The Pennant Race - 9/28

It's been an amazing final weekend of the 2008 season, with several playoff spots still up for grabs. The Phillies clinched the NL East with a win over Washington on Saturday, but the Mets victory, combined with the Brewers loss, meant the wildcard would come down the final Sunday, and possibly Monday.

The Marlins had crushed the Mets dreams in 2007, jumping all over then Met Tom Glavine in the first inning and cruised to an 8-1 victory. Johan Santana had put the Mets into position with a masterful shutout on Saturday. Sunday was a match of a pair of left-handers, Scott Olsen for the Marlins, and Oliver Perez for the Mets.

The two teams were scoreless in the sixth inning when the Marlins finally broke through. Cameron Maybin led off with a double and scored on John Baker's single for a 1-0 lead. Jorge Cantu followed with a single and both runners moved up on Mike Jacobs fly out. Jerry Manuel elected to intentionally walk Dan Uggla, but reliever Joe Smith walked Josh Willingham to force in a run. Smith wiggled out of further trouble and the Mets came right back.

Robinson Cancel started the home half of the sixth with a walk. One batter later Carlos Beltran drove the Shea crowd crazy with a game tying 2-run home run, his 27th of the season.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, the Brewers trailed the Cubs 1-0 on an unearned run. CC Sabathia was doing everything he could to win it for the Brewers, but Milwaukee couldn't break through against an array of Cubs pitchers.

Carlos Zambrano was originally slated to start the game for Chicago, but Lou Piniella end up opting for Angel Guzman, who gave him two innings of work. Chad Gaudin, Neall Cotts, and Kevin Hart kept Milwaukee off the board through six innings.

Veteran Ray Durham greeted reliever Scott Marshall with a lead off double in the seventh. Ryan Braun's ground out moved Durham up to third, and Prince Fielder was intentionally walked to set up a potential double play. Piniella went to Mike Wuertz, who walked J.J. Hardy to load the bases. Wuertz then struck out Craig Counsell for the second out, but walked Corey Hart to force in the tying run.

The Marlins and Mets moved to the eighth inning back at Shea, still tied at 2-2. But Wes Helms connected off of Scot Schoenweis for just his fifth home run of the season and a 3-2 Marlins lead. Two batters later, Dan Uggla slugged his 32nd home run of the year off of Luis Ayala for a 4-2 Florida advantage.

With the Mets falling behind, the Brewers took it to the Cubs in the eighth. Mike Cameron singled with one out and two batters later, second year sensation Ryan Braun belted his 37th home run of the year off of Cubs set up man Bobby Howry. Braun has 71 home runs in 264 big league games.

At Shea, Jose Reyes smacked a double off of Kevin Gregg with two outs in the eighth. A Beltran walk brought up the Mets biggest hitter in the second half, Carlos Delgado. Fredi Gonzalez countered with lefty specialist Arthur Rhodes. Delgado drilled a 1-1 shot to left, but the ball stayed in the park for the third out of the inning.

In Milwaukee, Sabathia completed his seventh game in 17 Brewers starts, Ryan Theriot singled with one away, but Sabathia got Derrek Lee to bounce into a game ending double play.

A quite Shea Stadium held their breath and heads, and prayed as Matt Lindstrom came on in the ninth for the Marlins. David Wright popped out to second base and Endy Chavez hit a comebacker for the first two outs of the inning. Damon Easley drew a walk, giving the Mets on more shot with the tying run at the plate, but Ryan Church flied out to deep center to end the ball game and another disappointing Mets season.


Over in the American League, the AL Central was coming down to the last Sunday. With a half-game separating the two teams, the White Sox needed a win in order to play their 162nd game against the Tigers on Monday. The game being a make up of an earlier rain out. The Twins held destiny in their own hands, knowing that a win would ensure them, at the very least, of a one game playoff on Tuesday.

Pitching was the name of the game for both teams. Chicago's ace Mark Buehrle pitched like one. After losing the first two games against the Indians, the White Sox needed their best to give them his best. Buerhle did just that, allowing one run over seven innings to earn his 15th win of the season. Paul Konerko's solo home run highlighted a 3-run second inning that gave the White Sox the lead for good. Jermaine Dye added some big insurance with a 2-run single in the seventh before Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks sealed the win.

Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Twins had struggled against the Royals for two days, but Scott Baker was huge on Sunday. The Twins right-hander allowed just four hits, and struck out eight over seven innings, and the Twins rolled to a 6-0 victory. Joe Mauer and Delmon Young drove in two runs each for the Twins, who won their 88th game.

