 3-14 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Escobar and Getz each had a stolen base. Francoeur had an outfield assist.

In the first inning Butler hit a two run double giving the Royals a 2-0 lead. In the fifth Butler had an RBI double extending the lead to 3-0. In the sixth Dyson hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 and Gordon hit an RBI double to make it 5-0. The Yankees scored their only run on a Martin homerun in the seventh inning.

The Yankees record dropped to 14-13 and the Royals improved their record to 9-17. The two teams will wrap up their four game series on Sunday afternoon. The Yankees will go for the split and the Royals will be looking to take three out of four. Phil Hughes will make the start in maybe his final audition as they could move him back to the bullpen with the loss of Mariano Rivera. The Yankees offense just has not been able to get going. They have sorely missed Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher but they still have guys in the lineup that can get it done. They just aren’t producing right now and it is frustrating.

The Mets end their four game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks

The New York Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks by the score of 4-3 on Saturday evening. The game was played at Citi Field in Flushing,NY. Johan Santana made the start and pitched well once again. Santana picked up his first win since 2010. The offensive star for the Mets was Daniel Murphy who had four hits. 
Santana pitched seven innings giving up nine hits and three runs with one walk and five strikeouts. He is now 1-2 on the season. Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one and Frank Francisco picked up his sixth save of the season pitching an inning. He gave up a walk and struck out one. Corbin took the loss his first of the season pitching 3 1/3 innings and giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Josh Collmenter pitched three innings giving up three hits and a walk and struck out three and Craig Breslow pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out one.

Andres Torres had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk, Murphy had four hits and Justin Turner had a hit. Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and drew two walks, Mike Nickeas had a hit and two RBI and Santana had a hit. The Mets did not have an extra base hit in the game. They were 2-5 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Torres had a stolen base.

A.J. Pollock had a hit for the Diamondbacks. Lyle Overbay drew a walk, Justin Upton had two hits and Paul Goldschmidt had a hit and two RBI. Ryan Roberts had two hits an RBI and drew a walk, John McDonald had three hits and Corbin had a hit. McDonald and Goldschmidt each had a double. Roberts hit a homerun, the Diamondbacks were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. Bloomquist had a stolen base.

In the second inning Roberts hit a solo homerun to give the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. In the fourth Nickeas hit a two run single and Torres hit a two run single giving the Mets a 4-1 lead. In the fifth Goldschmidt hit a two run double to make it a 4-3 game in favor of the Mets. The game would end with that same score.

The Mets improved their record to 14-13 and the Diamondbacks saw their record drop to 14-14. The two teams will complete their series on Sunday afternoon with the rubber game. The two teams have split the first two games of the three game series. The Mets ended their four game losing streak and will head to Philadelphia for a three game series after the game tomorrow. They will then have off on Thursday and begin a three game weekend series in Miami against the Marlins.