Redding and Wright help stop skid, Mets win 3-1

Posted on 05 Jun 2009 by Danielle

David Wright's two-run double, his fourth hit of the night, broke a 10th-inning tie and the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 on Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Luis Castillo led off the 10th with a single off Joel Hanrahan (0-3) and Carlos Beltran walked. Wright then lined a 2-2 pitch into the gap in right-center to score both runners and match single-game high for hits.

Sean Green (1-2) worked a perfect ninth for the victory and Francisco Rodriguez improved to 15 for 15 in save opportunities with a scoreless 10th.

Washington has dropped nine of 10, and fell to 0-7 in extra innings.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second when Wright led off with a double to short left field, moved to third on Daniel Murphy's flyout and scored on Fernando Tatis' grounder to short.

New York missed an opportunity to add to its lead in the fifth, when Fernando Martinez drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when left fielder Adam Dunn misplayed Brian Schneider's sinking liner into a double. But Nationals starter Shairon Martis got Mets starting pitcher Tim Redding and Alex Cora to ground out with the runners holding before Castillo flied out to Dunn to end the threat.

The Nationals tied it in the fifth when Josh Bard doubled and scored on pinch-hitter Alberto Gonzalez's single to right-center.

Martis worked five innings, allowing a run on three hits. He walked four and struck out one.

Redding gave up a run on four hits in six innings, walking two and striking out two.

Notables:

Luis Castillo went 1-5 with a run scored.

Carlos Beltran had a 1-4 day with a run scored.

Fernando Tatis went 1-3 with an RBI double.

Brian Schneider went 1-2 with a double.

Player of the game, David Wright, was 4-5 in tonight's game. He plated two runs and scored once on two singles and two doubles. His average rose to .338.

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ANNOUNCING: 2009 MLB All-Star Game Contest!

Posted on 02 Jun 2009 by Danielle

Alright Mets fans, it's that time again. The All Star Game is just over a month away!

Last year, there was a horrific showing by Mets fans. The only player to be voted into the ASG was Billy Wagner... and we all know how well that went. We had to rely on the generosity of former-manager for the Colorado Rockies, Clint Hurdle, in order to get David Wright into the game.

This year, we must make up for what we failed to accomplish last year and while David is currently leading the field for NL third basemen, there is still plenty of time left.

Part 1

Your challenge is to make a banner with dimensions of 525 x 100 px, promoting the vote for David in the All Star Game Balloting.

The best banner will win a VERY special prize, as well as a permanent place on the homepage of The-Wright-Stuff.com

Submissions can be emailed to TWSDanielle@gmail.com with the subject of "Banner Contest Submission."

Part 2

BUT, the fun is not over Mets fans.

Once your submission has been made, I will reply with a custom HTML code that will allow you to paste the code wherever you'd like... message boards, fan pages, etc... and will direct you to The-Wright-Stuff.com's special voting page for the ASG.

YOU MUST EMAIL ME WITH THE EXACT URL OF THE PAGE(S) so that I can track your banner. If you fail to do so, you will not be eligible for Part 2 of the contest.

The person who brings the most traffic to the voting page will win a David Wright Jersey!

Rules:

You CAN enter Part 1 of the contest only, but I ask that you please state this in your email so that I don't waste time making you a code.

You cannot take another person's banner and post it in another page as your own. I will know and you will be permanently banned from taking part in any future TWS contests.

You cannot sit and repeatedly click on your own banner from the same locations. I can tell when clicks from the same IP address(es). Doing so will result in a permanent ban from future TWS contests.

In entering this contest, you explicitly give The-Wright-Stuff.com and myself permission to use your banner on the any/all areas of the site and forfeit all rights to compensation of any kind.

Banner submissions will be accepted until Saturday, June 13. 2009 at 11:59pm EST. The winner of Part 1 of the contest will be announced on Monday, June 15th EST.

Part 2 of the contest will run from June 2, 2009 to July 2, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. The winner of Part 2 will be announced on the day on Monday, July 6th.

End of rules

Sorry to bore you with all of the rules/legal jargon, but it must be done.

