Midday Recap: Ouch - Painful Day in the Majors

An NL East star gets plunked, clearing the benches.  Another NL East team continues riding their hot streak that cushions them for the postseason.  And an NL East team sits around and waits 15 minutes after a home plate umpire gets plunked in the jaw by a deflected bunt.

But the big story this morning is the end of a winning streak.  Entering last night's game, the Los Angeles Dodgers won 15 straight road games.  With Clayton Kershaw on the mound, they stood a good chance of making it 16 in a row on the road.

St. Louis celebrates the end of the
LA Dodgers road win streak
Associated Press

Kershaw made it through his first four innings without too much trouble. But a Jon Jay double and a Tony Cruz single gave the St. Louis Cardinals the lead in the 5th inning, and then Pete Kozma moved Cruz over to 3rd with his 18th double of the season.  Joe Kelly brought Cruz home with a sacrifice grounder to make it 2-0 in favor of the Cardinals.

The Dodgers would get one of those two back as Adrian Gonzalez brought Carl Crawford home on his single to right field.  But with the bases loaded, A.J. Ellis ended the Dodgers threat in the 6th inning as he grounded into a double play.

The Cardinals add three in the 8th with Carlos Beltran's 20th of the year, followed with a two-run shot by Matt Adams, to pad the Cardinals lead 5-1.  In the 9th inning, Edward Mujica came to preserve the Cardinals win, ending the Dodgers road win streak.

Clayton Kershaw fell to 10-7 on the season with the loss, striking out 5 while giving up 6 hits.  Joe Kelly won his 3rd of the season, giving up 6 hits.  It wasn't a fine effort - Kelly walked two and struck out 1 in his 5 1/3rd innings - but he had enough run support in the 5th inning.

PLUNKED

Bryce Harper takes exception to
getting plunked in the 6th inning.
Alex Brandon | Associated Press

Things got hot between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals on Wednesday Night.  The Braves, hot on their 11th win on a row, fired up more after Bryce Harper cleared the center field wall for his 17th of the year.

But the Braves got even, as Evan Gattis singled to right scoring both Brian Upton and Andrelton Simmons for the 2-1 lead.  Armed with the lead, Julio Teheran plunked Bryce Harper on the middle of his leg, clearing both benches as Harper took exception to the first offering from Teheran after the homer.

Both teams would be warned and play resumed.  In the 7th inning, the Nationals had their best chance to tie or take the lead with the bases loaded.  But Adam LaRoche grounded to Freddie Freeman to clear the danger and preserve the Braves win.

The Braves 2-1 win is their 12th win in a row and put the Braves in a comfortable 14 1/2 game cushion in the National League East, and just behind the Pittsburgh Pirates for the best record in the majors.

OUCH!

Eric Young celebrates after scoring
on a Juan Lagares single in the 8th.
Howard Simmons | NY Daily News

Scary moment for Home Plate Umpire Manny Gonzalez during the 6th inning of the Rockies/Mets game, as a Charlie Blackmon bunt bounced off the plate and nailed Gonzalez on the throat.  He would have to leave the game, and following a 15 minute delay, took the third offering from Jenrry Mejia after the delay deep to right to the the game at 2.  After the Rockies loaded the bases to chase Mejia from the game, Carlos Torres came in and got Wilin Rosario to fly out in shallow center.  Then with two outs, Todd Helton lined to left that was about ready to fall for at least two runs until Eric Young used his speed and diving ability to snatch the ball before it hit the ground.

Eric Young also used his speed in the 8th inning after Juan Lagares beat a weak chopper to the 2nd Baseman, as Young kept running from 2nd Base and scored on the Rockies brief hesitation after the safe call at 1st.

LaTroy Hawkins earned the save for the Mets as they held on for the 3-2 win.

Midday Recap 4/17: That's two they wished they had back

Photo Courtesy: New York Mets

It's been a long 72 hours for the New York Mets.  After winning their game against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, they've had to endure two snowed-out games, leading to what was supposed to be a split doubleheader.  But after field crews at Coors Field were unable to remove 10 inches of snow before the scheduled 3:10p.m. first pitch, it became a traditional doubleheader, starting up at 5:10p.m.

