The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – New York Mets – INSIDE PITCH
Manager Terry Collins spoke to his father, Bud, early Sunday morning, before the Mets played the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. Bud Collins said he needed a win for Father’s Day.
“I said, ‘I’m not a father,'” the younger Collins quipped. “But I need one, too.”
Thankfully for both men, the Mets obliged when Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a walk-off, three-run homer against Cubs setup man Carlos Marmol, leading his team to a 4-3 victory at Citi Field. The late offense erased what had been a somewhat painful afternoon for the Mets, who allowed two runs to score on a pair of throwing errors in the fifth.
With runners on first and second, David Wright made a diving stop of Alfonso Soriano’s grounder but threw high to first base, where Daniel Murphy retrieved the ball and made an errant throw of his own to home plate. Omar Quintanilla fielded that throw and threw wide of home himself.
The result was two errors and two unearned runs, for a Mets team that had been kicking the ball around all weekend against the Cubs. Collins admitted it could have been a dispiriting loss. But Nieuwenhuis provided the antidote with his late home run.
“I can’t really describe it,” Nieuwenhuis said. “It was great. It was my first walk-off home run in the big leagues, so it was a lot of fun.”
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MLB Team Report – New York Mets – NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 25-39
STREAK: Won one
PAST 10 GAMES: 3-7
NEXT: Mets (Dillon Gee, 5-6, 4.84) at Braves (Tim Hudson, 4-6, 4.41)
PLAYER NOTES:
–RHP Dillon Gee will look to continue his recent run of torrid pitching when he takes the mound Monday night for the Mets in the opener of a five-game series against the Braves in Atlanta. After going 2-6 with a 6.34 ERA in his first 10 starts, Gee has won each of his last three starts, a stretch in which he’s allowed just three runs and 22 baserunners while striking out 26 batters over 21 innings and lowering his ERA to 4.84. In his most recent start Wednesday against the Cardinals, Gee allowed one run on six hits and two walks while striking out seven over 6 2/3 innings in the Mets’ 5-1 win. Gee is 3-3 with a 3.71 ERA in nine career starts against the Braves. He allowed five runs in five innings and took the loss in the Braves’ 6-0 win at Citi Field on May 25.
–RHP Carlos Torres was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas following the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Cubs on Saturday and threw two innings of scoreless relief in the Mets’ 4-3 win Sunday. Torres was 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 12 starts for Las Vegas, for whom he threw complete games in his last two starts, but he will be used in relief for the Mets. Torres exercised an out in his contract Friday that gave the Mets 48 hours to either promote him or grant him his release. He has pitched in the majors for the Rockies and White Sox and is 6-6 with a 5.97 ERA in 44 games (six starts).
–RHP Greg Burke was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Cubs on Saturday. In two stints with the Mets this year, Burke is 0-1 with a 3.15 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 20 innings over 21 relief appearances, but he was the Mets’ only right-handed reliever with remaining minor league options and the Mets had to make room for Carlos Torres, who exercised an option in his contract that would have forced the Mets to release him if he wasn’t promoted by Sunday.
–RHP Collin McHugh was designated for assignment by the Mets following their 5-2 loss to the Cubs on Saturday. McHugh is 3-2 with a 2.87 ERA in nine starts for Triple-A Las Vegas and 0-1 with a 10.29 ERA in three appearances (one start) for the Mets. In 11 career appearances (five starts) for the Mets, McHugh is 0-5 with an 8.26 ERA. He was taken off the 40-man roster to make room for fellow RHP Carlos Torres, who was promoted to the Mets in a corresponding roster move.
–OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday to give the Mets a stunning 4-3 win over the Cubs. Nieuwenhuis was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last Sunday and was just 1-for-15 when he stepped to the plate against Carlos Marmol in the ninth inning. But he crushed Marmol’s second pitch well beyond the right field fence for his first homer of the season, the first walk-off homer of his career and his second-ever walk-off hit. In two stints with the Mets this season, Nieuwenhuis is hitting .125 with four RBIs and 15 strikeouts in 32 at-bats.
–RHP Scott Atchison (right elbow inflammation) pitched back-to-back scoreless innings for Double-A Binghamton over the weekend. Atchison could rejoin the Mets as soon as Tuesday in Atlanta.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “If we can’t use this as a spark — I mean, I don’t know what else we can do.” — Manager Terry Collins after a ninth inning comeback win Sunday.
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MLB Team Report – New York Mets – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–SS Ruben Tejada (strained right quadriceps) was injured trying to chase down a foul ball in the ninth inning May 29. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list May 30.
–RHP Jenrry Mejia (right elbow inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 13. He has made two rehab starts with Class A St. Lucie. GM Sandy Alderson said May 27 the Mets will decide the locale of his next appearance over the coming few days.
–RHP Scott Atchison (right elbow inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list May 14. He made a rehab appearance for Class A St. Lucie on May 25, then was shut down and saw Dr. James Andrews in early June. He resumed his rehab assignment June 12 at Double-A Binghamton.
–RHP Jeurys Familia (right biceps tendinitis) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 9, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 8. Familia began a rehab assignment May 25 with Class A St. Lucie, but then he had surgery June 5 to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. There is no timetable for his return.
–RHP Frank Francisco (right elbow inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22, and he was transferred RHP to the 60-day disabled list May 30. He began a rehab assignment with Class A St. Lucie on April 17. He sat out two weeks before resuming action for St. Lucie on May 5, and he pitched there through May 8. He was shut down for the ensuing month.
–LHP Johan Santana (torn left shoulder capsule) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 6. He underwent season-ending surgery April 2.
–LHP Pedro Feliciano (left shoulder surgery in September 2011) began pitching for Class A St. Lucie on April 15, with the goal of increasing arm strength. He isn’t on the Mets’ disabled list, as he signed a minor league contract in February. He suffered another setback May 9 when he was placed on the seven-day disabled list at Class A St. Lucie due to a lingering bout of food poisoning. Feliciano first got sick in late April and has officially been diagnosed with ciguatera, a form of fish food poisoning.
–LHP Tim Byrdak (left shoulder surgery in September 2012) re-signed with the Mets on a minor league deal. He might miss the entire season.
ROTATION:
LHP Jon Niese
RHP Matt Harvey
RHP Dillon Gee
RHP Jeremy Hefner
RHP Shaun Marcum
BULLPEN:
RHP Bobby Parnell (closer)
RHP Brandon Lyon
RHP LaTroy Hawkins
LHP Scott Rice
RHP David Aardsma
LHP Josh Edgin
RHP Carlos Torres
CATCHERS:
John Buck
Anthony Recker
INFIELDERS:
1B Josh Satin
2B Daniel Murphy
SS Omar Quintanilla
3B David Wright
INF Justin Turner
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Lucas Duda
CF Jordany Valdespin
RF Marlon Byrd
OF Juan Lagares
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
OF Collin Cowgill
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