Please remember that voting for the 2009 MLB All Star Game ends on July 2nd at 11:59pm EST.

Good luck to everyone and feel free to email me with questions!

- Danielle

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TWS Hodgepodge: Recaps, ASG, and Contest

Posted on 01 Jun 2009 by Danielle

First of all, I've decided that I need a person/people to recap the games for me during the week, Monday-Friday. To be perfectly honest, I'm so swamped during the week and Andrew has a life/job, too, that I've come to accept that, at least for this month, I need someone else to recap the games for me.

If you're interested in the position, please email me an original recap of a recent game. The deadline for the application is Saturday, June 6th at 11:59 pm. Please email me at TWSDanielle@gmail.com

Don't worry about not knowing how to bold the names, insert images, etc. I'll explain that to you if selected. It's really easy.

Second of all, the All Star Game is right around the corner! How time flies!

At the end of this week, I'm going to start making signatures, banners, etc. that you can post to communities, websites, and other mediums to persuade others to vote for David, who is currently in FIRST PLACE in the NL of the 3rd Basemen.

And lastly, because of the All Star Game, The Wright Stuff is going to be running a contest with a VERY special (and might I add, relatively expensive) prize to the winner.

It is going to involve graphic design and web traffic, however, there will be separate prizes for each.

So stay tuned... and Let's Go Mets!

- Danielle

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My apologies

Posted on 27 May 2009 by Danielle

I know that I have not recapped a game since the Mets' loss in Boston. It is not because I have lost interest in the team or the site, for that matter. It is mainly because, as many of you who follow me on Twitter know, I have started a summer internship in New York City. I now wake up at 6am and get home around 9pm, so I'm completely exhausted by the time the game is over and fall asleep right after the game.

In fact, I sometimes fall asleep a few innings before the game is over and if it wasn't for the fact that SNY is right across the street from my office, I wouldn't be able to see all of the important parts of the game.

After this series, and tomorrow's off day, I will resume recapping duties per my normal schedule. I know I've been slacking off on them because of finals and my schedule didn't slow down after the school year was over.

I apologize for not being consistent and not giving the site the attention that it deserves. If I continue to find it difficult to recap, I'll try and alternate days with Andrew. If that doesn't work, I'll try and find another staff writer. However, I'd really like to avoid doing that to keep my input in the site at a maximum.

Once again, I'm sorry that I have not been acting as a proper webmistress should, but I'm sure you can understand my busy schedule. In fact, the guys over at The Wright Stache, who have recently become my coworkers/bosses, can verify that!

In the meantime, I am working on a new shirt design that will probably launch over the weekend when I have a life again, so stay tuned and as always...

Let's go Mets!

- Danielle

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Mets stun Red Sox, Papelbon with ninth inning win

Posted on 24 May 2009 by Danielle

Upon further review, Omir Santos is a hero.

With the gimpy Mets down to their final out at Fenway Park Saturday night, and Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon having blown away David Wright and Jeremy Reed on strikeouts, the third-string catcher jumped on a first-pitch fastball for a two-run homer that lifted the Mets to a 3-2 victory that may define their season.

That is, Santos delivered the decisive blast after the initial call that the ball had struck high on the Green Monster and dropped back into play was reversed by a video review.

Gary Sheffield and Santos waited on third and second base, respectively, for the ruling, confident the ball had struck something above the line designating a homer, since the shot didn't ricochet hard back into play. It was the first replay review in the history of Fenway, baseball's oldest park.

The comeback came in the unlikeliest of circumstances. The Mets (23-19) were limited to one run in eight innings by Josh Beckett, who outdueled Mike Pelfrey. They were facing a closer without a blemish on his résumé this season, and an opponent with the best home record in the AL entering the night and a 19-0 record when leading after six innings. And the Mets were competing shorthanded, with Francisco Rodriguez the latest injury casualty. K-Rod was taken to the hospital via ambulance after the victory with severe back spasms.

