2006 Mets Schedule, Results, & Daily Recaps (Season Thread)

[Baseball Guru]

What a start for Matsui... When he hit it and saw him flying around the bases, I figured he had a triple but was shocked to see him rounding 3rd and going for the in the parker.... He FLEW around the bases...

Also nice to see Franco get that HR

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260421125


SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Geoff Blum's first hit of the season came at an opportune time for the Padres.

Blum led off the 14th inning with a base hit and scored on Brian Giles' double to lift the San Diego Padres over the New York Mets 2-1 on Friday Night.

Blum, who was 0-for-11, singled to center against Chad Bradford (0-1). Giles then sliced a pitch down the left-field line. The ball went all to way to the fence and Blum came racing around third to beat Jose Reyes' relay throw home.

"Gilly did a great job of putting that ball in play down the left-field line," Blum said. "For a second I thought Cliff (Floyd) was going to have a shot to knock it down so my first intentions were to get to third base, if I could. But Hoffy's judgment (third base coach Glenn Hoffman) told me to go home and I scored. It was a gutsy call on his part."

Blum's last hit also came in the 14th inning -- a tiebreaking, two-out solo homer to win Game 3 of the World Series for the Chicago White Sox last year.


"This game is very humbling," Blum said. "To go the first two weeks without a hit. The guys had a good time, keeping things loose and I deserved to get that first hit ball. Hopefully it's one of many more to come."

Brian Sweeney (1-0), the third San Diego reliever, pitched three scoreless innings to pick up the win.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead on Carlos Delgado's home run to center field leading off the third against Woody Williams.

The homer was Delgado's seventh and the 376th of his career, tying him with Carlton Fisk for 58th on the career list.

The Padres tied it in the bottom of the fifth when Adrian Gonzalez singled in Josh Barfield, who led off the inning with a base hit. Barfield, who tied his career high with three hits, then stole second. After Giles walked, Mike Piazza hit into a double play. But Gonzalez came through with his 10th RBI on a single to right.

Mets starter Brian Bannister went five innings, giving up one run and four hits. The rookie walked six and struck out four.

Williams pitched eight innings for the Padres, allowing one run on four hits, walking two and striking out three. It was his longest outing since June 26, 2004, when he also pitched eight innings.

The Mets threatened in the seventh, putting runners on first and third with one out. However, Williams got Endy Chavez to hit a grounder to first baseman Gonzalez, who threw home for the second out of the inning.

Barfield then dove to stop pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran's hard grounder and the second baseman threw Beltran out at first.

Trevor Hoffman, Scott Cassidy and Sweeney combined to allow just three hits in the final six innings with seven strikeouts.

"I don't think we're in a slump," David Wright said. "We hit some balls hard tonight, but just right at someone. We're not concerned."

New York scored one run for the third time in four games. The Mets were held to three hits in consecutive losses to Atlanta before beating San Diego 7-2 on Thursday night.

The Padres stranded 16 runners and struck out 14 times. The Mets struck out 10 times.

Notes

Beltran, who left Thursday night's game in the fifth inning with a sore hamstring, was awaiting results from an MRI. ... Padres center fielder Mike Cameron, who hasn't played a game this season due to a strained left oblique, had his second rehab assignment Friday night with Single-A Lake Elsinore. He went 1-for-4 with a single and played all nine innings. He is expected to be in the starting lineup Saturday night. ... The Padres went 3-for-3 in stolen bases against Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, who has thrown out just one runner in 18 attempts.

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260422125

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Carlos Delgado is glad he's playing with Pedro Martinez, rather than against him.

Martinez had a season-high 11 strikeouts in seven innings and Delgado homered in his third consecutive game to lead the New York Mets to an 8-1 win over San Diego on Saturday night.

Martinez (4-0) allowed just one run and two hits and reached double digits in strikeouts for the 105th time in his career.

"I am glad that I do not have to face him any more," Delgado said. "I think I have faced him probably 80 to 85 times in my career so it is a nice break."

Martinez did not allow San Diego to put together any threats and has a 3.04 ERA in 26 2-3 innings this season. He became the first Mets pitcher to go 4-0 to start the season since Frank Viola started 7-0 in 1990.

"I had pretty good command today," Martinez said. "I got ahead with the fastball a lot. After I was ahead I was able to mix in some cutters and the breaking ball came back whenever I needed it."

New York began the second inning with solo homers by former Padres outfielder Xavier Nady, who hit a 429-foot shot to left center, and Ramon Castro off starter Chris Young (2-1).

The 6-foot-10 right-hander worked four innings, allowing six hits and four runs. The Mets had been held to one run in three of their last four games.

Mike Piazza led off the bottom of the second by hitting a 429-foot homer to left against Martinez, a former Mets teammate. The homer was Piazza's 399th, and first since he connected on opening day in his first at-bat with the Padres.

"At 2-0 I wanted to throw a strike, I wanted to get him. It was a cutter," Martinez said of Piazza's at-bat. "But Mike didn't waste any time and he does really well against me in his career."

New York had a chance to blow the game open in the third, as Delgado led off with a walk, David Wright singled and Cliff Floyd was hit by a pitch. Nady hit into a double play to score a run and Castro followed with a two-out, RBI single to give New York a 4-1 lead.

Young, who had allowed just one run in winning his last two starts, was replaced in the fifth by Dewon Brazelton with two on and no outs. Brazelton pitched out of that jam, but Delgado to led off the seventh with his eighth homer to make it 5-1.

Afterwards, Young said he has been pitching with a thumb injury since his first start of the season. Young said he jammed his thumb during batting practice before his first start.

