The Subway Series: Mets at Yankees Preview

Story updated to reflect Thursday Mets and Yankee wins

It's Subway Series time again!

The New York Mets and the New York Yankees begin the first of two series this year on Friday when the Mets make the short travel to Yankee Stadium.  The Yankees return home after playing a four game series at Detroit.

A lot of people are talking New York Mets, and for good reason.  After three straight sweeps, the Mets enter the Subway Series with the best record in baseball, helped by an ongoing 11 game win streak.

The win streak is remarkable considering the growing list of injuries that the Mets have faced.  This includes their capitain, David Wright, Travis d'Arnaud, Jerry Blevins, all who have been injured recently.  Add a suspended reliever in Jenrry Mejia, Zack Wheeler, who was scratched from the lineup prior to opening day as he needs Tommy John surgery, and closer Bobby Parnell, who is set to make his return next month to the list, and you get a Mets team that should otherwise be among the basement dwellers in the NL East.

The success of the Mets through 16 games is the effort of the whole team.  Lucas Duda is hitting the ball well, leading the team with 19 hits.  Juan Lagares has 16 hits, second best on the team, but has made his value more on the field, showing why he was a Gold Glove recipient for his work in center field.  He showcased this on the Wednesday night game against Atlanta when he robbed what would of been an extra base hit in the seventh inning.

The Mets are known for their pitching, and the Yankees will have to face their top two hurlers during the series.  Jacob deGrom was the National League Rookie of the Year, and has followed up that effort by keeping teams scoreless through 18.2 innings since allowing a first inning two-run home run in the opening day game against the Washington Nationals.  Matt Harvey will pitch the middle game of the series, and Jonathon Niese will be on the mound for the Sunday Night game.

Mets fans will be familiar with the Yankees top hitter.  Chris Young was hitting only .205 with the New York Mets last year before he was released and picked up by the Yankees.  He's off to a hot 2015, hitting .357 to lead the Yankees, and would love nothing more than to show Terry Collins and the New York Mets what they missed out on by releasing him.  Brett Gardner is also off to a good start, and Mark Teixeira leads the Yankees with 13 runs batted in.  Plus, Alex Rodriguez is back and wanting to make a statement to Yankee fans and the league.

The Yankees will send out Michael Pineda to start the series.  He surrendered three runs in the last start, but got the help from Yankee bats to earn the win over Tampa Bay.  On Saturday, C.C. Sabathia will oppose Matt Harvey.  Sabathia is off to a rough start, losing all three starts he has made to start the 2015 season.  His latest loss was one where the Yankee offense wasn't clicking, taking the loss despite only giving up two runs in eight innings pitched.  Nathan Eovaldi will pitch the series finale on Sunday Night.

The Yankees started rough, but have picked things up by winning 6 of their last 7 entering the Thursday series finale at Detroit.  They will be a formidable foe for the Mets.

Don't forget, as an affiliate of the New York Mets Radio Network, we have coverage of all three games this weekend live from Yankee Stadium.  Coverage begins 40 minutes before the first pitch.

And just remember, this is only the first of two series between the two teams.  They will meet again at Citi Field for a three game tilt in September.  And how fantastic would that be if both teams are relevant on the quest for October.

New York Mets at New York Yankees
Fri 4/24 - First Pitch: 7:05PM.  Pregame Coverage: 6:25PM
TV Coverage: WRGB CBS 6 (Mets); YES (Yankees)

Sat 4/25 - First Pitch: 4:05PM.  Pregame Coverage: 3:25PM
TV Coverage: WCWN CW 15 (Yankees); SNY (Mets); FOX Sports 1 (National)

Sun 4/26 - First Pitch: 8:05PM.  Pregame Coverage: 7:25PM
TV Coverage: ESPN (National Exclusivity)

Mets Recap: Mets Mystified By Wainwright

In 2012, Adam Wainwright surrendered 12 runs on 14 hits in his two outings against the Mets.

In 2013, Adam Wainwright gave up 4 hits, but kept the Mets off the board.

Unfortunately for the Mets, they met the 2013 version when he held the Mets to four hits in 7 innings pitched as the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the Mets 3-0. 

But Wainwright needed a little help.  In the 5th inning, the Mets threatened to score when Chris Young took Wainwright deep, but was called out when left fielder Matt Holliday reached over the fence to catch the ball before going out of play for a home run.

That was as close as the Mets would get to scoring against Wainwright.  He had to leave after 7 innings after hyper-extending his knee, an injury that isn't expect to sideline the ace.

NOT-SO-GRAND: Curtis Granderson has reached a career low - now 0 for his last 22.  What was hoped to be a confidence boost when he hit a sac-fly to bring home the game-winning run on Sunday has turned into a continuation of his woes at the plate.  

GEEZ: Dillon Gee took the loss for the Mets, giving up 2 runs in the 4th inning, then retired three straight to prevent any further damage.

VALVE: Jose Valverde, making his first appearance since losing the closer role, proceeded to surrender a run when Matt Holliday brought home Daniel Descalso before getting thrown out at second to end the top of the 9th.