It was two games the Mets wished they had back, as they led in both games.  In the first game, Dillon Gee got roughed up in the 5th inning, failing to protect the 4-2 lead he had at the time, when he loaded the bases and then walked in a run and gave up a 2-run single to Todd Helton, putting the Rockies in the lead.  They would go on to win 8-4.  

In the nightcap, the Mets had a 8-2 lead after a 5-run 5th inning.  Josh Edgin came in the bottom of the 5th, a strategic move to allow Laffey to come back to pitch Saturday against the Nationals.  Edgin surrendered 4 runs in the bottom of the inning, only getting one out.

But the real trouble came in the 8th inning, when a ground ball to Ruben Tejada that was supposed to end the inning got thrown way over the head of Ike Davis and into the Rockies dugout, allowing the tying two runs to come score.

The Rockies won in the 10th inning when a semi-intentional walk to Carlos Gonzalez would later come back to haunt them as he crossed the plate as the winning run, hit home by Jordan Pacheco. 

Instead of being 9-4, the Mets now find themselves one game over .500.

Troubling Stats
In both games of the doubleheader, Mets hitters failed to produce a run against the Colorado bullpen.  In addition, the Mets are now 3-4 on the road.  Hitters are going to have to find a way to correct this fast, especially with the upcoming series with the Nats that promises a showdown with Stephen Strasburg.  And while David Wright was able to keep the Mets home run streak going in the matinee, the streak came to a halt in the nightcap, ending at 12.

Tonight's Outlook

Things are not going to get any easier tonight with Jeremy Hefner on the mound for the Mets.  In his last outing, he gave up 5 runs in 3 innings, all earned, in a 7-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Mets will have to figure Jon Garland out, who started in the Rockies 7-5 win over the Padres on April 12th.  Garland did not get the decision in the win, struck out four, but surrendered 3 runs on 5 hits, going 6 innings.  If the snow stays away, coverage will begin at 8:00PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio. Game has been postponed due to snow; no make-up date announced.

Four point swing

The New York Rangers would love to have their game against the Philadelphia Flyers back as well.  The Rangers dropped a 4-2 decision against the Flyers.  Steve Mason earned his first victory as a Flyer, stopping 38 of 40 shots.  About 40 minutes later, the Winnipeg Jets earned two points as they won in a shootout against the Tampa Bay Lightning, tying the Rangers with 46 points for the last playoff spot.  The Rangers do have the advantage, with a game-in-hand on the Jets.

Boston Pride

All eyes will be on Boston this evening as the Boston Bruins host the first sporting event in the city since the Boston Marathon on Monday.  For the city, it will be a chance to return to a sense of normalcy after this horrific event after the Bruins postponed their Monday game and the Celtics cancelled their Tuesday game.  The city of Boston did announce on Tuesday that the Boston Marathon will again run in 2014, which is a positive that the city is ready to move past this.

Live Sports Ahead

Tonight - NY Mets @ Colorado Rockies - 8:40PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Tomorrow - NY Mets @ Colorado Rockies - 3:10PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Like us on Facebook: 1230 FOX Sports Radio & 1410 CBS Sports Radio

Midday Recap 4/16: Boston, New York and New Jersey

This is how the Boston Marathon was supposed to end.  Instead, tears of joy turned into tears of sadness as two bombs exploded two blocks apart on Bolyston Avenue in Boston.  3 are dead, over a hundred injured, and questions as to why this happened still exist.  And we may not know the reason why for days and weeks to come.

Life in Boston will not be the same after this tragic event.

Our heartfelt sorrow and prayers goes out to the victims, as well as our heartfelt thanks to the countless emergency personnel who worked through the afternoon and into the night to ensure the safety of Bostonians.

Snowed Again
The Mets were snowed out in Denver.  Makeup is this afternoon, when the Mets will play two in Colorado, first at 3:10PM and again at 8:40PM.  They have not played since Saturday late afternoon, when they beat the Minnesota Twins on Matt Harvey's stellar performance.  The Mets will still send Dillon Gee out in the early game, and Aaron Laffey in the nightcap.