Santos has a short swing, Jerry Manuel has often said, making him the ideal candidate to face a flamethrower like Papelbon, at least in his manager's estimation. Manuel had been vilified back at Citi Field when he called Santos from the bullpen to pinch-hit for Ramon Castro against Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth on April 29. Santos popped out to end the game. The manager had this type of at-bat on his mind then.

It's production like Saturday night's homer that may endanger Castro's roster spot when Brian Schneider returns from the DL, potentially within a week. The simplest decision has always been to option Santos to Triple-A Buffalo when Schneider returns, but the 28-year-old rookie's production (.270, 15 RBI) has vastly exceeded any other catcher with the team.

J.J. Putz, who had been unavailable Friday because of neck discomfort, walked leadoff hitter Kevin Youkilis in the ninth trying to protect the sudden one-run lead. Putz was bailed out by fielding that had not been displayed by the Mets all season. A smash down the third-base line by Jason Bay was backhanded by Wright. He bounced a throw to Luis Castillo, who did a stellar job keeping his foot on second base to retire the lead runner. J.D. Drew then smoked a lineout to right field. Putz then picked up his second save as a Met on a highlight-reel play by Ramon Martinez.

Yes, Ramon Martinez. The fill-in for Jose Reyes, who had four errors in his first two starts at shortstop, backhanded Mike Lowell's grounder deep in the hole and fired a one-hop strike to Daniel Murphy at first base to end the game.

Notable performances:

Carlos Beltran was 1-4 as the DH, with a run scored.

Gary Sheffield was 1-3 with a run scored and a RBI, as well as a walk.

Jeremy Reed and Ramon Martinez went 1-4.

Omir Santos, the performer of the game, was 2-4 with a run scored and two RBI's off of his two-run, game winning home run.

David Wright had a rare poor day at the plate, going 0-4. His average dipped to .353.

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Santana plays stopper against Dodgers in Mets 5-3 win

Posted on 23 May 2009 by Danielle

Johan Santana pitched out of trouble caused by Boston Red Sox hitters and his own fielders, and the New York Mets ended a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win Friday night.

The Mets made three more errors behind Santana (6-2), bringing their total to 12 in his nine starts. They've made 35 all season. But only one led to a run Friday.

The game became testy in the fifth, when Santana hit Kevin Youkilis with a pitch and the players exchanged words. Youkilis struck out in his other three at-bats.

New York never trailed after Gary Sheffield's 502nd career homer over the Green Monster was his third of the season and made it 1-0 in the second. Jason Varitek's eighth homer tied it in the bottom of the inning before New York took the lead for good against Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2) with three runs in the fourth.

Matsuzaka was activated Friday after going on the disabled list April 15 following two poor outings.

Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 12 opportunities.
Santana had struggled in his other four appearances at Fenway Park with a 1-3 record and 6.89 ERA. But he came into Friday's game with an NL-best 1.36 ERA. He allowed two more earned runs while striking out eight and allowing six hits and one walk.

The first batter he faced, speedy Jacoby Ellsbury, beat out a high hopper to second baseman Luis Castillo. Then came the first error — a tough bouncer that eluded third baseman David Wright. But Santana struck out the next two batters and ended the inning with a forceout at second.

The next error came in the fourth, the first of two by shortstop Ramon Martinez.
Jason Bay led off with a walk and was forced at second on J.D. Drew's grounder. Mike Lowell doubled Drew to third and both scored when Varitek's shot bounced off Martinez and into short left field. Varitek reached second, but Santana retired the next two batters, ending the inning with a 4-3 lead.

He got into trouble again in the sixth when Drew led off with a single. With one out, Varitek hit the ball in the hole to Martinez, whose throw to second was low and bounced into right field. That put runners at second and third, but, again, Santana escaped by retiring Julio Lugo on an infield pop and Ellsbury on a grounder.

He left after striking out the last two batters in the seventh.

The Mets took a 4-1 lead in the fourth on RBI singles by Wright, Omir Santos and Martinez. Their final run came in the seventh on a run-scoring single by Angel Pagan.

Notable performances:

Angel Pagan was 1-1 with a RBI.

Carlos Beltran, at DH, went 1-4 with a run scored.