"There is no pain, just coldness which leads to a lack of sensation," Young said. "It feels like I stuck my thumb in a freezer."

Young is scheduled to see a hand specialist on Monday.

Delgado also walked three times and was hit by a pitch, to go along with the homer.

"I don't try to hit home runs," Delgado said. "When you come to a big ballpark you just want to hit the ball hard somewhere and if it goes I'll take it.

Floyd also had a sacrifice fly in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-1.

Jorge Julio followed Martinez with two scoreless innings to complete the combined three-hitter.

"Pedro was tough," San Diego's Brian Giles said. "He was throwing as well as I've seen him. He mixes it up so well, he makes it tough to get comfortable up there against him."

Notes: Delgado's homer was the 377th of his career, which ties him for 57th on the career list with Norm Cash. Delgado's eight homers in April is one home run shy of tying Dave Kingman's franchise record for homers in April in 1976. ... Piazza had gone 7-for-41 (.171) since opening day before the homer off Martinez. ... Castro had four hits.

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap;_y...id=260423 125

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Brian Giles hit a grand slam and the San Diego Padres beat the New York Mets 7-4 on Sunday to salvage a split of their four-game series.

San Diego starter Clay Hensley (1-1) worked 5 1-3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits. He walked three and struck out three in his second start this season and third of his career.

The Padres scored four runs in the fourth after Mets starter Victor Zambrano (1-2) retired the first two hitters of the inning. Hensley singled, Dave Roberts walked and Josh Barfield had a base hit to load the bases for Giles, who hit his fifth career grand slam.

Giles' second homer of the season came on a full-count pitch and made it 5-0 San Diego. It was his first grand slam since July 28, 2001, when he homered for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Zambrano gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings. He hasn't lasted more than five innings in any of his three starts. He struck out one and walked three.

Barfield and Vinny Castilla each had three hits for San Diego. Barfield hit a solo home run in the first and scored three times.

Trevor Hoffman worked the ninth for his third save in as many opportunities.

Mike Cameron, who was traded to San Diego by the Mets, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and two walks in his Padres debut. Cameron was playing for the first time since suffering multiple facial fractures in a collision with then Mets teammate and center fielder Carlos Beltran while pursuing a ball in right-center on Aug. 11, 2005, in Petco Park.

The Mets scored four runs in the sixth. David Wright drove in the first run with an infield single and Cliff Floyd followed with an RBI single to right. Endy Chavez added a two-run single to center before Alan Embree struck out Kaz Matsui on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Adrian Gonzalez singled in Barfield in the sixth to give San Diego a two-run cushion. Mark Bellhorn added an RBI groundout in the seventh.

Notes

Mets 1B Carlos Delgado failed to homer for the only time in the series. He still went 2-for-5 with a run scored. ... The Padres activated Cameron from the 15-day disabled list before the game and optioned pitcher Jon Adkins to Triple-A Portland. ... Padres pitcher Chris Young will have an MRI Monday resulting from a lack of feeling in his right thumb. ... Beltran did not start for the third straight game because of discomfort in his right hamstring. He is day-to-day.

[Joltin Joe Giradio]

#1 culprit was clearly Zambrano. No one (except the Mets) is stupid enough to trade for this clown, and the Mets already have him, so unless they want to trade him to themselves, there's nothing they can do, especially since they want to move Heilman into the rotation and replace Heilman with Julio (Haha).

The entire lineup continues to not get on base at all. OBP=runs.

Even Wright hasn't been walking as much this year. Ever since Beltran got hurt, Wright has been awful. Must be pressing again. Happened last yr when he batted 3rd.

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260424126

By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer
April 25, 2006


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Moises Alou can imagine the frustration Barry Bonds must experience walk after walk.

Having Alou's big bat behind him makes all the free passes a little more tolerable.

Alou homered and drove in five runs, making the New York Mets pay for a pair of intentional walks to Bonds and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 6-2 victory Monday night.

Alou, one player the Giants have counted on to come up big behind Bonds, hit a three-run homer in the first inning and then had a two-run single in the seventh.

"I didn't think it was going to be that bad," Alou said of the constant walks to Bonds. "I'll take them. As many chances as I have to drive them in, I'm going to have a good year. ... I feel sorry for the guy. He comes here to play the game and doesn't get to play it."


Matt Cain carried a perfect game into the sixth before Kaz Matsui singled up the middle to start the inning for the Mets' first baserunner.

The 21-year-old Cain (1-2) matched Tom Glavine and is showing he's finally coming around after his early season struggles, though he did face some challenging outs in the later innings and committed two errors trying for pickoffs at first.

Jose Reyes and Paul Lo Duca hit consecutive RBI singles in the sixth, then center fielder Randy Winn robbed Carlos Delgado of a hit with a leaping catch against the wall to end the inning and preserve the Giants' 3-2 lead.

Cain didn't walk a batter for the first time this season and struck out three in seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits for his first win of the season.

"I felt really good last time, too, but I was able to keep it more together this time," Cain said. "I got strike one and put them on their heels."

Matsui and Xavier Nady had two hits each for the Mets, who lost consecutive games for only the second time this season.

Bonds went 0-for-1 with three walks -- two intentional -- two days after hitting his first home run of the season and the 709th of his career Saturday at Colorado.


After Bonds was intentionally walked in the first -- the 617th of his career -- Alou followed with his fifth home run of the season on a drive into the left-field seats. On Bonds' 11 intentional walks this season, 18 runs have scored afterward.

"I didn't do anything," Bonds said, declining to talk to reporters afterward.