Deviled Ham
The New Jersey Devils playoff chances took a bad turn as they fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 last night.  With 6 games left in the regular season, the Devils sit in 11th, 6 points behind the Rangers for the last playoff spot.  Sunday's game against the Rangers could become a must-win for the Devils, dependent on how they handle the Flyers and Panthers this week.  The Flyers are coming out of a 7-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on the road, aided by Hartnell's hat trick.

NBA Doubleheader
Two games on the NBA schedule today after the cancellation of the Boston/Indiana game (and with both teams cemented in the playoffs, they're not going to make it up).  Atlanta has not secured the 5-seed, and will fall into a tie with the Chicago Bulls with a loss.  The late game has the Los Angeles Clippers hosting the Portland Trailblazers.  The Clippers look to be locked into the 4-seed as Pacific Division champs, while the Trailblazers are on a 11-game losing skid.

SPORTS ON THE RADIO
Today:
Mets at Colorado Rockies, Game 1 - 2:30PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio
Mets at Colorado Rockies, Game 2 - 8:00PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio
Tomorrow:
Mets at Colorado Rockies - 8:00PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Midday Recap 4/15: Tax Day

Yes, it's the day that your taxes are due, but let's take your mind off that with today's Midday Recap.

Alt Route 15

The Adirondack Phantoms will not be playing past next Sunday, but that doesn't mean that they're not going to provide their fans with exciting hockey.  And that was the way this weekend went, as the Phantoms won in an overtime thriller on Saturday.  So how do you top that?  How about a goal from Garrett Roe with 0.3 seconds left that forces overtime, capped with a 15 round shootout that was finished when Mark Alt was able to get the puck past Binghamton's goaltender Marc Cheverie.  In all, 13 goals were scored in the shootout.  You can hear the entire 30-skater shootout here, courtesy of Bob Rotruck and the Phantoms Hockey Radio Network. 

Aussie First

A weekend of firsts finished with an Australian winning the Masters for the first time.  Adam Scott shot a -3 and tied Angel Cabrera for the lead, and then after a duplicate showing from both golfers at the first playoff hole, Scott was able to win the Green Jacket on the 2nd playoff hole amid growing darkness at the Augusta course.  Tiger Woods finished 4 shots off the lead, and although one can argue what could have been if he didn't hit the flag on the 15th on Friday, similarly one can argue about what would have happened had he withdrew from competition.  People will be talking about Tiger for awhile leading up to The Player's Championship next month, but for now, the light shines on Adam Scott's first Masters for the land down under.

Ranger Danger Averted

Lost in the shuffle from Saturday night is the New York Rangers giving their playoff hopes a boost with their overtime game-winner on Saturday night against the Islanders.  Granted they conceded a point to the Islanders that keeps the "other New York team" in 7th in the Eastern Conference, but the Rangers still have a game in-hand over both the Islanders and the 9th place Winnipeg Jets. Both the Rangers and the Islanders are in action tomorrow, as the Islanders host the Florida Panthers and the Rangers travel to Philadelphia.

Season Finale

It's the final week of the NBA regular season.  The Knicks, already securing themselves the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference, travel to play the Charlotte Bobcats tonight, and then wrap up their season with a home game against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.  The Brooklyn Nets have already secured themselves a home series in the 1st round with the 4 seed, and will close out the season with home games against the Washington Wizards (tonight) and the Detroit Pistons (Wednesday).  In the west, the Los Angeles Lakers are not secured in the 8th seed, with a game and a half lead over the Utah Jazz.  That makes tonight's Jazz game against the Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00pm) a must-win for them.  

Tonight's Outlook

The Mets travel to chilly Colorado where they start up a four game series against the Rockies.  Dillon Gee is looking to right the ship after his 0-2, 7.71 ERA start where he surrendered 3 home runs against the Philadelphia Phillies.  Juan Nicasio was given a no-decision in his last start against the San Francisco Giants, where he couldn't preserve the 4 run lead the Rockies gave him in the top of the 2nd.  With snow in the forecast, there could be plenty of white things in the air tonight.  Coverage Begins: 8:00PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio.