IGT 05/24, Mets at Sawx

[Guest Kong76]

From USATODAY:

New York vs. Boston
New York Mets (23-19) at Boston Red Sox (25-18), 1:35 p.m.

(Sports Network) - The New York Mets try to complete a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox this afternoon, as the three-game interleague set comes to a close at Fenway Park.

After riding Johan Santana to a win in the opener, the Mets needed some late-inning heroics on Saturday, as Omir Santos hit a video- reviewed two-run homer in the top of the ninth, and New York turned two spectacular defensive plays in the bottom of the frame to pull out a 3-2 win.

Gary Sheffield also drove in a run for the Mets, who on Friday overcame three errors to pick up a 5-3 victory.

Josh Beckett threw eight strong innings and Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run single in the first to provide Boston with a 2-1 lead, but Jonathan Papelbon (0-1) suffered his first blown save of the year.

Sheffield walked to start the ninth, but Papelbon fanned David Wright and Jeremy Reed. Santos then clubbed a ball that hit above the line just beyond the Green Monster. It bounced off the padding, just in front of the first row of seats and back onto the field.

Sheffield started trotting around second, but picked up his speed when umpires signaled the ball was in play. Umpires then conferenced and went to the video replay before deciding to overturn the original call, giving the Mets the lead on Santos' second career homer.

"Cut and dry. We looked at the replay and the ball hit that back," said umpire crew chief Joe West. "It cleared the red metal piece and hit the back piece which is a home run, which is the ground rule here.

"Looking up in the lights, looking up like he had to, the third base umpire, Paul Nauert, made his best effort and felt in the best interest of the play, to keep it in play because we can always change it to a home run. But if he had called it a home run and it wasn't a home run, where the hell do we put the runners? So, I mean, we got together as a crew and got the play right, and that was it."

There were more dramatics in the bottom of the ninth. J.J. Putz walked Kevin Youkilis, and Jason Bay then hit a screaming bouncer down the third-base line. Wright, playing close to the line, made a great stop, but his throw to second baseman Luis Castillo was wide. Castillo somehow managed to keep his foot on the bag as he stretched to get the ball for the force out.

J.D. Drew then flied out to right, setting the stage for Mike Lowell, who hit a sharp grounder in the hole between short and third. Shortstop Ramon Martinez made a diving stop though and his one-hopper across the diamond retired Lowell, who threw his helmet to the field in disgust.

Even though the Mets won, their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, wasn't available for the game due to back spasms. Reports indicate he collapsed in pain after the game and required medical attention. Rodriguez suffered the injury during pregame warmups.

"He was in a tough position before we left out of here before the game," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel. "He couldn't walk. He was in bad shape. Spasms was the word that they used. How long spasms last, what is his history with that, I really don't know."

With the loss, the Red Sox suffered their first home series defeat since April 7-9 against Tampa Bay.

Mike Pelfrey fanned six batters over the first seven innings for the Mets, while Pedro Feliciano (1-1) pitched the eighth inning to get the win. Putz picked up his second save of the season.

"It's a huge win for us," said Manuel. "That's huge, in the shape that we're in right now, especially. Frankie goes down right before the game with some serious back spasms, so he was unavailable. Didn't know that we might use him with the way it was set up with two outs in that situation. It was big for us. It was big for us."

Beckett was charged with five hits and an unearned run. He also walked one and had five strikeouts.

"I thought he was real good. I thought he was very persistent in executing his pitches. I thought he made a lot of pitches," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

Hoping to get the brooms out for the Mets today will be righty Tim Redding, who makes his second start of the season. Redding did not get a decision in his initial outing on Monday in Los Angeles, despite allowing just two runs and two hits in six innings of a 3-2 loss.

Redding has lost both of his starts to the Red Sox, surrendering 12 runs in 5 2/3 innings of those outings.

Boston, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who is 5-2 with a 3.59 ERA. Wakefield was terrific in beating the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, as he gave up just a run and five hits in eight innings.

