Fay to lay off for Rays' game Tuesday
ST. PETERSBURG -- Tuesday night's Rays game vs. the Angels will be played as scheduled, as the early morning monitoring of Tropical Storm Fay has been positive.
On Monday night, team president Matt Silverman said the team planned to play on Tuesday night, unless the weather "changed dramatically." And although the skies are hardly sunny, the Tampa Bay area appears to have sidestepped the path of Fay, with little more than light rain and clouds on Tuesday afternoon.
Silverman said the team had been in talks with government agencies as well as the Angels and the League to prepare for a doubleheader on Wednesday if necessary, but fortunately, both clubs were able to avoid that scenario.
Fay was moving north-northeast at 9 mph about 30 miles east of Fort Myers, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in an advisory on its Web site at about 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
"The safety of our players and of our fans comes first, and that's obviously one of the biggest factors," Silverman said. "But it's a decision that we do consult with other bodies to make sure it works for all."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Unit guides D-backs past Rockies
DENVER -- Laser-like focus is one way Randy Johnson has been able to compile a Hall of Fame career.
Ask him about the possibility of getting his 300th win and he will almost cut you off in mid-sentence to change the topic to his next start.
The Big Unit took another step toward history when he picked up career win No. 294 as the D-backs beat the Rockies, 4-2, Tuesday night in front of 31,218 at Coors Field.
Johnson (10-8) has been on a roll since just before the All-Star break winning seven of his last eight starts, with the lone loss coming to the Pirates in a game where Jeff Karstens beat him 2-0.
"He had really good stuff today," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. "I think he's got the light at the end of the tunnel, a little bit of a countdown going for him. That adds to it. First and foremost is winning for the team, but there is a little added incentive to roll off a few wins in a row."
Johnson's fastball had good life on it, hitting 93 mph regularly according to the stadium radar gun, while his slider was sharp and he was able to mix in some split-finger fastballs as well.
Chad Tracy got the D-backs on the board in the second with a two-run homer off Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11) as he continued his dominance at Coors Field. After going 3-for-5 with a double, homer and two RBIs, Tracy is now hitting .353 with seven doubles, five homers and 21 RBIs in 29 career games here.
"I think the full day off [Monday] helped him some," Melvin said. "He was on it all night."
The lead didn't last long, though, as Chris Iannetta homered to lead off the bottom half of the frame and two outs later back-to-back doubles by Clint Barmes and Ian Stewart tied things up.
"I was disappointed that I gave back two runs after Trace hit the home run," Johnson said. "It took me a couple of innings to get going, unfortunately. After I gave up those two runs, I was able to get into a groove. My stuff got a little bit better, my slider got a little bit better, my location of my fastball and my splitter."
That was all the runs Johnson allowed before leaving after six having given up five hits and one walk while fanning seven.
The D-backs untied the game with a two-run sixth. Chris Young and Chris Snyder led off the frame with back-to-back doubles to give Arizona a 3-2 lead.
Johnson then helped himself by lining a 96-mph fastball from Jimenez into right to score Snyder.
"To get an RBI to make it 4-2 instead of 3-2 is big," Johnson said. "Now they have to put someone on base to come up with the tying run and I think our pitching staff, most pitchers in the National League take pride in what they do. When someone is throwing 98 mph with a pretty good curveball, you just hope that you can make contact and you never know with this field, anything is possible."
Johnson's back, which he has surgically repaired in each of the past two years, was stiffer than usual during his pregame warm-ups, a condition he attributed to extra batting practice that he took on the team's recent homestand.
Johnson gave Melvin a scare in after the single when he grabbed his lower right back with his right hand just before reaching first base.
"I went out there and asked him and he said, 'I just haven't run in a while,'" Melvin said.
Johnson said he didn't injure the back and that Melvin was "just making sure."
The game marked the debut of outfielder Adam Dunn, who was acquired by the D-backs on Monday from the Reds. Playing right field and hitting fourth, Dunn was 1-for-3 with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.
"I didn't think I'd be as nervous as I was," Dunn said. "Swung at some pitches I probably shouldn't have and took some pitches that I probably should have swung at."
Earlier this year Dunn watched teammate Ken Griffey Jr. get his 600th homer and seemed excited about the possibility of seeing more history from Johnson.
"I had to catch myself from just kind of watching him," Dunn said. "What he did tonight, I don't know how he's been pitching lately, but that's impressive for a guy to come out and shut these guys down like he did. That's pretty awesome."