Gary Sheffield was the player of the game, going 1-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, as well as a walk.

Jeremy Reed, Omir Santos, Luis Castillo, and Ramon Martinez all went 1-4, with Reed and Castillo each scoring once.

David Wright went 1-3 with an RBI and a walk. His average remained at .362.

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Mets get swept by Dodgers, 1-2

Posted on 23 May 2009 by Danielle

Russell Martin hasn't provided the Los Angeles Dodgers with nearly as much offense as they've become accustomed to from their two-time All-Star catcher, and the clutch hits have been few and far between. But Wednesday night Martin came through, delivering a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 2-1 victory.

Orlando Hudson singled with one out against J.J. Putz (1-3), who walked Andre Ethier before Martin lined the right-hander's 1-0 pitch to left field for his 16th RBI of the season. The hit helped the defending NL West champions improve their major league-best record to 29-13 and extend their division lead over San Francisco to 8 1/2 games.

The Dodgers' 17-3 start at home tied a modern major league record for 20 games, last accomplished by the 1998 Yankees, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Joe Torre also managed that Yankees team.

The Mets, who came into Chavez Ravine on Monday with a half-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East, now trail the Phillies by a full game after their fourth straight loss. The road trip began with three straight wins against the Giants.

Rookie left-hander Brent Leach (1-0) earned his first major league win, retiring both batters he faced in the eighth. Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless ninth for his 11th save in 13 attempts.

The Mets, 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and 3 for 27 overall in the series, squandered an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the eighth after putting runners at second and third with one out.

Leach replaced Ronald Belisario and escaped the jam, retiring Daniel Murphy on a grounder to first with the infield in and getting pinch-hitter Fernando Tatis on a grounder to short.

Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was replaced by Ramon Martinez in the bottom of the third inning after aggravating a troublesome right calf that forced him to miss five games. The Mets' all-time stolen base leader tried to leg out a grounder deep in the hole on the right side of the infield, but was thrown out by second baseman Hudson, who made a one-hop throw from the outfield grass.

Murphy, who had played in left field the first 1 1/2 months this season, started at first base for the first time in his big league career - using Carlos Delgado's glove. Delgado is expected to be sidelined until at least late July after undergoing hip surgery on Tuesday.

With left-hander Eric Stults missing his turn in the rotation because of a sprained thumb on his pitching hand, Jeff Weaver made his third start of the season. He allowed a run and four hits over five innings while stranding a runner at third base in each of the first two. Stults is expected to make his next start on Monday afternoon at Colorado.

Livan Hernandez pitched seven innings for the Mets, allowing a run and seven hits.

Notables:

Luis Castillo was 1-3 for the night, with a run scored and a walk.

Carlos Beltran went 2-3 with a RBI and a walk.

Ryan Church and Livan Hernandez both went 1-3.

Angel Pagan was 1-4.

David Wright continues to perform, going 1-2 with two walks. His average is now .362.

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Slumping Mets drop third straight to Dodgers

Posted on 21 May 2009 by Danielle

Minus Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles Dodgers are finding other players to deliver clutch hits against the Mets.

Casey Blake hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off John Maine in the sixth inning and the Dodgers scored earlier with the help of another New York Mets error in a 5-3 victory Tuesday night.

Chad Billingsley (6-1) struck out seven in 6 1-3 innings for the win, allowing three runs, four hits and five walks.

Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson, the only player on the team to start all 41 games, bruised his left shoulder diving for a bloop single by Jose Reyes in the seventh and had to leave the game.

Reyes' hit put runners at first and second with two outs. Gary Sheffield, fighting a slight virus, grounded out to backup second baseman Juan Castro as a pinch-hitter for Daniel Murphy after lefty reliever Brent Leach was replaced by fellow rookie Ronald Belisario.

Cory Wade pitched a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Broxton retired the side in order in the ninth for his 10th save in 12 attempts.

Maine (3-3) gave up five runs - four earned - and nine hits over 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander, who was 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in his previous four starts, took a 3-1 lead into the sixth. But James Loney and Matt Kemp hit one-out singles, and Blake homered into the left-field pavilion - two pitches after pitching coach Dan Warthen went out for a chat with Maine.