Bonds grounded out weakly to first in the fourth, then walked on a full-count offering from Glavine in the sixth with chants of "Barry! Barry!" resounding through the stadium. He got another intentional free pass in the seventh before Alou's two-run single broke the game open.

"They're never going to pitch to the guy," Alou said.

Glavine (2-2) allowed six runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings after having given up only one earned run in his previous 14 innings for a 0.64 ERA. He saw his ERA rise from 1.38 to 2.78.

"With three balls, Willie told me to put him on," Glavine said of the first-inning intentional walk. "That took care of it for me. I was intent on trying to make pitches and get back. ... Regardless of what his numbers say, he's still capable of doing a lot of things. He's the guy you don't want beating you."

Bonds is six homers shy of passing Babe Ruth and 47 from breaking Hank Aaron's mark of 755.

He acknowledges passing Aaron has become a long shot.

"I never chased Hank to begin with," Bonds said before the game.

"It's all if. Everything's if, right?" he said of how long his body will allow him to keep playing. "How do I feel? I feel sore, but I'm going to hang in there. ... When you become an older player, you become day-to-day. Whenever I wake up and say 'That's it,' that's the day."

The Giants are 9-2 this season with both Bonds and Alou in the starting lineup. Alou has 18 RBIs in 19 career games batting behind the seven-time NL MVP.

"We always have big rallies when they walk him, even before Mo was here," said Giants manager Felipe Alou, the father of Moises.

Notes

Giants LHP Noah Lowry, on the DL since April 7 with a strained right muscle on his right side, plans to face live hitters Tuesday -- another significant step in his recovery. ... Mets OF Carlos Beltran, who celebrated his 29th birthday, did not start for the fourth straight game because of discomfort in his right hamstring. ... Giants 2B Ray Durham was limited to hitting and throwing Monday and wasn't in the lineup a day after straining his left hamstring in the sixth inning against the Rockies. ... Giants SS Omar Vizquel celebrated his 39th birthday. ... Jason Ellison got his first hit of the year for the Giants with a pinch-hit single in the seventh. ... After the game, the Giants placed RHP Brian Wilson on the 15-day DL with a strained left side muscle. They will recall RHP Jeremy Accardo on Tuesday from Triple-A Fresno.

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260426126

By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer
April 26, 2006


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Chris Woodward lined a go-ahead double in the 11th inning and scored on Jose Reyes' single, lifting the New York Mets to a 9-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

Barry Bonds hit a tying pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for the 711th of his career to force extra innings. The slugger sent a 2-1 pitch from Billy Wagner into the seats in left-center for his third homer of the year and second in as many games.

It was Bonds' fourth career pinch-hit homer and first career homer against Wagner, who became the 418th pitcher to surrender a homer to Bonds -- and blew his second save in the process. Bonds hadn't had a pinch-hit homer since Aug. 23, 2001, at Montreal.

He remained in the game to play left field in the 10th to chants of "Barry! Barry!" and looked like he had a hard time chasing down Woodward's double off loser Scott Munter (0-1) that scored Ramon Castro. Bonds hit a game-ending flyout in the 11th.

Darren Oliver (1-0) got the final out in the 10th and worked the 11th for the win, and the Mets took two of three in the second series of their 10-game trip.


Pinch-hitter Julio Franco had given the Mets the lead with a two-run single in the eighth and then stole a base with still speedy 47-year-old leg. David Wright's RBI double scored Franco from second.

Carlos Delgado splashed a home run into McCovey Cove for his ninth of the season, tying the franchise mark for the month of April that Dave Kingman accomplished in 1976.

While Franco became the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run last Thursday at San Diego -- and he's batting .400 -- he was only the second-oldest to steal a base, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Arlie Latham swiped a bag in 1909 for the New York Giants at age 49.

Moises Alou hit a tying single in the seventh for one of his two RBIs and three hits that also included a run-scoring double, spoiling a gutsy effort by Mets starter Brian Bannister.

Bannister hobbled home with the go-ahead run despite the pain of a strained right hamstring in the sixth that put the rookie pitcher in position for the win following five strong innings on the mound before the injury.

Bannister, who had followed his fourth-inning two-run double with another double, went 2-0 in his first four starts and had the lead again when he hurt himself running the bases.

He began limping as he approached third base on Kaz Matsui's RBI double and somehow made it home before falling to the ground after touching the plate.


Bannister, 2-0 over his first five starts, made it 4-3. He allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings, struck out two and walked one.

He had to be helped off the field and left to a warm applause.

The Giants rejiggered their rotation to get Matt Morris back on the mound three days after he was ejected Sunday at Colorado after only eight pitches for plunking two of the five batters he faced, but he didn't have his best stuff.

Delgado's solo shot gave the Mets homers into the water for the second straight game after Cliff Floyd did it in New York's 4-1 victory Tuesday night. It was the 13th splash-hit homer by a San Francisco opponent. The Giants have done it 40 times -- 31 by Bonds.

Randy Winn ended an 0-for-17 slump with his first-inning single -- batting in the No. 3 hole for the first time this season instead of his regular leadoff spot. He singled again in the third.

Bonds was not in the starting lineup after playing the first two games of the series and hitting career homer No. 710 on Tuesday night. After Thursday's off-day, manager Felipe Alou hopes the slugger will play both Friday and Sunday against Arizona -- and possibly Saturday, too.

Notes

The Mets signed OF Michael Tucker to a minor league deal and he was scheduled to report to the team's extended spring training team in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Wednesday. Tucker was released by the Washington Nationals on March 30 after spending last season with the Giants and Philadelphia Phillies. He hit .239 with five home runs and 36 RBIs last year. ... Vizquel batted leadoff in Winn's place. ... Winn batted third for the 63rd time in his career. ... San Francisco moved winless ace Jason Schmidt back to Friday to give him extra time and get Morris his outing. ... Reyes stole two bases a day after swiping the 100th of his career.

