Hefner Performs Well in Spot Start for Mets

Saturday, August 4^th, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 6 San Diego Padres: 2

Hefner Performs Well in Spot Start

The Mets offense was able to wake up some Saturday night, scoring six runs in defeating the Padres 6-2.  The Mets move one game closer to .500 with the win tonight and sit with a record of 53-55 after tonight’s victory.  A strong performance from spot starter Jeremy Hefner not only earned him a spot on the major league roster for the time being but a much needed victory for the Mets.

Hefner threw a strong game for the Mets against his old team in the Padres.  He allowed the first batter to get on, but erased him with a double play on the next at-bat.  Hefner ultimately would allow only one run in six innings, surrendering only five hits and no walks to go along with two strikeouts.  One thing that stood out in Hefner’s start was that it took him only 74 pitches to get through the six innings. 

With Johan Santana expected to return from the DL next weekend, Hefner will be moved back to the bullpen according to manager Terry Collins.  Hefner’s performance tonight saved him from a demotion and showed how valuable he could be for the Mets organization. 

The Mets did a lot of their damage tonight in the 2^nd inning, scoring four of their six runs in the inning thanks to an erratic performance from Edinson Volquez.  Volquez managed to get through only 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits and four walks, resulting in four earned runs while also striking out three.

Two of Volquez’s four walks on the night forced in runs in the 2^nd inning, which was highlighted by a two-RBI double by Jordany Valdespin.  Valdespin had been struggling on the road trip before the at-bat, going only 3 for 23.

Daniel Murphy had another strong performance tonight, going 4 for 4 at the plate for the Mets, also adding a walk.

Mike Baxter had a record tying night at the plate for the Mets as well without recording an at-bat.  Baxter walked five times tonight, which is the first time a player has accomplished that feat since 2006 when Ryan Howard did it for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Josh Edgin, the only lefty currently in the bullpen with Tim Byrdak landing on the DL with an injury to his shoulder, tossed a shutout 7^th inning despite an error from Ruben Tejada.  Edgin then tossed a second shutout inning, even after manager Terry Collins said he would be conscious of not over-using Egdin in Brydak’s absence.

Bobby Parnell came into the game in the 9^th inning and imploded giving up a leadoff homerun to Chase Headley followed by a double by Yonder Alonso.  He was relieved by Frank Francisco, who was making his first appearance since coming off the DL.  Francisco was able to close out the game without allowing another base runner, stranding Alonso on base.

The Mets will head into the finale in San Diego looking to win their second series in a row.  They have already clinched a winning road trip, which is a positive sign after such an awful start to the second half.  Matt Harvey (1-1, 1.59 ERA) will make his third career start against Jason Marquis (4-6, 4.08 ERA).

Yankees Take Series Opener Against Mariners

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Yankees vs Mariners Post Game Recap 8/3

The New York Yankees were able to pick up the 6-3 win to start the series with the Seattle Mariners behind a great start from ace C.C Sabathia.

C.C Sabathia was able to throw a complete game for the second time this year. In his 9 innings of work Sabathia allowed three hits, one walk, three runs, and had 10 strikeouts. This was also the first time in almost four months that Sabathia was throwing to Russell Martin instead of the normal Chris Stewart.

The Yankees lineup saw a different lead-off hitter on Friday, as Curtis Granderson batted one, and Jeter moved into the second spot. Granderson the Yankees homerun leader had a good day in his new spot going 1 for 3 with a walk, run scored, and two RBIs.

Eric Chavez had a solid game getting the start at third base going 2 for 4 including hitting his 10^th homerun of the season a two-run shot in the 6^th inning off Mariners starter Kevin Millwood.

Russell Martin getting a rare start with Sabathia on the hill made the most of it with a good day at the plate going 2 for 4 scoring two runs, and stealing his third base of the season.

Yankees will have a tough task ahead on Saturday, as they face one of the best pitchers in baseball in Felix Hernandez (9-7, 2.79) as he will face the Yankees Hiroki Kuroda (10-7, 3.28).

Mets Drop Series Opener in San Diego

Friday, August 3^rd, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 1 San Diego Padres: 3

Mets Drop Opener in San Diego

After exploding for nine runs against the Giants yesterday afternoon, the Mets struggled to get anything going tonight, falling to the Padres 3-1. Tonight was another tough luck loss for the Mets who are clawing to get back to the .500 mark and stay in the playoff race. 