MIDDLE MATT: Off the field, Matt Harvey made news when he tweeted a photo of himself in bed marking the 6-month anniversary of his Tommy John surgery.  The photo featured himself giving the middle finger on camera.  

The Mets were not pleased, and not only asked Harvey to delete the tweet, but to also delete his Twitter account.  

BREAKING: Matt Harvey heading to DL

SB Nation

Breaking news coming from Flushing and it's not good for Mets fans, as Matt Harvey is likely done for the season with a torn UCL in his elbow.

The torn UCL was discovered today after undergoing an MRI examination for forearm tightness, especially after his last start against the Detroit Tigers where he allowed a career-high 13 hits.  Although reports have noted that this type of injury could require Tommy John surgery, the Mets ace tells reporters that he is going to do all he possibly can to avoid surgery.

Matt Harvey started in 26 games this season, earning decisions in 14 of his starts.  Carrying a 9-5 record, Harvey logged 178 innings where he gave up 45 earned runs to give him a 2.27 Earned Run Average.  His strikeout-walk ratio is 6:1 for the year, with over 190 strikeouts to counter his 31 walks allowed.

More information about Matt Harvey's injury to come, both on-air during the Mets series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies tonight starting at 6:30PM, and on Twitter as more information comes available.

Midday Recap - Harvey ND'd again, Giants fall flat

Matt Harvey gets another no decision. The Giants falter against the Colts. And the Bills may have figured out their week 1 starter. Only 1 problem.

But the big story is the bean heard around the world in Beantown last night.

Ryan Dempster took exception to Alex Rodriguez playing under appeal of his suspension and in the 2nd inning, delivered his first offering to A-Rod way inside, nearly plunking the 3rd baseman. The 2nd and 3rd pitches to A-Rod also were inside, but not as close. But the 4th pitch came inside and plunked A-Rod below the elbow.

A-Rod was displeased, but more displeased was Skipper Joe Girardi about Dempster only getting a warning instead of an ejection on what he saw was a blatant bean.  A fired up Girardi caused the benches to clear, fueling up a rivalry that hasn't been much to talk about otherwise this year.

After the plunked Rod, all eyes were on C.C. Sabathia to see if he would retaliate and hit a batter, but through 6 1/3rd innings, he did not.

The Yankees would go on to win the game 9-6 as Sabathia earned his 11th win of the season.  Ryan Dempster was charged with his 9th loss of the year.

Boston Pride: Fans at Fenway Park did give an ovation to Mariano Rivera as he walked out onto the field in the middle of the 9th inning, before earning his 36th save of the season.

AGAIN
Matt Harvey remains at 9-4 for the year after a no-decision start on Sunday against the San Diego Padres.

Things were going well for Harvey until the 5th inning, when he started the inning by plunking Logan Forsythe on the first pitch, and then surrendered a single by Nick Hundley.  Both would be brought home to tie the score at 2-2.

Then in the 6th inning, a single to Jedd Gyorko started the inning.  He would be stranded, however, after Logan Forsythe grounded out.

That would be all for Harvey, as after a two-out double by Omar Quintanilla, Terry Collins decided to pinch-hit for the pitcher, sending Andrew Brown to the plate.  That move proved to be good when Brown doubled home Quintanilla for the go-ahead run, putting Harvey back in line for the win.

But that wouldn't last, as Gonzalez Germen would get into trouble, surrendering a walk to Yonder Alonso.  Chase Headley doubled to right, but the strong arm of Marlon Byrd kept Alonso at 3rd until Chris Denorfia singled him home.

After a scoreless top 9th, and Pedro Feliciano on the mound for the Mets, Will Venable took a 1-2 slider deep for the Mets 12th walk-off loss of the year, as the Padres won the back 2 games to split the four game series.

Fly like a Byrd: Marlon Byrd came within inches of extending the Mets lead in the 8th inning when he crushed a ball to deep center.  However, a jumping grab by game-winner Will Venable at the wall brought the 2nd out of the inning.  It was a close call, as the downward trajectory of the ball would possibly have clipped the top of the wall.

Infield Singles: The Mets surrendered three infield singles during the game.  Two of those three brought men home, as Venable's soft grounder to Justin Turner in the 5th allowed Forsythe to score and Nick Hundley to move over to 3rd, where he would be brought home with the next batter's sac-fly.  Then in the 8th, Denorfia's single to Quintanilla brought home Alonso to tie the game once again.

Walk it Off: The Mets are now 31-34 on the road, with 12 of those losses of the walk-off variety. The 12 walk-off losses this season ties them for the most in the majors with the Miami Marlins.

Detour: The Mets have a detour on their way home from the west coast as they play a make-up game against the Minnesota Twins. There will be friendlier weather for the Mets this time at Target Field as the high is forecasted to reach 90, a considerable difference from the snowy conditions that brought about the postponement back in April.  Dillon Gee will start for the Mets, and Kyle Gibson gets the nod for the Twins. Pregame Coverage: 1:30PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio

GIANT FAIL
The Giants lead, but cannot stay ahead as the New York Giants lose to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.