Maine gave himself a 2-1 lead in the second, lining a two-run single with the bases loaded after Billingsley intentionally walked Jeremy Reed with two outs and followed that with a walk to Omir Santos.

The Mets tacked on another run in the third on an RBI single by David Wright that extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Billingsley's RBI double trimmed New York's lead to 3-2 in the fourth, after a two-out single by Blake.

The Mets, who committed five errors in Monday night's 11-inning loss, were at it again in the first when a liner to left field by leadoff man Juan Pierre glanced off the glove of a charging Murphy. Pierre scored on Hudson's single - the 20th unearned run given up by Mets pitchers in 39 games.

Last night's notables:

Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Ryan Church were all 1-4, with Beltran and Church each scoring once.

John Maine and Daniel Murphy were both 1-2, with Maine knocking in two runs.

Performer of the evening was yet again David Wright, who was 1-2 with a run, an RBI, and two walks. His average is up to .361.

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On five errors, Mets fall in 11th to Dodgers 3-2

Posted on 19 May 2009 by Danielle

As if floating on air for the better part of last week, the Mets danced through a four-game series in San Francisco, swallowing gulps of bitter injury news and somehow winning nonetheless. They were a broken team, but hardly a beaten one.

To play in that style and continue winning would have represented a minor miracle. But to see their best efforts come crashing down in one fell swoop? It required the unfathomable.

That's precisely what transpired at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, when Ryan Church ran clear over a base, when Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan watched a routine fly ball drop between them, when the Mets committed five errors -- the last of which sent the Dodgers home, 3-2 winners in 11 incredulous innings.

Starting a third baseman-turned-outfielder at first base, and subbing him out of the game in favor of a natural center fielder, the Mets watched, mouths agape, as Jeremy Reed threw a potential double-play ball well wide of home plate in the bottom of the 11th inning. Mark Loretta sprinted home with the winning run, but the entire play seemed relatively sane compared with what happened some time earlier.

The Mets had all but won the game in the top of the 11th, when Church sprinted home with the go-ahead run on Pagan's would-be triple. Even the scoreboard concurred, flashing a run for the visitors.

But in a quick moment of chaos, Loretta tagged Pagan at third base, and the umpires ruled Church out. No run. No lead. Church had missed the bag.

Had Church been aware of his gaffe, he would have had plenty of time to retreat back to the base, tag it and head home. Instead, he trudged to the dugout, at the mercy of a successful appeal.

And still the game continued, on to the bottom of the inning, on to a relatively routine fly ball to left field by Xavier Paul, after Loretta led off with a walk. Both Beltran and Pagan -- making his first start in more than a year -- tracked the ball to shallow left-center field. Both Beltran and Pagan hollered for it. And the ball fell next to both of them, a fourth and hardly final error.

Instead, the ball dropped, and Loretta raced to third. And after an intentional walk loaded the bases with none out, Rafael Furcal flied to short left. Then Orlando Hudson hit a sharp grounder to the right side of a drawn-in infield.

Reed -- making his third career start at first base -- snatched it, lunged forward and fired a sidearm throw so far wide of home plate that it sailed to the backstop. There was nothing more the Mets could do.

It was as if the Mets were making up for their weekend tightrope walk, executed by a cast of players who were wholly inexperienced at their positions. Carlos Delgado was out with a hip injury, and so Reed and Fernando Tatis took his place at first. Jose Reyes and his backup, Alex Cora, were both injured, forcing Ramon Martinez to fly across the country, slip into uniform and start at shortstop.

And all the injuries have forced the Mets to be creative with their outfield, sticking Pagan in left field and finding at-bats for Gary Sheffield in right. Manuel's laboratory seemed to be churning out an interesting product, until Monday evening's toxic reaction.

Five errors, and a team in disbelief.

A chunk of the misfortune fell on starter Tim Redding, who swam against the tide earlier Monday, coming off the disabled list at a time when everyone else seemed to be signing their names on the line. In his Mets debut, Redding pitched admirably, allowing two runs in six innings.