Copyright 2008 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Ibanez, Lopez lift Mariners over Twins
SEATTLE -- It took until the eighth inning, but Raul Ibanez's teammates finally answered his call to arms on Tuesday night.
After riding Ibanez's hot bat to a three-run lead that vanquished in the eighth inning, the Mariners were faced with the prospect of mounting a comeback against nearly untouchable Twins closer Joe Nathan.
But second baseman Jose Lopez has been in the zone himself as of late, and his line-drive double into the left-center-field gap in the bottom of the eighth inning off Nathan drove home two runs to give the Mariners an 8-7 victory -- their third in a row -- in front of 26,083 at Safeco Field.
Lopez has made a habit this year of taking advantage of late-inning opportunities, although he said his approach is the same.
"Same guy, same guy," said Lopez, who is six for his last 10. "You gotta go up to home plate and look for my pitch."
The dramatics came thanks to a Seattle bullpen that was unable to hold a three-run lead heading into the eighth inning after seven solid frames from knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Jason Kubel's second homer of the game and a two-run double by Mike Lamb off J.J. Putz gave Minnesota a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
After singles from Ichiro Suzuki and the red-hot Ibanez, the Twins got serious and put in Nathan with one out. After a lineout by Adrian Beltre, Lopez worked the count full before delivering.
That gave Putz the chance to shrug off the blown opportunity in the eighth. He did, but barely -- loading the bases and putting a scare into the Safeco crowd before coaxing Mike Redmond into a game-ending flyout to right field.
It gave the Mariners a second straight win over the Twins and clinched their first series win since June 30-July 2 against the Blue Jays.
"We're not scrapping for first place, but I think playing in these kinds of game in this atmosphere, guys who haven't been in that atmosphere before, it's intense," Seattle manager Jim Riggleman said. "Guys are into it and doing everything they can to win a ballgame. They are agonizing over any failures during the game, but it's a great atmosphere for these guys to be in. And as long as they keep playing that way and creating that type of atmosphere, we're going to make strides."
After falling behind 2-0 early on Tuesday, it once again was the Raul Ibanez show.
The Seattle right fielder can do no wrong lately, and his hitting once again almost single-handedly carried the Mariners back from the early deficit to a 6-3 lead.
After bringing his team back on Monday with a grand slam and a two-run single in the same inning, he came close to matching that performance.
First it was a three-run jack to give Dickey a 3-2 lead in the third. And with Seattle up 4-3 in the sixth, Ibanez trekked up to the plate with the bases-loaded -- a situation where the Twins might want to consider just intentionally walking him for the near future. After a two-run single up the middle on Tuesday, Ibanez is now 3-for-3 in that situation this series with a homer and eight RBIs.
Ibanez's last three games have been something of a club record-breaking fiasco. Take a look:
- He has 14 RBIs, which ties Ken Griffey Jr.'s club record for a three-game stretch back in 1999.
- He also has 11 RBIs in his last two games, which also ties Griffey's mark.
- He's 7-for-12 with two homers in the past three games.
Ibanez's three-run blast on Tuesday was his 63rd homer at Safeco Field, giving him the Mariners club record.
"It's a daily grind, this game, hitting every day. It's a grind every day," Ibanez said. "It's a battle, and you just gotta go up there, try to compete, try to put on quality at-bats, no matter what's going on. Balls are finding holes and it's working out right, and I'll try to keep that going."
More accurately, balls are finding themselves over the fence and constantly are taking a beating from Ibanez's bat.
"The outs have even been hard," Riggleman said. "He has driven the ball to second base hard several times. He hit a ball to center field the other night -- just crushed it -- and the center fielder went to the top of the wall to get it. He really is locked in."
Lost amid the late-inning action was a fine start from Dickey, who gave up some early runs but steadied himself to throw a quality seven innings and put his team in position to win.
"I kept us in the ballgame. I put up a quality start," Dickey said. "Sure, I'd like to win the game, but we won the game and we've won three in a row -- it's kind of fun. It brings a little bit of energy into the clubhouse."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Mariners deal no more than Rhodes
ARLINGTON -- A mid-morning trade that sent their oldest -- and one of their most reliable -- relievers across the country was the extent of the Mariners' non-waiver Trade Deadline activity on Thursday.
On a one-and-done day, Seattle acquired 22-year-old right-handed Minor League pitcher Gaby Hernandez from the Marlins for 38-year-old left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes.
