Midday Recap: Dillon Gee's wasted gem, and more.

The hammer comes down on a Brewer.  The Los Angeles Dodgers show the league that you can come back after a slow start.  And the 2nd week of racing at Saratoga will begin with a juicy carryover.

But the big story this morning is the wasted gem.  Dillon Gee pitched 7 innings of two-hit ball for the New York Mets, getting out of a jam in the 7th inning when he got Joey Terdoslavich to strike out, stranding the bases.  Both hits came in that 7th inning, with Freddie Freeman ending Gee's no-hit bid with a lead-off single.  Evan Gattis had the other hit.

Corey Sipkin | New York Daily News

The Mets took a 1-0 lead into the top of the 9th, but couldn't hold it long as Bobby Parnell surrenders back-to-back hits to lead off the 9th.  A passed ball would set up both runners in scoring position, and both runners would come home thanks to a Chris Johnson ground-out and then a Reed Johnson single.  The blown save is Parnell's 4th of the season.

With little life in the bottom of the 9th, the Mets were ready to score the tying run off the bat of Justin Turner, but an amazing diving catch by Jason Heyward sealed the Braves victory.

Marlon Byrd scored the lone run for the Mets, using the triple to his advantage.  He would be brought home by Ike Davis in the 4th inning.

GEE WHIZ: Gee's numbers weren't impressive for a no-hit bidder, allowing as many walks as he did strikeouts (3), but did what he needed combined with some fantastic defense behind him in order to preserve the bid until the 7th inning.

This is the second straight start against Atlanta where a fantastic start from Gee has gone wasted.  He was his own worst enemy in his last start, in Atlanta, where in the 9th inning, he watched Freddie Freeman walk off at 1:20AM.

The numbers are getting better for Dillon Gee.  After an abysmal April and May that saw him exit the home game against the Braves on May 25th with a 2-6 record and a 6.34 ERA, Gee's 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA.  He has kept opposing players from reaching home plate in his last two starts, and now sits with a 7-7 record and a 4.07 ERA.

K-RIS TONIGHT: Kris Medlen loves to punch Mets out, having struck out 7 in his last start against them down at Turner Field last month, then 9 in his last appearance at Citi Field in May.  Things have been rocky for Medlen of late, having given up 10 earned runs in his last two starts.  Carlos Torres takes the ball for the Mets, in his 8th Major League start.  Torres went a season-high 5 innings in his last start, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He struck out 5 in the no-decision.

Broadcast Coverage: 6:30PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio

BRAUN'D
For a year and a half, Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun maintained his innocence amid the investigations put forth by Major League Baseball.  On Monday, Braun admitted to his drug use, and accepted a suspension that takes him out for the rest of the season, without pay.

In a statement, Braun apologized to the fans and admitted that he had made some mistakes.  Through his mistakes, he hit 41 home runs for the Brewers last year.  This year Braun hit 9 home runs, and was sitting just below .300 in the batter's box.

IT CAN BE DONE
On June 21st, the Los Angeles Dodgers exited their Friday night loss to the San Diego Padres with a 30-42 record.  9 1/2 games behind first place Arizona, the Dodgers were looking for something to help turn their season around.

A Saturday night win against the Padres became the launching point as the Dodgers started putting together winning streaks and inched their way closer to front-running Arizona.

The month's worth of hard work paid off last night when, coupled with the Dodgers 14-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays and the Arizona loss to the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers took control of 1st, and now lead the National League West by a half-game.

With over two months remaining in the season, the Dodgers have shown the rest of the league that being in the basement doesn't mean that's where you will finish.

WIRED MONEY
When Angel's South went wire-to-wire in the 8th race at Saratoga Race Course yesterday, it sent Pick-6 players heading for the exits with programs in hand. Angel's South win at odds of 34-1 helped fuel a double-day carryover in the Pick-6, with $245,000 heading into the pool when racing resumes on Wednesday.

In the Pick-6, bettors are asked to pick correctly the winners of 6 consecutive races.  The challenge helps to yield one of the bigger payoffs at the track, with many times the $2 wager yielding a return of well over a thousand dollars.

In other Saratoga news, Bigger is Bettor stalked the pace and struck the lead to win the Evan Shipman Stakes, the Monday feature.

Racing continues Wednesday with the running of the Lake George, a Grade II.  First post is 1:00PM.