Under less improbable circumstances, that might have been enough for a win. But the Mets' inability to back Redding -- to score off Dodgers starter Randy Wolf -- was the least of their concerns. The fact that they have not hit a home run in 48 innings hardly a pressing worry.

Instead, the Mets fretted over who might play first base, shortstop, left field. A first-place team should not have too many holes, but -- at least for the moment -- the Mets are an astonishingly flawed first-place team, after descending into a tie atop the National League East.

Notable performances:

Angel Pagan was 4-6 with a run scored.

Gary Sheffield was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk.

Jeremy Reed was 1-1.

Even Tim Redding had a 1-2 performance.

Ryan Church was 2-2.

David Wright was yet again the performer of the night, going 2-3 with a run scored and two walks.

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Despite Pelf's solid start, Mets drop final game of series to Giants

Posted on 18 May 2009 by Danielle

Mike Pelfrey stomped to the back of the AT&T Park mound Sunday night and nearly toppled over. He had just committed the third -- and least costly -- of three balks. He was already embarrassed and already angry. And now this.

Pelfrey was upset mainly because two of the balks directly led to the only two runs in a 2-0 Giants win. Because of them, the Mets were denied a series sweep. And Pelfrey was left agape.

Pelfrey's third balk tied a 46-year-old Mets record, marking the first time any Major League pitcher had done it in 15 years -- the only difference being that when Al Leiter balked three times in a game in 1994, his Blue Jays won the game.

Pelfrey's Mets did not.

Instead, they lost their first game on this three-city road trip, silenced by Matt Cain and a Giants bullpen that bent but did not break. Perhaps they were due to lose. But not like this.

Disregarding Pelfrey's first balk, which occurred when his cleat caught on the pitching rubber, his real mental troubles began in the fifth. After allowing a single to Aaron Rowand to open the inning, Pelfrey began fighting an impulse to step off the mound as if firing a pickoff throw. His mind would not allow him to come set, an action as familiar as tying shoelaces for a pitcher.

So with one out, Pelfrey balked, advancing Rowand to second. And moments later, Cain shot an RBI single up the middle, giving the Giants their second run.

By that time, the sixth inning, Pelfrey had become downright flustered. Again, he allowed a leadoff single, and again he balked the runner over a base. This time he fought his way out of the jam, loading the bases with an intentional walk -- which allowed him to pitch out of the windup -- and inducing Rowand to hit into a double play. But the frustrations were still mounting.

Teammates took turns jogging to the mound and talking to Pelfrey. They slapped him with their gloves, cajoled him with their words.

But Reed, making his first start at first base, hardly knew what to say. He's a beginner at the position, making his second career start there because Carlos Delgado is on the disabled list. And he was part of a makeshift infield that also included -- in place of regular backup Alex Cora, who sprained his thumb and left the game -- Fernando Tatis at shortstop.

By that point, it hardly mattered. Manuel, having seen enough, lifted Pelfrey for a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh inning, ending his starter's night after 78 pitches. And it was unfortunate -- Pelfrey was otherwise pitching a fine game, flashing one of his best sinkers of the season and not allowing the Giants to record an extra-base hit.

In the box score, it was nothing more than a bizarre way for Pelfrey to absorb his first loss of the season. It didn't help that the Mets did not hit for him, putting five runners in scoring position with less than two outs but stranding every one of them. But Cain proved a worthy adversary, and just like that, their winning streak had ended.

Their best chance came in the eighth inning, against a shaky Giants bullpen, when the Mets loaded the bases with one out. But Manuel opted to pinch-hit Angel Pagan -- who came off the disabled list Saturday and has had precisely one big league at-bat since last May -- for Daniel Murphy.

Pagan grounded into an inning-ending double play, and the Mets did not threaten again.

Notable performances:

Carlos Beltran and Omir Santos were 1-3 with a walk.

Jeremy Reed was 1-4.

Alex Cora was 1-2 before being pulled from the game with an injury.

David Wright was 1-2 with two walks. His average jumped to .352.

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