There had been numerous reports that indicated Seattle would be one of the most active Major League organizations prior to the 1 p.m. PT Trade Deadline. Left-handed starter Jarrod Washburn, third baseman Adrian Beltre and left fielder Raul Ibanez were mentioned in various trade scenarios.
But when the Deadline expired, all three were still with the Mariners.
The Mariners reportedly had a deal in the works with the Blue Jays involving Ibanez, but it fell through, apparently rejected by the Mariners, although Seattle general manager Lee Pelekoudas would not confirm it.
"We came close to a couple of deals and weren't able to get it done," he said.
Washburn, who will start Friday night's series opener against the Orioles at Safeco Field, said, "I was skeptical something would happen. I know how it works and the difficulty involved in [making a trade]. I talked to Lee a little off and on, and he always told me that something might happen, but nothing was imminent."
The rumor mill had been churning wildly, mostly with him going to the Yankees.
"It was pretty intense four or five days ago," Washburn said. "[The media] were asking me about all the rumors, saying [a trade] is almost done, and I had people calling me saying it's a done deal. So, for a few days there, it was a little crazy."
Hernandez, acquired by the Marlins from the Mets in 2005 as part of the Paul LoDuca trade, started this season with Triple-A Albuquerque and went 2-8 in 13 starts before being sent to Double-A Carolina, where he was 3-0 with a 4.30 ERA in four starts.
During Spring Training, he was briefly in the mix to be the Marlins' No. 5 starter and pitched well during camp, but eventually was sent down.
"Our scouts saw a pitcher that is only 22 years old and mature for his age," Pelekoudas said.
Hernandez will join the Mariners' Double-A West Tennessee team.
Rhodes gives the Marlins a veteran left-handed reliever with playoff experience, while the Mariners receive a potential rotation candidate down the road. Seattle's starting depth in the Minor Leagues was so sparse that left-handed swing man Ryan Rowland-Smith was sent to Triple-A Tacoma to become a starter, and hard-throwing right-hander Brandon Morrow could be taking that same path at some point in the next couple of weeks.
Rhodes should bring the Marlins immediate help. Barely one year after undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, he compiled a 2-1 record and 2.86 ERA in 36 relief appearances for the Mariners. He had an 18-appearance scoreless streak end in Wednesday night's game against the Rangers.
Rhodes wasn't immediately available for comment, but Mariners bullpen coach Norm Charlton said he talked to the departing lefty at the team's hotel headquarters.
"He's happy be able to go to a team that has a chance to go to the playoffs," Charlton said. "That's why we play the game, and that's why he came back here this year. He felt like we had a chance to win [the AL West championship]. It hasn't worked out that way, but now he's going to a team that's in a pennant race with a chance to make a difference."
While the Mariners are buried in the AL West basement, the Marlins are 1 1/2 games behind the Mets in the National League East.
The Rhodes-Hernandez swap is the first for Pelekoudas, who replaced dismissed GM Bill Bavasi on June 16.
But Pelekoudas has been active, replacing former manager John McLaren with Jim Riggleman and releasing first baseman Richie Sexson.
"We came down here with expectations to get something done," Pelekoudas said. "We moved Arthur Rhodes for a young starting pitcher with promise, someone who could help us next year, and we are happy to accomplish that.
"We investigated a lot of other possibilities but were not able to reach agreement with any other clubs on a trade. We're fine with that. We will walk away from here not disappointed and move on. We took the first step in making the organization better."
Pelekoudas, who has been with the Mariners on the club's current two-city, six-game road trip to Toronto and Texas, told reporters on Tuesday night that the Trade Deadline was "artificial" and deals still could be made down the road as the organization prepares for the 2009 season and beyond.
"You can still make moves after Aug. 1, with certain restrictions, but we also have the offseason," he said. "There is a lot of time to make moves. We are not in any time crunch. There is no deadline to get this club turned around in the next two days, the next week or the next two or three weeks. We have time to do this, and we plan to do it systematically, step by step."
Riggleman applauded Pelekoudas for not being pressured into making a trade just for the sake of making a trade.
"I sat in on a lot of meetings and saw the names that were being offered, and I'm glad we didn't move any of our guys," Riggleman said. "I think we put a higher value on our players than to just say, 'Let's trade them.' Other teams were thinking they were doing us a favor by taking away salary. That wasn't the case at all."