Wakefield has been especially good at home, where he is a perfect 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA in three starts.

The 42-year-old righty has faced the Mets seven times (six starts) over the course of his lengthy career and is 2-3 with a 2.43 ERA against them. However, he hasn't faced them since 2001 and hasn't beaten them since 1992.

Boston, which was 11-7 in interleague play last season with wins in six of the nine games contested at Fenway, had swept the Mets in a three-game set the last time these teams faced off in 2006.

New York was 9-6 against the AL a year ago.

[Guest Triple Dee]

Jerry rewards Omir's heroics by starting Castro;

Us:
Murphy, 1b
Pagan, rf
Beltran, dh
Sheffield, lf
Wright, 3b
Reed, cf
Castro, c
Martinez, ss
Castillo, 2b

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0GRDmqsBQ&B

Them:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Lowell, 3B
George Kottaras, C
Nick Green, SS

[ashie62]

="Kong76"]From USATODAY: New York vs. Boston New York Mets (23-19) at Boston Red Sox (25-18), 1:35 p.m. (Sports Network) - The New York Mets try to complete a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox this afternoon, as the three-game interleague set comes to a close at Fenway Park. After riding Johan Santana to a win in the opener, the Mets needed some late-inning heroics on Saturday, as Omir Santos hit a video- reviewed two-run homer in the top of the ninth, and New York turned two spectacular defensive plays in the bottom of the frame to pull out a 3-2 win. Gary Sheffield also drove in a run for the Mets, who on Friday overcame three errors to pick up a 5-3 victory. Josh Beckett threw eight strong innings and Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run single in the first to provide Boston with a 2-1 lead, but Jonathan Papelbon (0-1) suffered his first blown save of the year. Sheffield walked to start the ninth, but Papelbon fanned David Wright and Jeremy Reed. Santos then clubbed a ball that hit above the line just beyond the Green Monster. It bounced off the padding, just in front of the first row of seats and back onto the field. Sheffield started trotting around second, but picked up his speed when umpires signaled the ball was in play. Umpires then conferenced and went to the video replay before deciding to overturn the original call, giving the Mets the lead on Santos' second career homer. "Cut and dry. We looked at the replay and the ball hit that back," said umpire crew chief Joe West. "It cleared the red metal piece and hit the back piece which is a home run, which is the ground rule here. "Looking up in the lights, looking up like he had to, the third base umpire, Paul Nauert, made his best effort and felt in the best interest of the play, to keep it in play because we can always change it to a home run. But if he had called it a home run and it wasn't a home run, where the hell do we put the runners? So, I mean, we got together as a crew and got the play right, and that was it." There were more dramatics in the bottom of the ninth. J.J. Putz walked Kevin Youkilis, and Jason Bay then hit a screaming bouncer down the third-base line. Wright, playing close to the line, made a great stop, but his throw to second baseman Luis Castillo was wide. Castillo somehow managed to keep his foot on the bag as he stretched to get the ball for the force out. J.D. Drew then flied out to right, setting the stage for Mike Lowell, who hit a sharp grounder in the hole between short and third. Shortstop Ramon Martinez made a diving stop though and his one-hopper across the diamond retired Lowell, who threw his helmet to the field in disgust. Even though the Mets won, their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, wasn't available for the game due to back spasms. Reports indicate he collapsed in pain after the game and required medical attention. Rodriguez suffered the injury during pregame warmups. "He was in a tough position before we left out of here before the game," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel. "He couldn't walk. He was in bad shape. Spasms was the word that they used. How long spasms last, what is his history with that, I really don't know." With the loss, the Red Sox suffered their first home series defeat since April 7-9 against Tampa Bay. Mike Pelfrey fanned six batters over the first seven innings for the Mets, while Pedro Feliciano (1-1) pitched the eighth inning to get the win. Putz picked up his second save of the season. "It's a huge win for us," said Manuel. "That's huge, in the shape that we're in right now, especially. Frankie goes down right before the game with some serious back spasms, so he was unavailable. Didn't know that we might use him with the way it was set up with two outs in that situation. It was big for us. It was big for us." Beckett was charged with five hits and an unearned run. He also walked one and had five strikeouts. "I thought he was real good. I thought he was very persistent in executing his pitches. I thought he made a lot of pitches," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. Hoping to get the brooms out for the Mets today will be righty Tim Redding, who makes his second start of the season. Redding did not get a decision in his initial outing on Monday in Los Angeles, despite allowing just two runs and two hits in six innings of a 3-2 loss. Redding has lost both of his starts to the Red Sox, surrendering 12 runs in 5 2/3 innings of those outings. Boston, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who is 5-2 with a 3.59 ERA. Wakefield was terrific in beating the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, as he gave up just a run and five hits in eight innings. Wakefield has been especially good at home, where he is a perfect 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA in three starts. The 42-year-old righty has faced the Mets seven times (six starts) over the course of his lengthy career and is 2-3 with a 2.43 ERA against them. However, he hasn't faced them since 2001 and hasn't beaten them since 1992. Boston, which was 11-7 in interleague play last season with wins in six of the nine games contested at Fenway, had swept the Mets in a three-game set the last time these teams faced off in 2006. New York was 9-6 against the AL a year ago.