Gavin Floyd will start for Chicago on Monday, while former White Sox star Freddy Garcia goes for the Tigers. Should the White Sox win, they will face the Twins in a one game showdown in Chicago on Tuesday.

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The Pennant Race - 9/23

The Mets players may deny they are uptight about the last week of the season, but who can blame them. After last year's momentous collapse, the Mets are on the brink of blowing another playoff opportunity. Last night, for the second time this season, the Mets were burned by an opposing pitcher's grand slam. The Cubs' Jason Marquis joined the Mariners' Felix Hernandez in the Mets record book by taking rookie starter Jon Niese deep with the bases loaded. The Cubs went on to a 9-5 victory, which dropped the Mets lead in the wildcard to a half-game ahead in front of the Brewers.

The Phillies also pushed their advantage in the NL East to 2.5 games ahead of the Mets with a 6-2 win over the Braves. The game was tied 2-2 in eighth inning when the Phillies went ahead on a fielder's choice. Pat Burrell then put the game away with a 3-run home run, his 33rd long ball of the season. Chase Utley also picked up his 100th RBI, the fourth year in a row the second baseman has achieved the feat.

Brandon Webb picked up his 22nd win and the Diamondbacks moved to within 2 games of the idle Dodgers in the NL West with their 4-2 defeat of the Cardinals. Stephen Drew reached the 20 home run mark for the first time in his career and Brandon Lyon escaped a 2nd and 3rd, nobody out, jam in the eighth inning.

The Rays moved 2.5 games in front of the Red Sox in the AL East with a 4-2 win over the Orioles. Jason Bartlett's RBI double snapped a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning. Last year's number one amateur pick, David Price, made his first major league start, going 5.1 innings, with one earned run allowed.

The Indians' Zach Jackson won his first MLB game in two years in the Tribe's 4-3 win over the Red Sox. Jamey Carroll and Shin-Soo Choo singled in runs off of Josh Beckett in the fifth inning to give Cleveland the lead for good.

News and Notes

The Indians' Fausto Carmona (6 games) and the Tigers' Gary Sheffield (4 games) were each suspended for the role in the bench clearing brawl between the two teams on Friday night. Indians' Victor Martinez and Asdrubel Cabrera also were suspended for 3 games each.

The Red Sox J.D. Drew received a cortisone shot for his bad back, but it remains to be seen if he'll play again this year. Teammate Mike Lowell could be back in the lineup this week though.

Speaking of bad backs, Rays' closer Troy Percival will be getting a second epidural this week.

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The Pennant Race - 9/18

Brandon Webb pitched the Diamondbacks back to within 3.5 games of the NL West lead in Arizona's 7-6 win over the Giants. Webb allowed two earned runs over seven innings to earn his 21st win. The Diamondbacks bullpen nearly gave the game away in the ninth though as the Giants scored three times before Tony Pena retired the final two batters.

The Dodgers meanwhile got clobbered by Adam LaRoche (2 HRs, 5 RBI) and Nate McLouth (HR, 4 RBI) and the Pirates, 15-8. Starter Zach Duke was ineffective, but six Pirate relievers stemmed the tide.

Cliff Lee came away with a no-decision after allowing three earned runs in 6.1 innings pitched, but the Indians continued to do damage to the Twins playoff hopes with a 6-4 win. The victory completed a three game sweep for the Tribe. Travis Hafner hit his first home run since May 16.

The Mets built up an 8-1 lead over the Nationals and then hung on as their beleaguered bullpen nearly blew it. The Mets emerged with a 9-7 final as 32-yr old Brandon Knight, who debuted as a Yankee back in 2001, won his first major league game. Carlos Beltran (2), Carlos Delgado, and Jose Reyes each homered.

The Phillies maintained their half-game lead with a relatively easy 6-1 win over the Braves. J.A. Happ picked up his first major league win after tossing six scoreless innings. Carlos Ruiz knocked in two runs and Ryan Howard picked up RBI number 137.

The Brewers stayed a half-game back of the Mets in the wildcard with a 6-2 win over the Cubs. It wasn't all good news for the Brewers though as Ben Sheets had to leave the game in the third inning with tightness in his forearm. Prince Fielder jump started the offense with a 3-run double in the first inning.

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The Pennant Race - 9/10

We're back from vacation, tanned, rested, and ready to get back to full posting. The races in four of the six divisions continue to be exciting. The Angels have a magic number of two to clinch the AL West, and the Cubs aren't losing any ground, because the Brewers are losing as much as the Chi-town team.

Things have really gotten crazy out in the NL West. The Dodgers lost eight straight in August before winning their final two of the month. They've since won seven of their first eight games in September to, remarkably, pick up five games on the Diamondbacks. LA has gone from 2.5 games out to 2.5 in front. Last night they trailed the Padres 2-0 in the sixth inning when Manny Ramirez's solo home run ignited a comeback. Andre Ethier drove in four runs, including a back breaking 3-run double in the ninth inning.

The Diamondbacks meanwhile lost for the 12th time in 15 games. Chris Snyder hit a game tying, 2-run home run in the ninth against Giants closer Brian Wilson, but Eugenio Velez singled in the game winner in the home half of the ninth.

The Blue Jays continue to muck up contending team's plans. Yesterday they out pitched and out hit the White Sox in a doubleheader sweep to extend their winning streak to 10 games. A.J. Burnett won his 17th game in the opener, allowing just one hit over seven innings in a 3-1 Blue Jays win.

The Jays won the nightcap 8-2 behind seven strong innings from Jessie Litsch and three home runs. News also got worse for the White Sox, already without Carlos Quentin, when Paul Konerko went down with a sprained MCL. He'll be further evaluated today.

The Twins took advantage of the White Sox double demise with a 7-2 win over the Royals. The victory moved the Twins back to within one game of the AL Central lead. Justin Morneau continued his run at another MVP award with his 23rd home run and RBI, 118 and 119.

When Jason Bay hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning last night, it appeared the Red Sox would overtake Tampa for first place in the AL East, but the Rays had more up their sleeve. Dan Johnson took Jon Papelbon deep for a game tying home run in the ninth. One out later, pinch-hitter Fernando Perez and Dionner Navarro stroked back to back doubles to give the Rays a 5-4.

Troy Percival came on in the ninth and faced a two out challenge when pinch-runner Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base and moved to third base on Navarro's throwing error. But Percival got Coco Crisp to pop out to end the game and push the Rays lead back to 1.5 games.

10-8. Important numbers in the NL East. The Mets blew a 5-2 lead to the Nationals and then had to rally from an 8-7 deficit to beat Washington, 10-8. Carlos Delgado went from first half boos to second half chants of 'MVP' with games like last night's in which he slugged two home runs.

The Phillies trailed the Marlins 9-1 before rallying behind Ryan Howard's 41st home run. They fell short though and the Marlins emerged with a 10-8 win, dropping the Phillies 2.5 games behind the Mets.

The Cubbies struggles continue. They led the Cardinals 3-0 last night before Albert Pujols hit a game tying 3-run home run in the sixth inning. The game would remain tied until the ninth when pinch-runner Bo Ryan came home with the winning run on Caesar Izturis' grounder. The victory moved the Cardinals to within 4.5 games of the Brewers in the NL wildcard race.

The Cubs didn't lose any of their lead though as the Brewers rallied back from a 4-1 deficit, only to lose to the Reds, 5-4, in 11 innings. Ray Durham hit the game tying 3-run blast in the seventh. The Brewers remain 4.5 back of the Cubs in the NL Central, while maintaining their 3.5 game lead over the Phillies in the wildcard.

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The Pennant Race - 8/28

The Mets leap frogged the Phillies back into first place in the NL East. One day after blowing a 7-0 lead, the Mets came back from a 3-1 deficit behind a pair of Carlos Delgado home runs and beat the Phillies bullpen 6-3.

Rookie Glen Perkins won his 12th game as the Twins defeated the Mariners, 6-5, to move back within a game of the White Sox in the AL Central. John Danks and Lance Broadway got shelled in the Orioles 11-3 win over Chicago. Aubrey Huff and Brian Roberts drove in three runs each.

Joe Saunders had a rare bad start, getting knocked out in the second inning as the Angels fell to the A's 6-5. The Halos are still 28 games over .500.

The Rays maintained their lead over the Red Sox with a 1-0 dazzler against the Blue Jays. Matt Garza pitched into the eighth inning to pick up his 11th win. Carlos Pena's 27th home run was the game's lone run.

Jason Marquis, Carlos Marmol, and Kerry Wood combined on a shutout as the Cubs beat the Pirates 2-0. That pushed their lead over the Brewers to six games after Milwaukee lost to the Cardinals, 5-3. The Cards struck for four runs in the eighth and now trail the Brewers by 3.5 in the NL wildcard race.

Randy Johnson pitched well for Arizona, but the Diamondbacks blew a 4-0 lead and lost to the Padres 5-4. No harm though as the Dodgers lost to the Nationals again, 5-4. Tim Redding out pitched Greg Maddux for the win.
Other News

The Indians won again, their 10th straight, beating the Tigers 9-7. Kelly Shoppach hit his career high 17th home run. The Indians lost 10 in a row earlier this season.
Josh Johnson is back for Florida and excelling. He pitched a complete game last night in the

Marlins 4-1 win over the Braves, to improve to 4-0, 3.12.
Tim Lincecum is 15-3 after the Giants beat the Rockies 4-1. Lincecum struck out 10 in 7.2 innings pitched.