FOX Sports - Image Source

The Giants took the lead on a Josh Brown 25 yard field goal.  But four minutes was all it took for the Colts to seize control of the lead with Andrew Luck's pass to Reggie Wayne for the 28 yard touchdown reception.  Adam Vinatieri showed he has kicking power still at the end of the first quarter, as he booted a 52 yard field goal for the 10-3 Indy lead.

In the 2nd quarter, the Colts got a 18 yard touchdown reception as Luck and T.Y. Hilton combine efforts.  But two Josh Brown field goals would move the Giants back within a possession at the end of the half.

Both teams would trade a field goal in the 2nd half, and the Giants would go down 20-12.

Sacked Pack: Eli Manning went 8-for-17 for 91 yards, including a pick as he obtained a 39.1 QB rating in the game.  The other two on the Giants depth chart weren't much better - David Carr's 7/11 was better, but 3 sacks helped shut down drives fast.  Ryan Nassib's 2 sacks didn't help either, combined with his 2/6 passing.

Mellow Yellow: So if through most of the stats, the Giants were equal to the Colts, how did they lose the game?  Negative yardage could be a reason.  44 yards lost to sacks and the 10 yellow flags that accounted for 96 penalty yards did not help the G-men.

SIDELINED
After looking nearly unstoppable in the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, it appeared as if the 1st round draft pick was going to be named the Buffalo Bills starter for the 1st regular season matchup against the New England Patriots.

After all, EJ Manuel went 10/12 in the 3rd quarter, passing for 92 yards as his arm helped lift the Buffalo Bills to victory over the Minnesota Vikings, 20-16.

However, Saturday, it was learned that EJ Manuel will be sidelined for the remainder of the preseason, there is some swelling going on with his knee that needs to be looked at, and that Kevin Kolb will be getting the start in the 3rd preseason game against the Washington Redskins [4:30PM, 1410 CBS Sports Radio WENU].

At this time, Manuel should be back with the Bills in time for the regular season.

HIGH TIME
Kids take to the field for the first time today as high school football practices begin across New York State.  Some schools, especially downstate, decided to make this a special occasion by opening practice at Midnight.

Locally, we'll be keeping an eye on how all our local teams are doing and will provide reports as the high school football season draws closer.

Our first game of the year will take place on Saturday, September 7th as the Troy Flying Horses take on the Queensbury Spartans in a Class A match.  Broadcast will be on 1230 FOX Sports Radio starting at 1:15PM.

A full listing of our scheduled broadcasts can be found here.

All-Star Tuesday & other musings: Midday Recap 7/17

As the Major Leagues roll into their All-Star Break, we roll into a break of our own.  You see, in Winter when the NBA and NHL go into their breaks, there's still something going on.  You have the league not on break playing, plus collegiate sports to keep the headlines coming.  Plus there's the anticipation of Spring coming with pitchers and catchers set to report to Spring Training.  And every four years, you have the best in their sports compete for Olympic Gold.

However, you don't get that with baseball.  Outside of some random Major League Soccer games and the anticipation of the upcoming British Open, you do not get a lot of sports to talk about, unless there's a blockbuster signing or trade emanating from the NBA or NHL.

So we use this time to recharge our sportswriting batteries and get fresh for this Friday, when the season resumes.  Plus we'll be sure to talk Saratoga, as the 2013 meeting starts up at the 150 year old oval.
Editor's Note: You can't call it the 150th year of racing because there wasn't racing at Saratoga in 1896, 1911, 1912, 1943, 1944 or 1945.
As far as the All-Star game is concerned, the American League captures home-field advantage in the World Series, winning 3-0.  Of the Mets who played, David Wright went 1-for-3, accounting for one of the National League's 3 hits, and Matt Harvey pitched two scoreless innings and got out of a jam after allowing a lead-off single to Mike Trout and plunking Robinson Cano near the knee.

Exit Left.  Enter Right.  Mariano
enters the All-Star Game in the 8th.
FOX Television/MLB

But the best part of last night, by far, was Mariano Rivera coming in to play the 8th inning.  Jim Leyland wasn't going to take any chances of a National League comeback taking away Rivera's right to save the 9th, so in comes Rivera, greeted by his long-time entrance music, Metallica's Enter Sandman.  Both dugouts clapped and showed their appreciation for the career Saves leader, who proceeded to pitch a 1-2-3 inning.

So, for now, we relax and start planning our Midday Recaps for the 2nd half of the Major League season.  But we want to know what you like about the Recap and what you think needs to be fixed.  Place your comments below and we'll do our best to craft this daily feature to be the briefs you need to keep you informed what's going on in the world of sports.

Midday Recap: Matt Harvey dazzles with a Blister.

Nick Swisher has an embarrassing night.  Zack Greinke meets up with the Diamondbacks for the first time since benches cleared on June 11th.  And trade rumors circulate involving Jimmer Fredette, again.

But the big story is the Mets winning in San Francisco while you were sleeping.