[#1SportsFan]

That game shouldn't had gone to extra innings, but a win is a win

[Mr. Met]

I was in my car when Bonds hit his shot. Good thing my kids weren't around.

[Baseball Guru]

I was in my car when Bonds hit his shot. Good thing my kids weren't around.

lol... Me too... Was listening to it on XM and then watched the extra innings at home

[#1SportsFan]

I was in my car when Bonds hit his shot. Good thing my kids weren't around.

LOL! I hear you. I knew the game was tied the moment Wright double clutch and made the throwing error. I like Wright, but he needs to know when to eat the ball.

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260428115

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
April 28, 2006


ATLANTA (AP) -- Advantage, Pedro.

Pedro Martinez outpitched John Smoltz to gain the upper hand in their personal duel and the New York Mets strengthened their hold on first place in the NL East, getting two homers from David Wright in a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

Martinez (5-0) pitched four-hit ball over seven innings, a dominating performance that was marred only by Chipper Jones' two-run homer in the sixth on an 0-2 pitch.

"The guy still knows how to pitch," Jones said. "He's not throwing 96 (mph) like used to, but he's sinking it, he's cutting it, he's changing speeds on us."

The 38-year-old Smoltz also went seven innings, striking out 10 and hanging around long enough to throw 122 pitches. But he left trailing 3-2, and Chris Reitsma gave up two more runs in the ninth to seal the Braves' fourth straight loss.


"I felt like it was my best stuff of the year," Smoltz said. "You're like, 'How in the world did I give up three runs?"'

Wright homered off Smoltz (1-2) in the fifth and went deep on Reitsma in the ninth. He also had a sacrifice fly, making up for a dismal series against the Braves last week. He went 0-for-9 and made three errors in the final game.

"I've been struggling a little bit lately," Wright said. "It's good to get back in the groove."

New York stretched its lead over the Braves to six games, but Martinez said it's too early to get excited about knocking off a team that has won 14 straight division titles.

"It's not a big deal right now," he said. "You can't choose who's going to be the winner right now. ... I'm hoping it's us. But we've got to go out and prove it."

With 379 wins and 1,062 appearances between them coming into the game, Smoltz and Martinez were facing each other for the sixth time.

Four of those games came last season -- two wins for Smoltz, two for Martinez. The other head-to-head matchup came during the strike-shortened 1994 season, when Martinez got the win pitching for the Montreal Expos and Smoltz didn't figure in the decision.


"It's the closest thing you can get to a playoff game," Smoltz said.

Smoltz managed his 37th career game with double-figure strikeouts -- his first since he fanned 15 against the Mets last April. He lost that one, too, with Martinez getting the win in New York's 6-1 victory.

"It's the fifth time we've faced each other over the last two years," Smoltz said. "He's up 3-2, but it's been five great games."

Smoltz broke a tie with Bob Feller for 23rd on baseball's career strikeout list, then passed Warren Spahn for 22nd. As if that wasn't enough, Smoltz made the best defensive play of the night in the sixth when Kaz Matsui hit a bouncer to the right of the mound. The pitcher grabbed the ball with his bare hand, threw back across his body and got Matsui at first by about a half-step.

"Smoltz is not easy," Martinez said. "Any mistake you make, it's going to be costly. Luckily for me, I made only one mistake."

Martinez retired the first seven Atlanta hitters and didn't run into any serious trouble until the sixth. Smoltz led off with an infield single, but the rally appeared to fizzle when Martinez retired the next two hitters and got two quick strikes on Jones.

The next pitch hung over the plate, and Jones crushed a two-run shot over a picture of Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews on the wall just to the left of center.

"I was trying to bury a cutter low and away," Martinez said. "I threw it a little harder. Mistake. It stayed up and matched his bat speed."

Otherwise, Martinez was on cruise control. The 5-0 start matches the second-best of his career, surpassed only by eight straight wins to start the 1997 season.

Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his sixth save, though he had to escape a bases-loaded jam, striking out Todd Pratt for the final out.

Martinez had a lead before he even took the mound. Jose Reyes led off the game with a walk, scooted around to third on Paul Lo Duca's single and scored on Wright's fly to left.

Reyes was right in the middle of things again in the fourth. With a runner at second and the crowd roaring after consecutive strikeouts by Smoltz, Reyes got hold of a 3-2 pitch and sent a triple to the gap in right-center. He trotted into third without a slide, clapping his hands furiously and pointing at the sky.

Wright went even deeper in the fifth. On a 1-2 pitch, he drove his fourth homer of the season over the left-field wall to make it 3-0.

Notes

The Braves played just their seventh home game of the season, compared with 15 on the road (not including a rainout at Washington). After a five-game homestand, Atlanta heads off on another long road trip -- eight games in nine days at Philadelphia, New York and Florida. ... Braves SS Edgar Renteria returned to the lineup after missing nine games and extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a ninth-inning single. ... Mets 1B Julio Franco received a standing ovation when he came up as a pinch hitter in the eighth. The 47-year-old Franco, who played for the Braves from 2001-05, stepped out of the box and tipped his helmet. Then he hit into a double play.

[scott1965]

Great game for the Mets.....but as Pedro said: it's still way too early to get too excited. It's only April.
Still...it was great to see the Mets take it to the Braves in front of their own fans. Great stuff.