The Mariners played the series finale against the Rangers with a 24-man roster. They will fill Rhodes' spot on the roster prior to Friday night's game against the Orioles, probably with either left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith or right-hander Jared Wells.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Cook tosses complete game as Rox win
DENVER -- Aaron Cook gave the Rockies the quick, dominant innings they needed on Tuesday night. But as he moved toward his first Major League shutout, his teammates wouldn't give him what he wanted -- stimulating between-innings conversation.
"I always like to sit down and talk, but I noticed about the sixth inning nobody would sit next to me," said Cook, who ordered rookie pitcher Greg Reynolds to keep him company between innings.
There was no need for the rest of the Rockies to worry about a jinx. Cook threw a five-hit shutout in just 79 pitches, and ended the Rockies' eight-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Padres at Coors Field before 26,221.
Cook (11-5) didn't let a runner past second base while equaling Shawn Chacon's 2003 club record for wins before the All-Star break. Also, Cook stopped a Rockies losing streak for the seventh time this season, and lifted them above the Padres and out of last place in the National League West.
"I try not to think too much about what's gone on going into my game, just try to give ourselves a chance to win the game," said Cook, whose complete game was the eighth of his career.
It lasted one hour, 58 minutes, the shortest nine-inning game in Coors Field history. Cook started the previous shortest full game, two hours, five minutes against the Braves on April 7. A rain-shortened, seven-inning game with the Phillies went one hour, 51 minutes
If it sounds familiar, it is. Last July 25, Cook vanquished the Padres at Coors on 74 pitches, which is tied for fewest in a complete game since STATS Inc. began tracking pitch counts in 1974.
"He was relentless in the strike zone," Padres catcher Michael Barrett said. "It's hard to work the count against him."
The Rockies needed a quick, happy night.
Monday night, the Rockies entered the ninth inning tied, but gave up seven runs and 22 hits for the game, in a 15-8 loss to the Padres that lasted three hours, 15 minutes.
"Especially with the games we've been having lately, standing out there with a lot of pitches," Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said, "it definitely seemed quick out there. It was an unbelievable performance."
Cook had to pick himself up, as well as his club. He had lost his previous two starts, to the Mets and the Royals, giving up nine runs and 20 hits in 12 1/3 innings. To combat his issues, Cook had a lengthy bullpen session with pitching coach Bob Apodaca, working on his release point.
The session may have been longer than the game.
Facing the Padres for the 18th time (16 starts), Cook expected aggressive swings at his sinker. So he crossed hitters with four-seam fastballs at times. He finished with 15 ground-ball outs that included two double plays and four strikeouts.
Cook also went 1-for-3 to lift his batting average to .265, dropped a sacrifice bunt during the Rockies' four-run fifth and fielded a hard Kevin Kouzmanoff grounder to start one of the double plays.
"He had it all, the total package tonight," said Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, who on July 15 will manage an NL All-Star squad that, unless there is an injury, will include Cook, possibly as the starting pitcher.
Two sequences illustrated why Cook has been indispensable to the Rockies this season.
The Rockies loaded the bases with two out in the third, but Padres starter Josh Banks (2-3) struck out Brad Hawpe. Instead of letting the Padres have momentum, Cook retired Edgar Gonzalez, Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez on five pitches in the fourth.
In the Rockies' fifth, Willy Taveras, who left the game after the inning with sore left quadriceps, knocked an RBI single. Hawpe added a fielder's choice grounder and Padres shortstop Khalil Greene threw wildly trying to get a double play. Two runs scored on the play. Garrett Atkins added another RBI single.
Then Cook kept the momentum with a blistering nine-pitch sixth.
"He's an ace," Hawpe said, "and, fortunately for us, that's what they do."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Patchwork starting rotation thriving
ATLANTA -- Only Tim Hudson and Jair Jurrjens remain from the Braves' projected starting rotation, the one that prognosticators thought was World Series-caliber, not a sorry attempt at nostalgia.
The other starting pitchers have succumbed to injury, age, or fate -- or a combination of the three. Surely this season has been anything but nostalgic.
Ace John Smoltz underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Veteran Tom Glavine's durable body finally broke down, which sent the 42-year-old left-hander to the disabled list twice this season. Oft-injured Mike Hampton hasn't thrown a pitch for the Braves since Aug. 19, 2005, and remains a few weeks away from a possible return.