With Matt Harvey on the mound, the Mets take a 3-2 lead in the top 6th as Daniel Murphy converts Eric Young's triple into a run, then Murphy came home as Ike Davis hit into a double play.

Jeff Chiu | Associated Press

However, the Giants come back, as Hunter Pence triples and is brought home on Brandon Crawford's single.

The two teams stay off the scoreboard for the following 9 innings, when Eric Young's speed helps gain him 3rd base, and Anthony Recker capitalizes on a Crawford fielding error to give the Mets the 4-3 advantage heading into the bottom 16th.

Bobby Parnell saves the game and strands two as the Mets win at 3:41AM, 4-3 in 16 innings.

It wasn't the best start for Matt Harvey, who admitted he was fighting a blister.  But he did pitch 7 innings, striking out 6.

The Mets continue their Bay Area visit with Dillon Gee on the mound tonight against Barry Zito.  First pitch is scheduled for 10:15PM EDT.  Pregame coverage begins on 1230 FOX Sports at 9:35PM.

SWISHED
It was an embarrassing night for former New York Yankee Nick Swisher.  The now Cleveland Indian stared at a ball that rolled foul, only to find it come back into fair territory and as he wasn't running towards first base, he was easily tagged just feet away from the batter's box.

Then in the 10th inning, with the Detroit Tigers leading 4-2, Swisher slipped and slid as he rounded 3rd base, and had to retreat back to 3rd, preventing the Indians from scoring the run on a teammate's base hit.  He would be stranded at 3rd as the following hitter struck out.

REMATCH
Eight were suspended the last time Zack Greinke pitched against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  However, it was a calmer affair between the two teams this time around as the Los Angeles Dodgers put an end to the Diamondbacks 5 game winning streak, 6-1.

Greinke punched out 7 and walked 2 in his seven innings pitched, and Yasiel Puig continued his case to be the last NL player admitted to next Tuesday's All-Star game with a two-hit game.

MOVING EAST?
According to Sports Illustrated, the Sacramento Kings are interested in selling Glens Falls native Jimmer Fredette, if the offer's right.  In the 2012-13 season, Fredette, who spent most of his season sitting on the pine, averaged over 7 points per game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are reported to be one of the teams interested in Fredette, but how interested the Cavaliers truly are depends on how things go with Andrew Bynum, who was offered a $24 million dollar contract.

Midday Recap 6/28: Mets, NBA, Dodgers & More

Marlon Byrd's two-run homer lifts the Mets to a Rocky Mountain Victory.  Aaron Hernadez awaits trial, denied bail.  The Los Angeles Dodgers are winners of 6 straight.  And Anthony Bennett is your NBA #1 Draft Pick.

Celtics Life Photo

But the big story today is the trade that went down while the GM's were selecting new talent.  Rumors were speculating before the draft began, but became publicized towards the end of the evening, as the Brooklyn Nets acquire the remaining two pieces of Boston's original big three.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett will call the Barclays Center their new home come November in a deal that is still being ironed out, and won't be official until July 10th.  This comes just days after it was announced Doc Rivers would be taking his coaching talents to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Meanwhile the NBA Draft had several twists and turns, no bigger than Nerlens Noel falling to the 6th pick, originally selected by the New Orleans Pelicans before trading his contract off to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for all-star Jrue Holiday.

Anthony Bennett was the 1st overall pick, selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Bennett is the first Canadian player to be selected 1st overall, having spent a year at UNLV.

Over in Colorado, the Mets and Rockies were making a game that was snowed-out in April.  Playing in 70 degree warmer weather, the Rockies jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Todd Helton's sac-fly and then Wilin Rosario, who was given the gift of a Josh Satin throwing error.

The Mets would get one back in the 5th inning when Zack Lutz scored when Jeremy Hefner grounded into a fielder's choice.

David Zalubowski | Associated Press

Then in the 8th inning, Daniel Murphy singled and then Marlon Byrd homered to left field to drive in two runs to give the Mets the lead.  Scott Rice and Bobby Parnell were able to keep the Rockies off the board in the 8th and 9th innings for the win.

The Mets have won 7 of 11 during this roadtrip, and return to Citi Field to begin a three game series against the Washington Nationals.  Matt Harvey is due up on the mound today, with Dillon Gee and Zack Wheeler to follow.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers have won 6 in a row to put themselves back in the race for the NL West.  At the start of their June 22nd game against the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers were 9 1/2 games back.  Following yesterday's 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, they are now within 6 of the division-leading Arizona Cardinals.

Alex Gallardo | Associated Press

Much of their comeback can be attributed to rookie sensation Yasiel Puig.  Since being called up to the majors, Puig has hit .427 in 23 games, including 7 homers.  He has accounted for 16 runs coming home, including two of them yesterday when he took a two-out two-strike pitch to left field for a single to put the Dodgers in the lead.

Mother Nature washes Matt Harvey away

Matt Harvey was looking good.  Both on the mound and in the batter's box.