R.A. Dickey had a strong performance tonight, but was let down by his offense.  Dickey held the Padres hitless until Yonder Alonso’s single in the 5^th inning and didn’t allow a run until the 6^th inning. 

In the 7^th inning he allowed a one-out single to Carlos Quentin, which was followed up by an Alonso double that barely evaded a diving Scott Hairston.  Quentin attempted to score all the way from first and looked to be dead to rights as he was several steps away from the plate as catcher Josh Thole was receiving the relay throw from Ronny Cedeno. 

Disappointingly for the Mets, Thole dropped the ball as it was dislodged when Quentin came in hard and strong.  Thole was charged with an error on the play for not holding onto the baseball.  Alonso would score shortly after on a single by John Baker, who was the next batter. 

Thole had suffered a concussion earlier in the season, which likely was his fourth of his baseball career, in Philadelphia on May 7^th courtesy of Ty Wigginton.  Injuries like that can cause a player to become more cautious around the plate when it comes to collisions.

Dickey would be pulled for a pinch-hitter in the next half inning, ending his night with a stat line of seven innings pitched, four hits and three walks resulting in three runs, two of which were earned, and nine strikeouts. 

The Mets lone run of the night came courtesy of a Ronny Cedeno RBI single on an infield hit that plated David Wright.

The Mets were able to get the first two men on in the 8^th inning thanks to back-to-back singles by Cedeno and pinch-hitter Justin Turner.  Nothing came from the strong start, as Luke Gregerson struck out Andres Torres and David Wright; which was followed by Padres closer Houston Street entering and retiring pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin on a groundout to second base. 

Next up in the second game in the series between the Mets and Padres is a match-up between Jeremy Hefner (1-4, 5.52 ERA) and Edison Volquez (7-7, 3.51 ERA). 

Hot Start Propels Mets to Victory

Thursday, August 2^nd 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 9 San Francisco Giants: 1

Hot Start Propels Mets to Victory

A quick start propelled the Mets to a win tonight and their first series win of the second half of the season after defeating the Giants 9-1 this afternoon.  The Mets had struggled, going 0-5-1 in their last six series before defeating the Giants this week.  The last series win for the Mets was July 5^th when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the rubber game of that series. 

The Mets offense got off to a blistering start, resulting in a four-run first inning.   Jason Bay and Ronny Cedeno both had two-RBI hits; Bay a single and Cedeno a double. 

David Wright kept the pressure on, adding another run for the Mets in the second inning with an RBI single, giving the Mets a 5-0 lead.

Cedeno would add another RBI single in the 5^th inning and a two-RBI double in the 7^th inning to give him five RBI’s for the afternoon.  The five RBI’s tied a career high for Cedeno, who cleaned house against southpaws in the series, knocking in seven RBI’s in two games. 

Cedeno’s other five RBI game in his career came April 22, 2008 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.  Cedeno launched a grand slam in that game off Jorge Sosa. 

Daniel Murphy also had a strong performance at the plate, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. 

The Mets stacked Chris Young with a big lead and he delivered with his best performance of the season.  Young shut down the Giants offense, giving up only one run in seven innings.  The seven inning pitched matched a season high for Young, who only surrendered four hits and struck out for Giants.  It was a nice bounce back performance for Young, who struggled in his last start in Arizona, giving up six runs in four innings.  This was Young’s first win since June 28^th.

Next up for the Mets is a series with the San Diego Padres that will get underway Friday night at Petco Park at 10:05 P.M. ET.  R.A. Dickey (14-2, 2.83 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets against Clayton Richard (7-11, 4.14 ERA).  The Mets are expected to get some help in the form of Frank Francisco, who is supposed to return from the DL. 

Niese Shuts Down Giants

Mets vs. Giants Post Game Recap 8/1

The New York Mets were able to beat the San Francisco Giants in the third game of the four game series winning by a score of 2-1.

Mets starter Jon Niese was able to bounce back nicely after a bad outing in Arizona by winning his 8th game of the season. Niese went seven innings only allowing three hits, two walks, one run, and had five strikeouts.

The bullpen was able to finish off the last two innings rather easily with Tim Byrdak, and Jon Rauch pitching the 8th without allowing base runner, and Bobby Parnell was able to pick up his 4th save of the season putting the Giants down in order in the 9th.

Ruben Tejada had a big day for the Mets starting the game with a leadoff homerun against Matt Cain for his 1st homerun of the season, and snapping a 628 at-bat streak without a homerun. Tejada would go 3 for 4 with a walk in the game.

David Wright like Tejada also was able to have a three hit game going 3 for 4 with a walk as well.

The Mets offense did miss many opportunities to score going 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position blowing lots of chances to break the game open. They were however extremely aggressive on the base paths stealing four bases on Buster Posey, and had two runners thrown out.

The Mets will look to take the series against a hopeful playoff team in the Giants as Chris Young (2-5, 4.58) will face Barry Zito (8-7, 3.89).

Mets Drop Second Game in San Francisco

Tuesday July 31^st, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 1 San Francisco Giants: 4

Mets Drop Second Game in San Francisco

After taking the first game of the series in San Francisco, the Mets dropped the second one 4-1.  The Mets were unable to give any support to Matt Harvey, who was making his second career major league start and suffered his first career loss.  Lack of defensive awareness and a lack of pop at the plate put the Mets behind the eight-ball.

Harvey threw another good game for the Mets, even though it resulted in a loss.  He shattered the Mets franchise record for strikeouts in his first two starts, racking up 19.  Harvey finished the game with six innings, four hits, three runs (two of which were earned), three walks and seven strikeouts.

Harvey put the blame on himself for the loss but was being unfair and tough on himself.  The defense just did not show up behind him tonight.  There were plays that resulted in errors and mental mistakes throughout the game.  Jordany Valdespin miss played a line drive in the second inning, allowing Buster Posey to get to first on a single.  The bases would eventually be loaded and Harvey would get the groundball for the double play but the defense again let him down.  Ruben Tejada misfired his throw to first, missing out on an opportunity to end the inning on a double play. 

The third run was surrendered in the sixth inning with the bases loaded when Harvey got Marco Scutaro to ground into a double play.  Harvey relied on his changeup more this time around than in his first start and the results would have been as good if not for spotty defense.

Harvey will make his next start in the finale of the road trip Sunday in San Diego against the Padres and Jason Marquis.

Outside of an RBI double by Justin Turner knocking in Scott Hairston in the second inning, the Mets offense was held in check by Tim Lincecum.  David Wright was given the night off for only the sixth time this season but appeared as a pinch hitter.

Wright came on with the bases loaded and was struck out by Lincecum on one of the best curveballs a pitcher can throw.  The strikeout ended really any chance the Mets had at a comeback. 

Lincecum finished the game with seven innings pitched, allowing six hits and one walk equaling one earned run while striking out seven.  This is Lincecum’s fifth win of the season and second against the Mets.

Next up for the Mets and Giants is the third game in the four game series.  The Mets will again have a hard time scoring runs as Jon Niese (7-5, 3.68 ERA) will be opposed by Giants starter and All-Star game starter Matt Cain (10-3, 2.80 ERA). 

Yankees Avoid the Sweep

Yankees vs Orioles Post Game Recap 8/1

The Yankees were able to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Orioles, by winning Wednesdays matinee 12-3, and snapping their four game losing streak.

Phil Hughes was able to bend but not break in picking up 11^th win of the season. Hughes allowed nine hits, two walks, but only one earned run while striking out two batters.

Yankees fans got to see a familiar face as fan favorite Joba Chamberlain pitched for the first time in the majors in over a year. Joba however didn’t look very good on the mound in his return giving up four hits, two walks, and two earned runs including a solo shot to J.J Hardy on the second pitch he threw.

Captain Derek Jeter had a big day in the lead-off spot going 3 for 4 with a run scored, and three RBIs.

Curtis Granderson also played a very good game going 2 for 5 including hitting his 29^th home run of the season in the first inning.

Nick Swisher saw himself in the middle of the order batting in three hole, and produced going 2 for 4 scoring two runs, knocking in a RBI, and hit his 24^th double of the season.

Second baseman Robinson Cano provided the big hit of the game in the third inning hitting a Grand Slam off Kevin Gregg for his 24^th homerun of the season, and now has 62 RBIs.

Casey McGehee got his first start in pinstripes filling in for Mark Teixeira at first, and did a pretty good job at the plate drawing two walks, scoring two runs, and had two RBIs.

Jayson Nix got the start against the lefty Zach Britton, and was able to have himself a nice game in the bottom of the order going 3 for 4 with an RBI, and two runs scored.

The Yankees will be off on Thursday, and then will host the Mariners at home on Friday with C.C Sabathia (10-4, 3.57) and Kevin Millwood (4-8, 3.90) on the mound.

Yanks get blown out by Birds, losing streak at four

The Yankees struggles continued Tuesday night against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

It was a fast start for the Bronx Bombers, who put up a five run first inning on Oriole pitcher Chris Tillman. Unfortunately the lead was short lived for the Yankees when starting pitcher Ivan Nova surrendered seven runs in the second inning, and the Orioles never looked back taking the game 11-5.

After Ivan Nova set down the Orioles one, two, three, in the first, the Yankee offense went to work. Derek Jeter led off with a double to right center, followed by an RBI single from Curtis Granderson to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. On the next pitch, Robinson Cano smacked his 23rd home run of the season to right center field, and snapped an 0 for 14 slide.

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With two-out in the bottom of the first and the Yankees leading 4-0, Russell Martin pulled a base hit through the left side that brought home Eric Chavez, and capped a five run first inning.

The top of the second started with back-to-back singles by Adam Jones and Matt Wieters, followed by back-to-back strikeouts for Nova. With two outs and two on, Mark Reynolds hit a two-run ground rule double to left that scored Adam Jones and put the O's on the board. Omar Quintanilla followed with a two run single and cut the Yankee lead to 5-3.

After a Nick Markakis single, and a walk by J.J Hardy, Chris Davis delivered with a grand slam over the left center field wall that gave the Orioles a 7-5 lead. It was Davis' 18th home run of the season, and the Orioles scored all seven of their runs in the inning, with two outs.

The Yankee offense was silenced after the first inning by Tillman and the Oriole bullpen, and did not score again after their five run first inning.

The Orioles added four more runs, and took their second game in a row from the Yankees 11-5.

Chris Tillman went five innings giving up eight hits, five runs (four earned), and striking out three Yankees for his fourth win of the season.  Tillman settled down after a less than perfect first inning, and held the Yankees scoreless over the next four frames.

Nova dropped to 10-5 on the season after going five innings, allowing 10 hits and nine earned runs, while fanning five.

The Yankees have now dropped nine of their last 12 games, and four in a row to division rivals.

The Yankees and Orioles will go at it again today at 1p.m as Phil Hughes (10-8, 4.08) will face Zach Britton (1-0, 5.74).

Joba Chamberlain Set to Return

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Joba Chamberlain Set to Return

The New York Yankees have activated releiver Joba Chamberlain before Tuesdays game with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees traded Chad Qualls for Casey McGehee at the trade deadline with the intention of bring Joba back to fill his spot in the bullpen. Joba hasnt pitched in the majors since June of 2011 due to various injuries. Chamberlain since then has had Thommy John surgery, an appendectomy, dislocated ankle, and torn MCL.

Chamberlain has been very good in the rehab appearances going nine and a third innings with only a 0.96 ERA in seven appearances. Joba has been lighting up the radar gun in the minors and will be looking to duplicate his great pitching from the 2007 playoff run.

Yankees Trade for Casey McGehee

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Yankees Trade for Casey McGehee at Deadline

The New York Yankees didn’t do anything major at the trade deadline, but they did fill a need getting Casey McGehee to fill in at first and third base for the injured Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira. The price wasn’t very high for McGehee, as Chad Qualls was sent to the Pirates for him. This move seems like a good one as with the return of Joba Qualls would have been off the major league roster soon anyways.

Casey McGehee's best season came in 2010 with the Milwaukee Brewers when McGehee hit .285 with 23 homeruns and 104 RBIs. Casey however has not been very good in the season and a half since then, as this year with the Pirates he is hitting .230 with 8 homeruns, and 35 RBIs.

The big talk of the day was about Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster who the Yankees emerged as a possible suitor for Dempster, with Dempster agreeing if traded that he would go to New York with his 10-5 rights. Dempster ended up going to Texas leaving the Yankees only move of the day being the McGehee trade, but the Yankees big move was for Ichiro a week ago which shouldn’t be forgotten.