You beat me to it** I'm 3-0 including last night doing this lol

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Murph gets it started with a flare into center. i can't imagine bunting a knuckler is very easy.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

And then the rains came. The tarp is going on with Pedroia on first and one out.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

I heard the doctors revived a man after being dead for four-and-a-half minutes. When they asked what it was like being dead, he said it was like listening to New York Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto during a rain delay. - David Letterman

Now, as soon as the tarp is on the field for channel 11 games it's reruns of sitcoms. Could be worse, I guess - reruns of Beer Money.

[duan]

that looked heavy enough, any word?

[Zvon]

[Guest Swan Swan H]

duan wrote: that looked heavy enough, any word?

Channel 11 is showing 'Two and a Half Men," so the word is "juvenile." Nothing on the rain delay yet.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Sox TV crew is saying the game will resume at around 2:35.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Play ball, they called. Papi in against Redding.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Some Fisk pole Castroboomage, and it's 1-0 Noo Yawk.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Lowell takes Redding way over the wall, and it's 3-1 Sox.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

An RBI groundout by Beltran and singles by the scorching David Wright and the room-temperature Jeremy Reed give the Mets the lead 4-3, two on and two out for Castro.

[Zvon]

OOO, that's a clutch 2 out single by Wright to tie it.

AND REED'S SINGLE DRIVES IN SHEFF!
We have the lead.

[ashie62]

David Wright..the other white meat

[ashie62]

somebody put shackles on Burkhardt

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Loving the Mets again. Let's Go!

[Zvon]

BoSox strand a lead off double, thanks to Wright, Redding, and Murph.
Getting a pop up from Pedroia there was big.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Shades of 1986! The Sawx get Sheffield in a rundown but try to throw across to third to nail Beltran, and as a result get nothing but shame.

Meanwhile, the washed up Gary Sheffield drives in another run, and it's 5-3 Mets.

[Zvon]

White sky, white ball,....tough call.

Course I call it foul.

[Zvon]

WOOT!
No good angles shown that I could see.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

George Costanza vandelays his second double of the game, scoring Drew and moving Lowell to third. 5-4, two out in the fifth, and Redding gets yanked for Green.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Praying for Sean Green.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Praying for Sean Green.

Try a different religion.

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Praying for Sean Green.

Not even that can save him.....

[Zvon]

Shit.
Green can't handle Green.

Expected to see a play at the plate there.
Murph cuts it off and this does bring the inning to a close.
But not before Boston reclaims the lead.

6-5 Them

[metirish]

One of these guys needs to perform an exorcism on Green

[Zvon]

Great camera work shows that it would have been very close at the plate if that ball isn't cut off.
Too close.

[Zvon]

sheesh