Yet the Braves, lauded for their pitching depth and quality for the past two decades, seem to have found the right trio of young hurlers to remain competitive.
Three of the Braves' five starters -- Charlie Morton, 24, Jo-Jo Reyes, 23, and Jurrjens, 22 -- are under the age of 25, and none has more than a year of Major League experience.
"Those three, my gosh, they're holding this together," said second baseman Kelly Johnson. "They're the reason why we're four or five games out instead of 10."
With less than three weeks before the All-Star break, the Braves are four games back of the first-place Phillies in the National League East. Given their slew of injuries, it would have been understandable if the Braves were already thinking about next season.
Well, they are thinking about the future. But that discussion revolves around how good the three pitchers will be with a full year or two of big league experience.
Despite a steep learning curve, which is especially prevalent in the organization, Morton, Reyes and Jurrjens have exceeded expectations.
"I expect a lot out of our guys and it almost surprises me when they don't [pitch well]," Hudson said.
There will inevitably be struggles. But as Smoltz said, it's about limiting the damage, not allowing one bad start to affect the next three.
"What experience allows you to do is deal with everything that has come your way," Smoltz said. "I could tell them the blueprint of all the things that could help them. But until they go through it, some of those things won't matter."
When Smoltz announced earlier this month that he was undergoing season-ending surgery, he vowed to travel with the Braves as much as he could and be the resident pitching expert for younger players to approach.
Smoltz was part of the vaunted Braves rotations of the 1990s, and said this week that it would have been difficult for younger pitchers to seamlessly enter that environment. The media attention was too great. The mystique was too strong.
"That mystique is kind of gone," Smoltz said. "We went through a little gap where we haven't been in the playoffs, we haven't been as dominant. They have a chance to create it. People have forgotten a little bit about the 14 years of pitching dominance, so they have a little bit of a break in the fact that they can create it themselves."
If the mystique was gone last season, it certainly wasn't apparent to Reyes. The 23-year-old left-hander said he entered the Braves' clubhouse last summer and was hesitant to ask the veterans for advice he sorely needed. As a result, he struggled, recording at least as many walks as strikeouts in seven of his 10 starts.
With a younger core around him this season, Reyes said he is feeling more confident -- both on and off the mound.
"It definitely took me a little while to get comfortable and not be so shy," said Reyes, who mentioned his budding relationship with Jurrjens and Smoltz as the reason why he is more outgoing this season.
That Jurrjens is the staff's No. 2 pitcher is not surprising to most in the Braves' clubhouse. Not much was known about the right-hander from Curacao when he was acquired from the Tigers in the Edgar Renteria deal, other than he had a tremendous upside.
That potential was realized in Spring Training. Hudson, who, at 32, is the team's oldest pitcher currently in the rotation, was Jurrjens' throwing partner this spring, and said he undoubtedly knew that Jurrjens would fill one of the Braves' vacant starting rotation slots. The kid had too much talent not to be on the mound every five days.
"You can't have a rotation without young kids," Jurrjens said.
Before his starts, Jurrjens will frequently sit down with Hudson to go over scouting reports and decide how best to attack opposing hitters.
"By no means do I feel like I'm an encyclopedia of pitching," Hudson said. "But it definitely feels good that they have confidence in me to come ask me and I feel like I give them best advice that I can."
Hudson said he liked for young pitchers to throw through adversity early in their careers -- and early in Spring Training -- so they know how to handle their emotions when a crucial situation inevitably arises. Cruising through six Spring Training starts without conflict can only do a pitcher harm, he said.
That's why he has been so impressed with Jurrjens and Morton this season.
When Jurrjens issued four walks in a contentious April 25 game against the Mets, he remained patient and persevered, pitching six strong innings to get the win.
And when Morton saw the Braves play uncharacteristically sloppy defense Tuesday against the Brewers -- when they committed three first-inning errors -- he was undeterred. Although he undeservedly took the loss, he didn't blame his teammates. Instead, he said that errors were a part of the game and he should have made a couple of better pitches.
Morton was recalled from Triple-A Richmond in mid-June after Glavine went on the DL with a strained flexor tendon in his left elbow. Asked if he felt he was auditioning for a spot in next year's rotation, Morton replied, "There are plenty of good arms in professional baseball to fill roster spots. Am I auditioning? I guess so. Whatever I do affects my outcome, but there's enough stress as it is without worrying about that."