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The Pennant Race - 8/22

There wasn't too much action in MLB yesterday, but some races were impacted. The Mets increased their lead over the Phillies to 2.5 games, behind some clutch hits from the still-hot Carlos Delgado. The first baseman went 5-5 with 3 RBI including the game winner in the bottom of the ninth. The Mets topped the Braves, 5-4.

Meanwhile, the Nats broke their 12 game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Phillies. Washington was down 3-2 when they struck for a pair of runs in the eighth inning.

The Marlins fell 6 back in the East after losing to the Giants in the bottom of the ninth for the second straight game, this time on a wild pitch.

The Cubs upped their lead over the Brewers to 5.5 games in the NL Central with a 3-2 win over the Reds. Carlos Zambrano hit his fourth home run of the year and picked up his 13th win. Zambrano, who also managed to break a tooth during the game, now has 16 career home runs.

Brandon Webb's major league-leading 19th win kept the Diamondbacks 2 games ahead of the Dodgers. Arizona won 4-1 as Connor Jackson drove in 2 runs. LA beat Colorado 3-1 as James Loney homered and drove in 2 runs, and Derek Lowe picked up his 10th win.

Denard Span's 12th inning single gave the Twins a 2-1 win over the Angels and moved them back to within a half-game of the idle White Sox in the AL Central. Starters Scott Baker and John Lackey each allowed one run in eight innings pitched.

Big game last night for Cleveland's Grady Sizemore. Two singles, a 3-run triple, and a 3-run home run; 7 RBI in all.

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The Pennant Chase - 8/15

NL EAST

Look out, the Mets train is steam rolling along. They're now in sole possession of first place after beating the Nationals for the third straight night. Meanwhile the Phillies were swept by the Dodgers in a four game series.

Oliver Perez struck out eight in six-plus innings and Carlos Delgado continued his torrid second half with his 26th home run as the Mets rolled to a 9-3 win. After practically being left for dead through the end of June, Delgado hit .357 with 9 home runs and 24 RBI in July. He's added 3 home runs and 9 RBI in 12 games in August.

The Phillies meanwhile managed only 2 hits off of Hiroki Kuroda in seven innings. Manny finally went hitless, but Matt Kemp stepped up with his 14th home run of the season. On the bright side, the Phils got another solid outing from Brett Myers.

NL WEST

The Dodgers couldn't break their first place tie with Arizona though, as the Diamondbacks topped the Rockies 6-2. Dan Haren won his 13th game with help from home runs by two of the Chrises, Young and Burke.

The Diamondbacks sent catcher Wilkins Castillo to the Reds as part of the Adam Dunn deal.

The Dodgers reportedly put in a claim on Ronnie Belliard to keep him from going to the Diamondbacks, who are in need of a second baseman after the season-ending injury to Orlando Hudson.

NL CENTRAL

The Cubbies extended their lead over the Brewers to 4.5 games with an 11-7 win over the Braves. Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano homered to back Ted Lilly's pitching. Lilly almost incited a brawl when he hit Yuniel Escobar on the arm. There were no ejections though the benches emptied. The pitch was thought to be retribution for Soriano being thrown out the night before. Ramirez also had to leave the game with a bruised hip.

Mark Kotsay went 5-5 for Atlanta and became the second Brave, (Albert Hall was the other), to hit for the cycle.

Jake Peavy outpitched Ben Sheets as the Padres edged the Brewers 3-2. The Cardinals kept pace with a 3-0 behind Todd Wellmeyer's seven and two-third innings of 3-hit ball.

AL EAST

Tampa lost Troy Percival to the DL again, but after blowing a ninth inning lead they beat the A's 7-6 in 12 innings. Percival's leg injuries will make the Rays look elsewhere for a closer next season.

Dice-K and the Red Sox pounded the Rangers again, 10-0, after putting 9 on the board in the second inning.

AL CENTRAL

The White Sox moved a full game ahead of the idle Twins with a 9-2 pasting of the Royals. Chicago outscored KC, 22-2, in the three game series. The Chisox tied a major league record in the sixth inning when Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexi Ramirez, and Juan Uribe connected for four consecutive home runs. Hawk Harrelson must have wet his pants.

The Twins meanwhile claimed Jarrod Washburn off waivers from the Mariners in an effort to block him from going to the White Sox. The Tigers claimed Raul Ibanez from the Tigers- for what reason we have no clue. Neither team was able to work out a deal though, and both players will stay put. A really poor job by the M's in their handling of Washburn. They could have dumped his contract on the Yankees quite easily.

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Perez Leaves Yankees Left Out

Oliver Perez has always had the ability to be a successful pitcher in the major leagues. But whether it be his head, his arm, his heart, who knows what else, he has always had trouble keeping it together. Sandy Koufax one minute, Steve Trout the next. But not when Perez pitches against the Yankees. He dominated them once again yesterday at Shea Stadium as the Mets salvaged the finale of the three games played at home.

In an attempt to offset the left-handed throwing Perez, Joe Girardi stacked the lineup with right-handers. What that meant was Jorge Posada at 1st base, .225 hitting Jose Molina behind the plate, rookie Justin Christian in right field, and Wilson Betemit (.259 against lefties) at 2nd base. Throw in a pitcher who can't hit and you can see it wasn't a strong lineup.

You would assume that the Yankees lefties struggled against Perez, but that was not true with the exception of Johnny Damon, who started in left field and was 1-8, and Bobby Abreu who sat on the bench with an o-10. However, Robinson Cano, who has been hot lately, was 4-10 against Perez, while Jason Giambi had a hit in just 2 at-bats. No matter how you slice it, things didn't work out.

Perez limited the Yankees to just 3 hits over 7 innings, while striking out 8. His lone mistake was a solo home run hit by Betemit in his final inning of work. Darrell Rasner, meanwhile, continued to struggle.

He worked out of a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 1st inning, but the Mets broke through in the 2nd. Endy Chavez and Brian Schneider put together back to back 1-out singles, and Perez sacrificed them up a base. Luis Castillo hit a slow chopper up the middle and just beat Derek Jeter's throw to 1st for a 1-0 lead. Rasner retired David Wright on a chopper to Alex Rodriguez to escape further trouble.

In the 3rd, Carlos Delgado hit a tremendous solo home run off of the scoreboard in center field for a 2-0 lead. It was Delgado's first hit since his 9 RBI outburst in the first game on Friday.

The Yankees had a chance in the 4th, when Derek Jeter single with one out and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch. But Perez struck out A-Rod swinging and retired Posada on a ground out to Castillo at 2nd.

Rasner was gone after 5 and Dave Robertson came on for his major league debut. He became the 3rd Yankee, along with Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy, to reach the majors after being drafted in 2006. He struck out his first batter, Perez, but gave up back to back singles to Reyes and Castillo and wild pitched them into scoring position. Wright delivered Reyes with a sac fly before Robertson retired Beltran on an inning ending fly out.

Pedro Feliciano retired the Yankees in order in the 8th and then it was up to Billy Wagner to close things out. Jeter lead off with a single and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch, but he would be left there. A-Rod just missed one, hitting a deep fly that Chavez caught at the edge of the warning track in left-center, well short of the 358-ft sign. Posada then grounded out and Betemit struck out looking to seal the deal.


News and Notes

Oliver Perez is now 5-1, 2.61 in 6 career starts against the Yankees. He's struck out 31 batters in 41.1 innings pitched.

Jose Reyes had a tantrum when Carlos Delgado couldn't handle his throw on a Melky Cabrera ground out. The ball should have been caught, but Reyes was charged with the error. In a great act of immaturity, Reyes slammed his glove down. Anyone else think Reyes may be elsewhere next year?

It's sounding more and more like Hideki Matsui may need knee surgery.


June 29, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		1	4	0
NY Mets	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	X		3	12	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	0	0	3	0	.316
Jeter, SS	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.284
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.322
Posada, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.287
Betemit, 2B	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	.266
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.246
Molina, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.225
Christian, RF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Rasner, P	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
a-Moeller, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254
Robertson, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
b-Giambi, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Ramirez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	1	4	1	0	10	7
a-Flied out for Rasner in the 6th. b-Flied out for Robertson in the 8th.
BATTING HR: Betemit (4, 7th inning off Perez, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Damon; Jeter 2; Betemit 4. RBI: Betemit (12). 2-out RBI: Betemit. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada; Molina; Betemit. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING PB: Molina (6). DP: (Betemit-Jeter-Posada).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner (L, 4-6)	5.0	8	2	2	3	3	1	4.42
Robertson	2.0	4	1	1	0	1	0	4.50
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.46

NY Mets	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Reyes, SS	4	1	2	0	1	0	0	.296
Castillo, 2B	5	0	3	1	0	1	1	.260
Wright, 3B	3	0	0	1	0	0	5	.285
Beltran, CF	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	.270
Delgado, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	0	2	.231
Tatis, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.256
Church, RF	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.304
Chavez, LF	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	.242
Schneider, C	3	0	1	0	1	0	3	.260
Perez, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	.182
Feliciano, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a-Anderson, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.198
Wagner, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	33	3	12	3	3	4	16
a-Flied out for Feliciano in the 8th.
BATTING HR: Delgado (14, 3rd inning off Rasner, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Reyes 2; Castillo 3; Delgado 4; Church 2; Chavez 3; Schneider. RBI: Castillo (26), Delgado (45), Wright (64). 2-out RBI: Castillo. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Delgado; Wright 2; Perez; Beltran. S: Perez. SF: Wright. GIDP: Schneider. Team LOB: 11. FIELDING E: Reyes (11, throw).

NY Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Perez (W, 6-5) 7.0 3 1 1 0 8 1 4.98 Feliciano (H, 8) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.78 Wagner (S, 18) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.91

WP: Robertson, Perez, Wagner. IBB: Schneider (by Rasner). Pitches-strikes: Rasner 102-59, Robertson 33-22, Ramirez 13-9, Perez 106-72, Feliciano 17-13, Wagner 14-9. Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 5-7, Robertson 2-3, Ramirez 0-3, Perez 4-9, Feliciano 0-2, Wagner 1-1. Batters faced: Rasner 26, Robertson 9, Ramirez 3, Perez 25, Feliciano 3, Wagner 4. Umpires: HP: Mike DiMuro. 1B: Mike Estabrook. 2B: Larry Vanover. 3B: Mike Everitt. Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, R to L. T: 3:00. Att: 56,277.

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Like Night and Day

It was an up and down day and night of baseball in the Bronx and Flushing yesterday as the Yankees and Mets played a two stadium, non-doubleheader. After getting humiliated 15-6 at home, the Yankees proved that payback is a bitch, clobbering Pedro Martinez at Shea Stadium en route to a 9-0 win and their first victory against the Mets this season.

The day started without much promise as Carlos Delgado set a Mets record with 9 RBI. He homered twice, including a grand slam, as starter Dan Giese and relievers Ross Ohlendorf and Edwar Ramirez got raked over the coals.

With Sidney Ponson starting the game second game, the Mets were poised to take a Friday sweep. But something strange happened; Ponson pitched 6 shutout innings to earn his first win as a Yankee (he was 0-1 in 2006). He made like Harry Houdini on several occasions, working out of jams and allowing his offense to peck away at Martinez. One of Ponson's best escapes came in the 2nd when the Mets loaded the bases with no one out on singles by Trot Nixon and Ramon Castro, and a walk to the number 8 hitter Endy Chavez.

But Ponson struck out Martinez, retired Jose Reyes on a pop up to Derek Jeter, and got Luis Castillo to ground out to his counterpart, Robinson Cano, for the final out. Ponson was right back in the soup in the 3rd after giving up a one-out double to Carlos Beltran. He walked Delgado and then wild pitched the Carloses up a base. Joe Girardi elected to intentionally walk Nixon to load the bases and set up a double play situation. The move paid off when Castro hit a bullet right to Jeter, who started an inning-ending double play.

The Yankees took advantage of their good fortune in the 4th as they loaded the bases. Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez drew back to back walks and Jason Giambi hit a line drive single to right. Cano's slow grounder to 1st base brought home Abreu with the first run of the game. And, after Melky Cabrera was intentionally walked to reload the bases, Jose Molina hit into a fielder's choice to bring home a second run.

The Yankees jumped right back on "their Daddy" in the 5th as they began a string of four "scoring" innings. Johnny Damon singled, Jeter walked, and Abreu singled to right. A hard-charging Damon just beat Chavez's throw for a 3-0 lead and Jeter scored on Cano's fly-out to left.

Jeter's RBI double in the 5th finally knocked Martinez from the game and Abreu greeted reliever Scott Schoenweis with an RBI double of his own, for a 6-0 lead. The Yankees put the game away with 3 more runs in the 6th, including a home run by Cano.


News and Notes

Ross Ohlendorf, who was charged with 6 runs in 1.1 innings in the afternoon contest, was sent down to Scranton after the game. He had some decent moments, but never had an ERA under 5.40 for any month of the season.

Kei Igawa was recalled from Scranton as the Yankees wanted to add to their bullpen, fearing a short outing from Sidney Ponson.

Hidkei Matsui was placed on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his knee.