Up until Mother Nature came and washed Matt Harvey away from the game on Sunday.  After pitching 6 innings of two-hit ball, it was determined by Terry Collins and the Mets brass that Harvey would not return following a twenty minute rain delay to start the 7th.

The damage was already done.  Up 7-0 at that time and well in line to earn his 7th win of the season, they felt it was best to sit Harvey and get him prepped for his next scheduled start, which is Friday against the Washington Nationals in New York.

The bullpen preserved the shutout as the Mets win the rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-0.  LaTroy Hawkins and Brandon Lyon pitched the remaining three innings, holding the Phillies to two total hits during the final frames.

Matt Harvey's bat in the 5th inning helped open the game for the Mets, as his double brought home Juan Lagares, who benefited from a Ben Revere fielding error that put him at third base.  Harvey would be led home by Eric Young as the Mets plated three in the 5th.

On the mound, Harvey pitched six innings, allowing only two hits.  His shutout helped lower his ERA to 2.05, polishing his candidacy to start in the All-Star Game coming up next month at Citi Field.

His pitching performance was supported by the bat of David Wright, who went 4-for-5, all being for extra bases.  Eric Young and Marlon Byrd also had multi-hit games for the Mets.

Weekend Notes: Lucas Duda is on the 15-day Disabled List, retroactive to June 22nd, as he is out with a left intercoastal strain.  His departure brought speculation that Ike Davis would be returning from the Las Vegas 51s, however the Mets opted to see Davis spend more time tweaking his swing. Instead, the Mets went with Josh Satin at 1st Base the last two games, a position he played at for eight games back in 2011.  In 10 Major League starts at 1st Base, he has never been charged with an error.

On Friday, Jeremy Hefner won his 2nd game of the season as the Mets came back from a 3-0 deficit to win, thanks to some help from Eric Young.  His 2-RBI single tied the game in the 5th inning, and then Juan Lagares brought Duda home in the 6th for the go-ahead run.

Saturday saw the Mets bounce back from a 7-1 hole after Dillon Gee saw three of his pitches go beyond the wall, two of them to Ryan Howard, who has always had Gee's number.  The other homer Gee surrendered was to Michael Young, who with Ryan Howard combined for back-to-back solos in the 5th inning.  The 7th and 9th innings were huge for the Mets as they scored 4 in the 7th and 2 in the 9th to tie the game before Kevin Frandsen took the 2nd pitch he saw deep for the Philly walk-off.

The 9th inning comeback brought the 3rd straight blown save for Jonathan Papelbon, who remembers a blown save effort against the Mets back in July last year when David Wright walked off with a single in the bottom 9th at Citi Field.

Young Choice: Eric Young has enjoyed his time with the Mets already.  Since being traded from the Colorado Rockies in exchange of Collin McHugh, the switch-hitter from New Brunswick, New Jersey has hit .364.  He has batted in 5 runs, one fewer than the 6 he had through 50+ games with the Colorado Rockies.  Meanwhile, Collin McHugh was immediately optioned to Double-A, and lost in his first start with his new team, the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League.  In that game, McHugh allowed two runs on five hits in 6 innings pitched.

Wheeler's on Deck: The Mets travel to the midwest for a pair of games against the Chicago White Sox.  The two teams split the pair played at Citi Field in May, one which included a Matt Harvey gem where the Mets finally tacked on the game's first run in the 10th inning. The White Sox won't have to face Harvey in this pair, but will find themselves facing Zack Wheeler on Tuesday night.  Wheeler kept the Braves scoreless in the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader, settling down to strike out 7 in his six innings of work.

North Country Sports Radio Recaps: May 7 (Mets won 1-0) | May 8 (White Sox won 6-3)

Radio Coverage: 7:30PM Tuesday, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Pitching Power Duo: Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler

If we were to compare yesterday's performances between Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler last night, Harvey's flirtation with a no-hitter until the 7th inning was better, though an argument could be made about Wheeler keeping the Braves off the scoreboard.

Harvey(W, 6-1)

7.0

3

3

3

3

13

0

2.16

Wheeler, Z(W, 1-0)

6.0

4

0

0

5

7

0

0.00

Stats courtesy MLB.com

But it's not a fair comparison, as yesterday was Harvey's 25th career Major League start.  So let's expand on this some more, and compare the two aces in their debut.

Matt Harvey, debut July 26th, 2012 at Arizona

Harvey, M(W, 1-0)

5.1

3

0

0

3

11

0

0.00

Zack Wheeler, debut June 18th, 2013 at Atlanta

Wheeler, Z(W, 1-0)

6.0

4

0

0

5

7

0

0.00

On initial look, you would have to say Matt Harvey was the superior one on the mound in his debut, having punched out 11.  Wheeler walked 5, but did strike out 7 in his debut.  But the two situations are different.  Harvey pitched in an enclosed stadium in Arizona, whereas Wheeler pitched outdoors at Turner Field.  Harvey was pitching thousands of miles away from his hometown of New London, Connecticut, and Wheeler was pitching just miles away from his hometown of Smyrna, Georgia, a short [well... depending on when you're driving through the heart of Atlanta] ride down I-75.

That's not mentioning when Harvey pitched against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they were 49-49 and struggling to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.  Wheeler's debut was against the NL East leading Atlanta Braves, sitting happily 13 games above .500.

And of Wheeler's 5 walks, four of them came in the first three innings, including one to the first batter he faced.  Maybe it was butterflies.  But he regained his composure and made sure those free passes did not come up on the scoreboard later in the inning.

So who had the better debut?  Does it matter?

Not really.  What matters is that yesterday's doubleheader sweep showed Mets fans that a brighter future is in store, and that we should be excited to see these two continue to grow and shine.

The Mets now have a 1-2 punch in their rotation that hasn't been seen since the prime of Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey last year.  And even though Dillon Gee gave up the walk-off home run to Freddie Freeman on Monday, he has been steadily improving from his low form he experienced at the start of the season.  Jeremy Hefner has been improving of late as well, posting a 3.25 ERA through his last 10 starts.

Now if the Mets bats can help translate these fine pitching performances into wins...

MLB Live Blog: Mets at Braves, Game 1 of Doubleheader

1230 FOX Sports Twitter | 1230 FOX Sports Facebook | 1410 CBS Sports Facebook
We're an hour into Matt Harvey day at Turner Field.

You've already missed 4 strikeouts, a 100MPH pitch, and some fast running to produce the Mets first run of the game.

So where do we go from here?  Keep refreshing as we continue to follow the first game of the doubleheader, the appetizer for the main course of Zack Wheeler's debut.

Mets Recap: Do onto others as others would do onto you. [Updated]

Jubilation on Sunday.

Heartbreak in the wee hours of Tuesday.

One game after Kirk Nieuwenhuis sent the fans at Citi Field home happy, the Mets were on the receiving end of the walk-off early Tuesday morning as Freddie Freeman took Dillon Gee's 101st pitch deep to win it for the Atlanta Braves, coming from behind for the 2-1 victory.

Atlanta Braves | FOX Sports SportsSouth

Freeman's shot to right came at 1:22AM (as seen above), finishing a game that endured a nearly four hour long rain delay before the first pitch was thrown by Tim Hudson.  Freeman had Gee figured out, accounting for 3 out of the 5 Braves hits on Monday night.

For the Mets, Lucas Duda caught fire as he was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate.  However, he never made it back home, as he was taken off the bases by Marlon Byrd three times, and took himself off as he was caught stealing 2nd base. John Buck was the lone Met to make it back home, as Gee batted in the first run of the game in the top 7th.

Dillon Gee had a good game up until the home run, pitching 8 1/3rd innings as he struck out 6 and allowed five hits.  Terry Collins had no regrets after the game about leaving Gee in the game, as his pitch count stood at 88 after 8 full innings of work.  With the loss, Dillon Gee now sits at 5-7.  Once seeing his ERA up at 8.36 after a rocky start in the Rockies, Gee's ERA now sits at a healthier 4.56

The come-from-behind win kept Tim Hudson from losing his 6th straight decision as he pitched 7 innings, striking out 6 and only giving up that one run in the 7th.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
Dillon Gee's hit in the 7th was the lone conversion with runners in scoring position during the game, going 1-for-6 during the game. As a result, they stranded 8 runners.  Marlon Byrd stranded four as he accounted for the final out three times, including hitting into a double play in the 6th that squished a Mets threat.

3-4 CHANGES
The Mets made changes defensively as Daniel Murphy returned to his home at 2nd base.  Moving from right field to play 1st Base was Lucas Duda.  Terry Collins was originally against moving Duda to 1st, citing that he wanted to make sure that position was still open for Ike Davis when his quick trip to Las Vegas was over with.  However, after going 4-for-23 in his first week in what should be a hitter's environment, it seems likely Davis's return is not going to be soon.

Duda looked very comfortable at what he considers to be his natural position, including a save on what could have been an E-4 on Daniel Murphy, leaning over to scoop-up a toss from Murphy to retire a Braves batterduring the game.

FUTURES DAY
The Future of the New York Mets will be showcased on Tuesday as Matt Harvey takes the mound for the first of a doubleheader at Turner Field in Atlanta.  Harvey took a loss his last time out when the Mets bats failed to connect, his first loss since September.

Enough has been said about Matt Harvey, which has been a holiday in its own way for Mets fans.

Zack Wheeler, playing for the Binghamton Mets last April.  He will wear #45
as he makes his Major League debut against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday Night.
Mike Janes | Four Seam Images [source]

However, the real attraction comes Tuesday night as it features the Major League debut of Zack Wheeler.  As a member of last year's Double-A Binghamton Mets, Wheeler went 10-6 with an earned run average of 3.26.  He struck out 117 and kept batters guessing, as they could only hit .225 against Wheeler.

Once promoted to the Buffalo Bisons, last year's Triple-A club, he went 2-2 wiith a similar ERA of 3.26.  In 6 games he hurled 33 innings, striking out 31 as batters could only hit .205 against the prodigy ace.  This year with the Las Vegas 51's, this year's Triple-A team, he went 4-2 with a 3.93 ERA, striking out 73.

[EXTRA: Zack Wheeler's stats]

With all the media attention towards Wheeler's first start, it will be interesting to see how Wheeler handles the pressure and butterflies of pitching for the first time in the majors.  Especially with a tough assignment such as pitching against a strong hitting team like the Atlanta Braves.  If Wheeler can make it here, he'll make for a fine addition to the Mets roster.

Coverage: Game 1 - Pregame: 12:30pm, First pitch: 1:10pm.  Game 2 - Pregame: 6:30pm, First pitch: 7:10pm.  Both games on 1230 FOX Sports Radio.

Atlanta Weather - from weather.gov

• TodayOccasional showers and thunderstorms. High near 83. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
• TonightOccasional showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Low around 67. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Mets Recap: Nieuwenhuis packs a punch in walkoff

Kathy Wilens | AP via Stamford Advocate

NIEUWY!!

For 8 1/2 innings, it was appearing as if this Mets game was going to go the same dark road.

Quality pitching rotted by lack of hitting and errors.  

Then the bottom of the 9th happened.

Marlon Byrd gave the Mets life with his 11th home run of the year to kick off the inning and to pull the Mets within 2.  A walk to Lucas Duda allowed the Mets to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of John Buck.  His single to right set up 1st and 2nd with nobody out.  Omar Quintanilla moved the runners over with his sac-bunt, setting up two runners in scoring position with 1 man out.

William Perlman | Star-Ledger

Then, Kirk Nieuwenhuis reached the plate.  A recent call-up from the farm club in Las Vegas, Nieuwenhuis came to the plate having hit only one base hit in his last 16 plate appearances.

Hitting a salty .157 this year, Nieuwenhuis took Carlos Marmol's 2nd pitch, a 94 mile per hour fastball, deep to right field, hitting the ball off the Pepsi Porch deck for his first home run this year.

It brought the 30,000 in attendance at Citi Field home happy, as the Mets salvaged the 3rd game of the series against the Chicago Cubs with a 4-3 walk-off victory.

Jeremy Hefner struck out 5 in his 5 innings pitched, surrendering 6 hits that brought 3 runs home, 1 of them earned.  For being the pitcher on record for the 9th, Bobby Parnell wins his 5th game of the season.  For Curtis Marmol, it was his 3rd blown save of the year, and 4th loss of the season.

The Cubs got on the board in the 1st with Alfonso Soriano's single to left that brought Luis Valbuena home.  They added two in the the fifth when two errors helped bring Starlin Castro and Nate Schierholtz home.  

The Mets pack their bags for the start of what will be a long 11 game road trip, starting with a quintet of games at Turner Field in Atlanta.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Monday - Tim Hudson (4-6, 4.41) vs. Dillon Gee (5-6, 4.84) - 7:10PM

Tuesday - Game #1: Alex Wood (0-0, 3.52) vs. Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.04) - 1:10PM

                Game #2: Paul Maholm (7-5, 3.65) vs. Zack Wheeler (MLB Debut) - 7:10PM

Wednesday - Kris Melden (3-7, 3.09) vs. Shaun Marcum (0-8, 5.43) - 7:10PM

Thursday - Mike Minor (8-2, 2.68) vs. Jon Niese (3-6, 4.15) - 7:10PM

All Games to air on 1230 FOX Sports Radio.  Coverage begins 40 minutes prior to first pitch with Mets Extra with Ed Coleman.

Mets build, maintain in win over Cardinals

Every starting pitcher on the New York Mets knows they've got one or two more chances to prove that they should remain in the starting lineup next week with Zack Wheeler coming.

Dillon Gee explained why it shouldn't be him demoted to the bullpen through his pitching, striking out 7 in 6 1/3rd innings as he gave up one run in Wednesday's 5-1 victory.

The Mets used a quick start again on Wednesday to build a 2-0 lead after three straight hits.  Lucas Duda added to the lead with his 11th homer of the year in the 4th inning, and then David Wright and Marlon Byrd stamped their 9th of the years in the 6th and 7th innings respectively.

The lone run for the Cardinals came off the bat of Allen Craig, who hit a solo shot in the 6th inning off Dillon Gee.

Shelby Miller gave up 4 runs and struck out 10 in the defeat, his 4th loss of the season.

TODAY: It's Harvey Day, though it doesn't come with quite the fanfare that it did earlier in the season, as Matt Harvey has only earned two decisions in his last 10 starts.  Harvey exited the game after 7 innings against the Miami Marlins on Saturday, complaining of some lower back tightness.

His last win came against the Chicago Cubs on May 17th, when he endured 7 1/3rd innings, striking out 6.  Harvey did not face the Cardinals this year during the four game stretch at Busch Stadium, but did start against them last year where he gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in 5 innings pitched in a losing effort.

Doing battle against the Mets will be Adam Wainwright.  Although Wainwright has won his last 4 starts, his last loss was against the Mets in a day game in St. Louis where he gave up three runs on six hits, while striking out 8.  The first Met to strike out against Wainwright this afternoon will be the recipient of Wainwright's 1,000th career Major League strikeout.