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260429115

By CHARLES ODUM, AP Sports Writer
April 29, 2006


ATLANTA (AP) -- Tom Glavine was quick to offer a warning to those who might make too much of the New York Mets' big early lead over Atlanta.

"It's only April," Glavine said Saturday night after combining with relievers Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner for a 1-0 victory over the Braves.

Paul Lo Duca hit his first homer with the Mets and Glavine threw seven sharp innings to win for just the second time in eight starts with New York at Turner Field. The Mets, assured of their first series win in Atlanta since August 2003, improved to 22-51 at Turner Field.

The Mets already lead the NL East by seven games over Atlanta and Philadelphia, their largest cushion since finishing the 1988 season ahead by 15 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"It is nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't think anybody in here is getting too caught up in it," Glavine said. "Regardless of what happens (Sunday), nobody in here thinks that team is going away. ... You don't want to get too far ahead of yourself. It's just a good first month of the year."


The Braves have lost five straight, their longest losing streak since dropping six in a row from Aug. 8-14, 2001. Atlanta (9-14) is five games below .500 for the first time since June 24, 2004.

Lo Duca gave Glavine (3-2) the only run he needed to beat John Thomson.

Even Glavine acknowledged the win over his former team was especially sweet. He has had more frustration than success against the Braves since leaving Atlanta after the 2002 season.

Before Saturday night, Glavine was 1-5 with a 7.22 ERA in seven starts for the Mets at Turner Field. His only other win over the Braves in Atlanta came on April 6, 2004, in a 7-2 Mets win.

Overall, Glavine improved to 3-9 in 14 starts against Atlanta, his major league home from 1987-2002.

"It's never going to be like any other place for me," Glavine said of Atlanta, where he still makes his offseason home.

One night after former Braves player Julio Franco was greeted with a standing ovation, Glavine received a mix of cheers and boos when introduced before the game and before each at-bat.


"I'm not going to say I don't care," said Glavine, acknowledging the boos come from his decision to leave Atlanta as a free agent. "It's one of those things. People have their opinion of me and what happened. I happen to think they're wrong."

The 40-year-old lefty gave up only four hits with two walks and one strikeout. He retired the Braves in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh to edge Thomson (0-1) and earn his 278th career win.

"He was terrific, outstanding," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He rises to the occasion. Tommy was superb."

Randolph says Glavine has extra incentive against Atlanta.

"He wants to beat them," Randolph said.

"I think Tommy knows that early on they had his number. I know this is very gratifying to him, but to me it's just another win."

Heilman pitched a perfect eighth and Wagner worked around an infield single in the ninth for his seventh save in nine chances. He got Andruw Jones to ground into a double play and struck out Jeff Francoeur.

Lo Duca's first homer of the season came on a 3-2 pitch from Thomson with one out in the sixth. Lo Duca lined the pitch into the left-field seats, the first homer allowed by Thomson in 26 innings.

"I think it was the right pitch, I just think it was in a bad place," Thomson said. "It was supposed to be a sinker down and away. ... But to leave a ball up in the middle in to a good hitter, that's what's going to happen."

Pedro Martinez beat John Smoltz in the series opener Friday night, a more highly anticipated pitching duel. Saturday's game developed as the better matchup, however, as Thomson matched Glavine through five shutout innings.

Carlos Beltran, making his first start since April 20, when he aggravated a hamstring injury, led off the fourth with a double to left-center for the Mets' first hit off Thomson. Beltran was left standing on second as Thomson retired the next three batters.

The Braves threatened in the fourth when Matt Diaz hit a two-out single and advanced to third on a hit-and-run single up the middle by Brian Jordan. Left fielder Cliff Floyd, running toward center field, made a diving catch of Todd Pratt's sinking line drive to end the inning.

"I think you have to give it to Tommy and Floyd tonight," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Floyd made the catch of the ballgame."

Thomson was pulled in the seventh. With two outs, he gave up a single to Xavier Nady. After Nady stole second, Thomson gave an intentional walk to Kaz Matsui before loading the bases with a walk to Glavine.

Cox brought in reliever Oscar Villarreal, who ended the inning with a fly ball to left from Jose Reyes.

Thomson gave up three hits and one run in 6 2-3 innings. He walked four and had six strikeouts.

Notes

Edgar Renteria's infield single in the third extended his hitting streak to 14 games. ... Nady's stolen base in the seventh was his first of the season. ... Carlos Delgado struck out four times.

[Mr. Met]

This was a terrific ballgame. How about that Cliff Floyd throwing around the leather out there?

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260430115

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
April 30, 2006


ATLANTA (AP) -- Jeff Francoeur made sure the Braves didn't get swept again.

Francoeur homered and had a career-high five RBIs, leading Atlanta to an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets that snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday.

The Braves lost the first two games in the series, scoring only two runs, and dropped seven games behind first-place New York in the NL East -- their largest deficit since being 7 1/2 off the lead on June 2, 2001.

Atlanta dropped three straight in Milwaukee last week and was on the verge of its first back-to-back sweeps (in series of at least three games) since 1995, six years before the team began its run of 14 straight division titles.

Francoeur made that a moot point, snapping out of a slump that sent his average back below .200. He singled in each of his first three at-bats before hitting a mammoth two-run homer in the sixth that landed halfway up in the left-field seats.


Francoeur went 4-for-5, the four hits equaling his career high set last August during a brilliant rookie season that he's struggling to duplicate. The five RBIs were two more than his previous best in a game. He also ended the game with a diving catch near the right-field line with two runners on.

Kyle Davies (2-2) became the first Braves starter to win two games -- and both of them have been against the Mets. This wasn't nearly as dominating as his three-hit complete game at Shea Stadium on April 18, but he only had one bad inning before turning it over to the bullpen.

In the third, after being staked to a 3-0 lead, Davies gave up a two-run homer to Carlos Beltran and a run-scoring single to Cliff Floyd. With two runners on, the 22-year-old right-hander escaped the jam by striking out Ramon Castro.

The Braves went ahead for good in the bottom half when Francoeur's bloop single to center brought home Andruw Jones, who led off the inning with a double against Steve Trachsel (2-2)

Trachsel was yanked in the fourth after loading the bases on three walks. Manager Willie Randolph went with left-hander Darren Oliver, but the move backfired when the right-handed Francoeur lined a single to left that brought home two runs, putting Atlanta ahead 6-3.

Francoeur's leadoff single in the second sparked a three-run inning -- more runs than the Braves scored in the first two games of the series. Ryan Langerhans had an RBI single and Marcus Giles drove in two more with a liner to right.

Endy Chavez hit his first homer of the season off Lance Cormier in the sixth, pulling the Mets to 6-4. But Francoeur's 436-foot homer against Jorge Julio in the bottom half restored a comfortable lead for the Braves.

Those extra runs came in handy when the Mets threatened in the eighth, taking advantage of three walks by Oscar Villareal. The last of those, to Jose Reyes with the bases loaded, prompted the Braves to call on embattled closer Chris Reitsma.

He bailed out Villareal by getting Kaz Matsui on a lazy fly to left, then finished off the Mets in the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.

Even with the loss, the Mets won 16 games in April -- tying their franchise record for the opening month of the season.

Notes

Sunday's game drew a crowd of 35,245 to Turner Field on an unseasonably cool day, bringing the total for the series to 127,021 -- an average of more than 42,000. ... Braves SS Edgar Renteria extended his hitting streak to 15 games. ... Francoeur is 6-for-8 against Trachsel in his career.


Updated on Sunday, Apr 30,

[Baseball Guru]

Steve Trachsel absolutely BORED me to death in this game

Geez, when he gets men on base, he turns into a human rain delay..

[Solair Wright]

With Bannister out, the Mets get that sack of trash Victor Zambrano (not a good pitcher in my opinion) or the even more appalling Traschel, who has slid for the worst ever since leaving Chicago. Walked batters, gave up eight hits, six runs (all earned), and FIVE walks, with only one strikeout. He's as bad as Jason Marquis with control.

Jorge Julio is a bag of balls, plain as that. He has a 7.71 ERA, despite having more strikeouts (5) than the starting pitcher. One walk, allowed two hits and runs in two innings, and that was a 2-run shot caused by Francoeur. Traschel needs

[GIANT]

Yesterday was a bad day for the Mets. Traschel had nothing. He followed the same pattern on every hitter. He used his breaking ball trying to get ahead in the count. Nothing new except he was not throwing strikes and his pitches were up the zone. A clear sign trouble was imminient. Randolph should have pinch hit for him the inning before he removed him. Instead he let's Trachsel hit and removes him in the bottom of the inning for Darren Oliver. Oliver enters the game to pitch to Jeff Francouer a right handed hitter. Francouer promptly singles to left plating two runs. If Oliver was going to enter the game, he should have been brought in to pitch to the preceding hitter the left handed hitting La Roche. Traschel did strike La Roche out. Later in the game with men in scoring position, and the Mets attempting to rally Randolph used Diaz to pinch hit. Diaz is an undisciplined hitter. The Mets needed someone disciplined in that situation to get back in the game. Randolph alleged he was saving Julio Franco for later in the game. Franco was signed to pinch hit period. At 47 years old he wasn't signed for his defense. Xavier Nady was also available. Last year Randolph committed many strategic foibles most notably his inability to implement the "double switch." Sandy Alomar the bench coach was identified as the culprit for many of the mistakes. The Mets subtley changed his responsibilities with Jerry Manual. Omar Manya built this team to win now and the bench coaches can only be changed so many times. The ball is in your court Willie.

[Baseball Guru]

the even more appalling Traschel, who has slid for the worst ever since leaving Chicago. Walked batters, gave up eight hits, six runs (all earned), and FIVE walks, with only one strikeout.

Trax is not all that bad... Excluding last year, where he missed most of the season recovering from an injury, he has won 11 or more games every year for the Mets and his era has been below 4.01...

He's a good #3 or #4 starter, which he is on the Mets...

Going into yesterdays game, he was 2-1 with a 3.13 era in April.. He had a bad start.. No biggie IMO...

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260501121

By CONNOR ENNIS, AP Sports Writer
May 1, 2006


NEW YORK (AP) -- Endy Chavez scored on Washington reliever Gary Majewski's throwing error in the ninth inning to give the New York Mets a 2-1 win over the Nationals on Monday night.

Chavez was brought in to run for 47-year-old Julio Franco, who walked with one out in the inning. Chavez moved to second on a single to left by Jose Reyes. When Paul Lo Duca hit a bouncer back to Majewski (1-2), it looked as if the Nationals might be able to turn a double play and send the game into extra innings. Lo Duca even threw his bat to the ground with a look of frustration.

But Majewski's throw to second was high, glancing off the outstretched glove of shortstop Royce Clayton and into center field. Chavez slowed slightly as he approached third, then took off for home with the winning run.

New York's Billy Wagner (2-0) struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.

The Mets, who left 11 runners on base, had several good scoring chances. In the third, Xavier Nady led off with a double and moved to third on a passed ball. After Kaz Matsui flied out, starting pitcher Victor Zambrano was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and third with one out. But Reyes struck out and Lo Duca hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.


In the sixth, the Mets had runners at second and third with two outs but pinch-hitter Jose Valentin flied out to right.

The Nationals took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Brian Schneider singled in Nick Johnson. Carlos Delgado tied it in the sixth with his 10th homer of the season.

Delgado's drive was also the 379th of his career, tying him with Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Tony Perez for 54th on the career list.

The Mets got a solid outing from the maligned Zambrano, who entered the game with a 1-2 record and an ERA of 9.64. He went six innings, giving up one run on five hits.

Ramon Ortiz allowed one run and seven hits in six innings for the Nationals. He struck out two and walked two.

Notes

: Washington RHP Livan Hernandez grounded out to second in a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning. ... Mets RHP John Maine will be called up from Triple-A Norfolk to start Tuesday night's game against the Nationals in place of the injured Brian Bannister. It will be the first appearance with the Mets for Maine, who was acquired along with Jorge Julio in the offseason deal that sent Kris Benson to Baltimore. ... Before the game a taped tribute was shown on the Shea Stadium video board highlighting the career of Franco, who became the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run when he accomplished the feat against San Diego on April 20. The video was set to Bob Dylan's "Forever Young."

[Baseball Guru]

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/m...=.jsp&c_id=nym

Delgado's walk-off wins it in the 12th
First baseman's second RBI of the game tops Pirates
By Marty Noble / MLB.com


NEW YORK -- The extremes of the National League -- the team with the most victories and the team with the most losses -- met at Shea Stadium. And form held. In conditions that were, well ... extremely wet and later messy, the Mets beat the Pirates, 4-3, in 12 innings on a home run by Carlos Delgado. Extra innings were necessary after Billy Wagner was unable to protect a two-run lead -- and a victory for Pedro Martinez -- in the ninth inning.
Delgado led off the 12th with his 11th home run -- the fourth last-pitch home run of his career -- off of Mike Gonzalez (0-2), making a winning pitcher of Chad Bradford (1-1). Delgado crushed a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left field. It was the Mets' first hit in 11 at-bats following Wagner's meltdown.

Martinez was within three outs of becoming the second Mets pitcher to win each of his first six starts in a season -- Frank Viola won his first seven with the Mets in 1990 -- when Wagner failed for the third time to convert a save opportunity. Wagner, who has seven saves, faced seven batters in the ninth, walking two and allowing two-out run-scoring singles to Jose Hernandez and Ronny Paulino.

Martinez pitched six innings, allowing four base runners and striking out nine. He and his Pirates counterpart Ian Snell worked through their innings in showers and mist on a wet mound that frequently required work and a drying agent.

The Mets proved to be better mudders for 8 1/2 innings. They scored twice in the sixth. Cliff Floyd led off the inning with a single, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Ramon Castro. Endy Chavez then hit a double nearly caught by diving left fielder Jason Bay -- his third of four hits -- and a two-out triple by Jose Reyes produced the second run.

Martinez was remarkably efficient in his first four innings, throwing 35 strikes among his first 46 pitches, and only one of the 36 -- or the 46 for that matter -- was damaging. Freddy Sanchez, playing because Joe Randa was injured, hit the 11th pitch of the game -- the count on him was 1-1 -- for his third home run and the sixth allowed by Martinez this season. He has allowed one in each start.

Martinez retired his next 11 batters, seven by strikeout.

The Mets drew even almost immediately, scoring four batters into their half of the first. Kaz Matsui doubled inside third base after one out, and Carlos Delgado doubled to left after two out.
__________________

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260504121

By HAL BOCK, AP Sports Writer
May 4, 2006


NEW YORK (AP) -- This was a mismatch.

Pitching with the savvy accumulated in 19 major league seasons, Tom Glavine baffled the young Pittsburgh Pirates with an assortment of off-speed pitches in a 6-0 victory Thursday night. He allowed three hits and struck out 10 over seven innings for the 279th victory of his career.

Afterward, he considered his condition and decided it wasn't too bad for a 40-year-old.

"I feel good physically," he said. "Everything's comfortable. You should pitch well when that's the case. It's fun. I enjoy pitching. There's a bunch of things I can do to get guys out. It's a continuation comfort-wise of where I was the second part of last season."

It was anything but comfortable for the Pirates, who didn't have a hit until the fifth inning. Manager Jim Tracy marveled at the left-hander's performance.


"Tommy Glavine used his changeup very well, very effectively" Tracy said. "He threw it in hitter's counts."

That's one of Glavine's secrets. He won't give in, no matter what. In the sixth inning, with New York leading 1-0, Pittsburgh loaded the bases on a couple of errors and Glavine fell behind Craig Wilson 3-0.

"I'd rather walk in a run there than give up a double," Glavine said. "On 3-1, they're more aggressive. I try to feed off their aggression."

Glavine forced the count to 3-2 and then Wilson flied out, ending the threat. An inning later, the Mets scored five runs, three on a home run by Xavier Nady, to break the game open.

Nady drove in four runs and David Wright had four hits, one night after ending an 0-for-17 skid.

The NL East-leading Mets (19-9) swept the two-game series and won for the seventh time in nine games. They are 10 games over .500 for the first time since the end of 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. New York won the NL pennant that year.

It was Glavine's second double-digit strikeout game in seven starts this year. He lowered his ERA to 1.94.


"The strikeouts are a little abnormal for me," Glavine said. "I'd rather use one pitch and get a groundball. Strikeouts are too hard. I was able to locate and use my changeup on both sides of the plate."

Glavine (4-2) was especially sharp early, retiring the first 12 Pirates in order, striking out seven. Then he pitched his way out of bases-loaded jams in the fifth and sixth.

He got some breathing room in the seventh when Nady hit a three-run homer. Duaner Sanchez and Jorge Julio completed the four-hitter, New York's second shutout this season. Sanchez pushed his scoreless streak to 22 innings dating to last year with the Dodgers -- including 19 this season.

Mets pitchers struck out 14 Pirates for the second consecutive night. Pittsburgh (8-22) dropped to 2-15 on the road and was held to three runs or fewer for the 16th time in 18 games.

Jason Bay broke up Glavine's no-hit bid with a two-strike single to right leading off the fifth.

After Jeromy Burnitz struck out, Wilson beat out an infield hit. The runners advanced on an infield out and, after Jose Castillo was intentionally walked to load the bases, Glavine struck out pitcher Paul Maholm, ending the inning.

Then Glavine escaped bases-loaded trouble in the sixth when he got Wilson on a fly ball.

The Mets took the lead in the third against Maholm (1-4) when they loaded the bases with no outs on singles by Paul Lo Duca and Wright sandwiched around a walk to Carlos Beltran.

Nady walked, forcing in the game's first run. But Maholm recovered, retiring the next three batters to leave the bases loaded.

In the seventh, Lo Duca reached on a throwing error by third baseman Freddy Sanchez. He went to third on Beltran's single and scored on Wright's single off reliever Salomon Torres. Nady then hit his seventh home run to center on a 2-0 pitch.

After Cliff Floyd was hit by a pitch, he advanced on an infield out and scored on a single by pinch-hitter Jose Valentin.

The seven innings left Glavine two short of 4,000 for his career.

Notes

1B Julio Franco made his first start of the season for the Mets and went 0-for-4. ... Glavine's second-inning single was his fourth hit of the season in nine at-bats. ... The Mets left seven runners on base in the first three innings. ... Maholm became the sixth Pirates starter in the last eight games to go at least six innings. He threw 102 pitches, 62 for strikes. ... The four RBIs by Nady tied his career high. ... Both benches were warned after Torres hit Floyd with a pitch following Nady's home run.

[Baseball Guru]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260505121&prov=ap

By HAL BOCK, AP Sports Writer
May 6, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- Just a minute before midnight, time ran out on the Atlanta Braves.

In a 4-hour, 47-minute marathon that stretched through 14 innings, David Wright's two-out double drove home Carlos Beltran with the winning run in an 8-7 victory over the Braves on Friday night.

New York stranded 19 runners, fell behind by four runs in the seventh inning and were down by a run in the 11th. And still the Mets won.

"We had it won twice," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. "We gave it up twice. It was a game we should have won."

Not according to the Mets.


"We kept scrapping and clawing," manager Willie Randolph said. "It was a big character win for us."

Wright had three hits and was on base six times. Jose Reyes had a career-high five hits. Cliff Floyd had a tying home run in the 11th inning after the Braves had taken the lead on a pinch homer by Wilson Betemit against closer Billy Wagner. Beltran homered early and scored the winning run late.

"The resilience, the character, the makeup of this team," Wright said. "We are not going to roll over."

"We are never going to give in," Beltran said. "That's what we did today four different times with four different players."

Beltran had walked in the 14th and advanced on Brian McCann's passed ball.

"He didn't know where it was, so I gave it a shot," Beltran said. "It was pretty close."

Wright's winning hit came off Jorge Sosa (0-5), who had been scheduled to start Sunday.


The hit was the third of the night for Wright, who broke out of a 1-for-19 slump with four hits Thursday night.

The win was the third straight for New York and the third straight loss for Atlanta, dropping the Braves eight games behind the Mets in the NL East. New York (20-9) is 11 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2000 season.

Betemit hit his third homer of the season leading off the 11th. It was the third home run allowed by Wagner, who gave up just six all last season.

"When he hit it, I didn't think it was gone," Wagner said. "Where he hit it, I was shocked."

Floyd, locked in a slump that had dipped his average below .190, tied it against Chris Reitsma with his third homer of the season. An inning later, Reitsma got Floyd to pop up with the bases loaded.

Reyes touched off the tying four-run rally in the seventh with a single and opened the eighth with his fifth triple of the season. But the Mets could not get him home, and the rally ended with Floyd grounding out with the bases loaded

Trailing 6-2, the Mets knocked starter Kyle Davies out in the seventh. Reyes opened with his fourth single and Paul Lo Duca doubled. An error by shortstop Edgar Renteria allowed one run to score, and Carlos Delgado singled home another. Floyd's RBI single against reliever Ken Ray made it 6-5, and Kaz Matsui delivered a tying single.

Ray escaped further damage, getting 47-year-old pinch hitter Julio Franco to hit into an inning-ending double play.

McCann drove in a pair of runs with two hits and Marcus Giles had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and scored twice for the Braves.

Brian Jordan also had two hits and scored twice on McCann's single and double as the Braves built a 6-2 lead.

Notes

Chipper Jones' first-inning RBI was the 105th of his career against the Mets. ... Renteria's fifth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 21 games, 20 this season. ... Reyes' five hits marked the 26th time a Mets player has had five hits in a game. ... Duaner Sanchez pitched two scoreless innings, stretching his scoreless streak to 21 innings. ... Mets disabled list report: 2B Anderson Hernandez (disc) has started playing in the Gulf Coast League. RHP Brian Bannister (hamstring) has begun long toss regimen.

[Baseball Guru]

In order to clean up a bit, I'm going to put all the game recaps in this thread for the 2006 season...

Enjoy