Derek Jeter loves playing against National League teams. He's reached base safely in 41 straight interleague games and has more hits than any player in interleague history. He also has an 18-game hitting streak against the Mets. Jeter's double in the nightcap extended his overall hitting streak to 15 games and he's hitting .316 in June.

Edwar Ramirez was nearly unhittable at Scranton this season and that extended through his callup with the Yankees. But after allowing just one run in 16 April and May innings, he's allowed 9 runs in 9 June innings. That also doesn't count the inherited runners he has allowed to score.

Darryl Strawberry threw out the first pitch prior to the game at Shea.

June 27, 2008 at Yankee Stadium

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Mets	1	0	2	0	3	5	0	4	0		15	14	3
NY Yankees	1	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	1		6	12	0

NY Mets	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Reyes, SS	3	2	1	0	2	1	2	.293
a-Easley, PH-SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Castillo, 2B	3	5	2	0	3	0	2	.260
Wright, 3B	5	1	4	3	0	0	1	.285
b-Phillips, A, PH-1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.136
Beltran, CF	4	4	1	3	1	0	5	.275
Delgado, DH	5	2	3	9	0	1	1	.235
Nixon, RF	5	0	1	0	0	1	1	.156
Anderson, LF	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	.191
Chavez, LF	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.231
Tatis, 1B-3B	5	0	1	0	0	1	1	.250
Schneider, C	5	1	1	0	0	0	2	.259
Totals	41	15	14	15	7	4	18
a-Grounded out for Reyes in the 9th. b-Flied out for Wright in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Delgado (13, Ramirez). HR: Beltran (12, 3rd inning off Giese, 1 on, 1 out), Delgado 2 (13, 6th inning off Ohlendorf, 3 on, 2 out; 8th inning off Hawkins, 2 on, 1 out). TB: Reyes; Castillo 2; Wright 4; Beltran 4; Delgado 10; Nixon; Tatis; Schneider. RBI: Wright 3 (62), Beltran 3 (54), Delgado 9 (44). 2-out RBI: Wright; Delgado 4. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Reyes; Anderson. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Castillo 2 (13, 2nd base off Giese/Posada, 2nd base off Giese/Posada), Reyes (28, 2nd base off Giese/Posada). FIELDING E: Tatis 2 (3, throw, throw), Castillo (5, fielding).

NY Mets	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pelfrey (W, 5-6)	5.0	8	4	4	4	5	0	4.47
Feliciano	1.0	1	1	1	0	2	1	2.97
Heilman	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	4.79
Muniz	2.0	2	1	1	1	0	0	5.00

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Cabrera, CF	5	0	2	0	1	1	2	.257
Jeter, SS	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.285
Gonzalez, SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.180
Abreu, RF	3	1	0	0	2	1	1	.276
Rodriguez, 3B	4	2	3	2	0	0	2	.332
b-Moeller, PH-C	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.258
Giambi, DH	3	1	1	1	2	0	1	.267
Posada, C-1B	5	0	1	0	0	2	7	.302
Cano, 2B	5	0	1	1	0	0	3	.241
Betemit, 1B-3B	5	1	2	1	0	2	1	.264
Christian, LF	3	0	0	0	0	1	4	.273
a-Damon, PH-LF	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	.324
Totals	41	6	12	6	5	9	26
a-Struck out for Christian in the 7th. b-Flied out for Rodriguez in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Cano (17, Pelfrey), Jeter (14, Pelfrey), Betemit (6, Muniz). HR: Rodriguez (15, 6th inning off Feliciano, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Cabrera 2; Jeter 2; Rodriguez 6; Giambi; Posada; Cano 2; Betemit 3; Damon. RBI: Giambi (45), Rodriguez 2 (43), Cano (29), Betemit (11), Damon (35). 2-out RBI: Giambi; Betemit. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada 4; Cabrera; Christian; Jeter. S: Jeter. Team LOB: 14

NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Giese (L, 1-3) 4.0 5 6 6 4 3 1 3.50 Ramirez 1.2 2 2 2 1 1 0 3.60 Ohlendorf 1.1 5 6 6 1 0 1 6.53 Hawkins 2.0 2 1 1 1 0 1 6.03

Giese pitched to 3 batters in the 5th. Ohlendorf pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. WP: Muniz. Pitches-strikes: Pelfrey 98-56, Feliciano 20-14, Heilman 15-9, Muniz 40-24, Giese 96-57, Ramirez 33-18, Ohlendorf 33-19, Hawkins 29-20. Ground outs-fly outs: Pelfrey 5-5, Feliciano 1-0, Heilman 1-0, Muniz 0-6, Giese 3-6, Ramirez 3-1, Ohlendorf 3-1, Hawkins 2-4. Batters faced: Pelfrey 29, Feliciano 5, Heilman 4, Muniz 9, Giese 21, Ramirez 8, Ohlendorf 10, Hawkins 9. Inherited runners-scored: Ramirez 3-3, Ohlendorf 2-2, Hawkins 2-2. Umpires: HP: Tim McClelland. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Mike Estabrook. 3B: Mike DiMuro. Weather: 79 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 3 mph, Out to RF. T: 3:54. Att: 54,978.

June 27, 2008 at Shea Stadium

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	2	2	2	3	0	0		9	11	0
NY Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	8	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	5	1	1	0	1	0	3	.322
Jeter, SS	4	2	1	2	1	0	3	.285
Gonzalez, SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.176
Abreu, RF	4	1	4	3	1	0	0	.285
Farnsworth, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Moeller, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.258
Rodriguez, 3B	3	1	0	0	2	2	5	.327
Veras, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Igawa, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Giambi, 1B	3	0	1	0	1	1	2	.268
Christian, RF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	3	0	0	2	.241
Cabrera, CF	4	0	0	0	1	1	2	.253
Molina, C	3	2	2	1	1	0	2	.225
Ponson, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	3	.000
a-Betemit, PH-1B-3B	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	.270
Totals	36	9	11	9	8	6	24
a-Singled for Ponson in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Jeter (15, Martinez, P), Abreu (18, Schoeneweis). HR: Cano (6, 7th inning off Schoeneweis, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Jeter 2; Abreu 5; Giambi; Cano 4; Molina 2; Betemit. RBI: Cano 3 (32), Molina (10), Abreu 3 (53), Jeter 2 (35). 2-out RBI: Jeter; Abreu 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ponson; Cabrera; Giambi; Rodriguez; Gonzalez. S: Ponson. SF: Cano. Team LOB: 11. BASERUNNING SB: Abreu 2 (11, 2nd base off Martinez, P/Castro, 2nd base off Martinez, P/Castro). FIELDING DP: 2 (Jeter-Cano-Giambi, Betemit-Cano-Moeller).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Ponson (W, 5-1)	6.0	5	0	0	4	4	0	3.50
Farnsworth	1.0	0	0	0	1	2	0	4.11
Veras	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	3.09
Igawa	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	13.50

NY Mets	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Reyes, SS	5	0	2	0	0	2	4	.294
Castillo, 2B	5	0	0	0	0	0	6	.254
Wright, 3B	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	.288
Beltran, CF	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	.276
Phillips, A, LF	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.130
Delgado, 1B	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	.233
Nixon, LF	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	.176
Smith, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a-Easley, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.248
Wagner, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Castro, C	4	0	1	0	0	1	5	.255
Chavez, RF-CF	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	.228
Martinez, P, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	.167
Schoeneweis, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Tatis, LF-RF	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	.256
Totals	32	0	8	0	6	6	24
a-Grounded out for Smith in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Beltran (21, Ponson). TB: Reyes 2; Wright 2; Beltran 2; Nixon; Castro; Tatis. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Delgado; Castillo 2; Castro 2. GIDP: Castro; Castillo. Team LOB: 11. BASERUNNING CS: Reyes (8, 2nd base by Ponson/Molina).

NY Mets	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Martinez, P (L, 2-2)	5.2	6	6	6	5	4	0	7.12
Schoeneweis	0.2	4	3	3	2	1	1	3.13
Smith	1.2	1	0	0	0	1	0	3.45
Wagner	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1.97

WP: Ponson.
IBB: Nixon (by Ponson), Cabrera (by Martinez, P),
Rodriguez (by Schoeneweis).
HBP: Molina (by Martinez, P).
Pitches-strikes: Ponson 96-56, Farnsworth 18-10,
Veras 13-7, Igawa 14-8, Martinez, P 106-65, Schoeneweis 35-20,
Smith 22-15, Wagner 16-9.
Ground outs-fly outs: Ponson 11-2, Farnsworth 0-1, Veras 1-2,
Igawa 2-1, Martinez, P 9-4, Schoeneweis 0-1, Smith 4-0, Wagner 1-2.
Batters faced: Ponson 25, Farnsworth 4, Veras 5, Igawa 4,
Martinez, P 29, Schoeneweis 8, Smith 6, Wagner 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Schoeneweis 1-1, Smith 3-2.
Umpires: HP: Larry Vanover. 1B: Mike Estabrook.
2B: Mike DiMuro. 3B: Tim McClelland.
Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, In from CF.
T: 3:11.
Att: 56,308.

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