Hudson said the Braves' current situation mirrors what he experienced coming up through the A's organization earlier in his career, with young, highly-touted pitchers Barry Zito and Mark Mulder alongside.
Although Jurrjens, Morton and Reyes don't quite have the star power of the former Big Three in Oakland, their work has certainly not gone unnoticed.
Jurrjens' seven wins are two more than any NL rookie, and his 3.20 ERA is third-best in the league among rookies.
Morton's first three big league starts have elicited nothing but positive reviews from those around the Braves organization. "He's shown people a lot with his maturity and how he's come along," general manager Frank Wren said.
And Reyes, who Jurrjens said had the best 'stuff' of any young pitcher in baseball, has been far more impressive than his 3-5 record indicates. Manager Bobby Cox continues to rave about the lefty, who has significantly improved his command of both his offspeed pitches and fastball.
"Guys are coming up and pitching phenomenally," catcher Brian McCann said. "It's not the pitching when we're struggling."
It's the hitting, which has occasionally disappeared for a two- or three-game stretch. Wren said in a conference call with reporters two weeks ago that he wasn't necessarily in the market for another starting pitcher. Regardless of the staff's injury problems this season, every pitcher has done well, he said.
"These are guys that we can hopefully count on for a long time," Wren said.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Manuel's managerial debut spoiled
ANAHEIM -- A new era for the Mets began on Tuesday with Jerry Manuel, but in his first game as interim manager, it came with familiar results.
The Mets played sloppy defense, committing three errors that led to three runs, and ace Johan Santana (7-5) came out on the wrong end of what was billed as a pitching duel against the Angels' John Lackey in the Mets' 6-1 loss in front of 40,122 at Angel Stadium.
Manuel, who hadn't managed since 2003 with the White Sox, said "it felt pretty good" to be back on the bench as the Mets' interim skipper, but he wasn't happy with the way the game played out.
"I didn't like the way we played," Manuel said. "We played poor baseball defensively and we didn't hit. We looked very tired. I know I was tired, but they looked tired. Maybe they were going through what I was going through. I don't know."
Manuel addressed the players before the game about his style of coaching and what he expects from the team. The players said that although it felt a little bit different on Tuesday, it's time to get over the changes.
"Obviously, it's a big change, but we want to move on like everyone else," Mets catcher Brian Schneider said. "We wish Willie [Randolph] the best. It didn't matter who was coaching tonight. We just still have to go out and win ballgames."
Said Santana: "Whatever it was, it's over with. We just have to start all over again and start playing better baseball. He was a great guy, but things just didn't work out."
Santana didn't have his best stuff against the Angels as he lasted six innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking five. He was hit hard by Angels center fielder Torii Hunter, who had two doubles and a walk against his teammate of eight years with the Twins.
"We played together for eight years, so it was nice to see him, but at the same time, we're on different sides and I wanted to get him out," Santana said.
Santana got into trouble early as he allowed three runs in the first inning that was keyed by back-to-back doubles by Vladimir Guerrero and Hunter. Hunter drove in two runs with his double down the left-field line on the first pitch he saw from Santana -- an 80-mph changeup.
"He left a changeup up, and I said, 'Thank you,'" said Hunter, who later scored on a fielding error by first baseman Carlos Delgado. "When I hit the double and was at second, I think he said, 'I hate you.' It was all in fun. I miss him. I love him."
Santana ran into trouble again in the third inning, when he allowed a single to Guerrero and a walk to Hunter before surrendering an RBI single to Casey Kotchman.
Santana settled down after the third before he allowed a solo home run to Jeff Mathis in the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Mets' offense never got anything going against Lackey. They scored their only run in the first inning on a double-play ground ball hit by David Wright with Damion Easley on third. Easley replaced Jose Reyes, who left the game with stiffness in his left hamstring after opening the game with a single up the middle.
After the first inning, the Mets only had three runners advance to second base against Lackey, but they had nothing to show for it. The Mets went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Lackey (4-1) tossed 7 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits while striking seven and walking one. He picked up his fourth win of the season and lowered his ERA to 1.73.
"He's obviously a good pitcher," Schneider said. "His ERA is down around 1.70."
Even with the loss, Manuel said he's just looking forward to the Mets putting the craziness of the past 24 hours behind them.
"Hopefully, now that the cloud is lifted, we can get back to playing baseball," Manuel said. "We've got a good team. We've got some good players, and it's just a matter of us all getting on the same page."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
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