Pregame: 12:30PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Midday Recap: Mariano's mortal, after all.

Ron Antonelli, Robert Sabo | New York Daily News

Mariano Rivera threw out both the first and last pitches last night at Citi Field.

He, however, enjoyed that first pitch better.

His last pitch was a 90 M.P.H. cutter to Lucas Duda which Duda struck over to right field to bring David Wright home for the game-winner as the Mets swept the two games at Citi Field in the 2013 Subway Series with a 2-1 win.

Rivera, who came on with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 9th, failed to save the game for the first time in 19 opportunities this season. He failed to retire a batter, as Daniel Murphy reached on a ground-rule double to lead off the inning.  Then David Wright singled in Daniel Murphy, reaching 2nd on the throw to home to set up the at-bat with Lucas Duda.

It was Mariano's 3rd career blown save against the Mets, and the first time in his storied career which he failed to record a single out prior to blowing a save.

It also saved Matt Harvey from his first loss of the season.  Harvey threw 8 innings, striking out 10 while giving up only 1 run on 6 hits. Hiroki Kuroda pitched fantastically for the Yankees, throwing 7 innings, giving up only 4 hits and not allowing a single run.

Rivera was charged with the loss, and Scott Rice, who relieved Harvey for the 9th inning, earns his 3rd win of the season.  The Mets now have won three straight, all in comeback fashion.

The Subway Series now shifts over to the Bronx for a pair of games at Yankee Stadium.  Jeremy Hefner (0-5, 4.76) will take the mound, hoping to finally break a string where the Mets fail to win a post-Harvey start.  Hefner struck out 7 against the Atlanta Braves over the weekend in a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in his 6 innings pitched.  For the Yankees, David Phelps (3-2, 3.88) will go on the mound.  He had offensive help as he won his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays despite giving up 4 runs and striking out only 3 in his 6 2/3rd innings pitched.

Radio Coverage: 6:25PM Pregame; 7:05PM First Pitch - 1230 FOX Sports Radio, WMML
TV Coverage: 7:00PM - SNY, YES

Midday Recap: Round 1 goes to the Mets

@MistaJRMoore

Under the new interleague schedule, this week has been dubbed "Rivalry Week", where yearly interleague combatants face each other for four games, 2 at home and 2 away.

For the Mets, that means 4 games against their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees.  The Yankees have been surprising many this year, plagued by injuries yet tied for the top spot in the American League East.  The Mets, looking for something that can turn their season around, are trying to build from a national-TV win against the Braves on Sunday.

Jonathan Niese pitched well in his last start, but had the misfortune of a David Wright error in the 1st inning that ultimately led to three runs as he took the loss without being charged an earned run.  And in the 1st inning it appeared that Niese was in his early-season form as he triple-K'd the side.

Phil Hughes escaped a David Wright triple when Lucas Duda grounded out to 1st.

In the top 2nd, Niese got into trouble as he loaded the bases on a Lyle Overbay walk, but got some help from his fielders when Chris Stewart grounded into a double play to end the threat.

It looked like the 6th inning was going to be the Mets undoing, as Niese surrendered a lead-off triple to Brett Gardner, and then saw Jayson Nix bring him home for the 1-0 Yankees lead.  In the bottom half, Daniel Murphy had the chance to bring Niese home, but got robbed when Gardner's glove went over the wall to take away what would be a 2-run homer, ending the inning still 1-0 in favor of the Bronx.

The Mets needed to go further, and David Wright was able to accomplish this with his lead-off homer in the bottom 7th that tied the game.

After the Yankees grounded into a double-play in the top of the 8th, the Mets took advantage in the bottom half, setting up runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out after Chris Stewart let a pitch go past him.  Mike Baxter ran home on a Ruben Tejada grounder, but didn't make it fully to home plate before Stewart was able to apply the tag, ruling him out.

Then came Daniel Murphy.  He took the 3-1 offering from David Robertson to center field, scoring Jordany Valdespin for the go-ahead run.  The Mets had the chance to tack on more with Lucas Duda at the plate with the bases loaded, but a strikeout brought the threat to an end.

In the 9th, Bobby Parnell earned his 8th save of the season, striking out two and getting Travis Hafner to pop out to end the game.

Niese struck out 4 and gave up the lone run in the 6th as he picked up his 3rd no-decision of the season.  Brandon Lyon was given credit for the win, having pitched the 8th inning.  It was his 2nd win of the season as he improved his ERA to 3.66.  David Robertson was given the loss, his first of the season.

Subway Series Round 2: The final of the two at Citi Field comes tonight as the Mets send Matt Harvey to the mound.  Harvey was roughed for 4 runs in 6 1/3rd innings against the Reds last week, which blossomed his ERA to 1.93.  The Mets will face Hiroki Kuroda, who will be looking for much better after getting yanked in the 3rd inning against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits, two being home runs.  Prior to that, the last time Kuroda failed to make 5 innings was in his season debut against the Boston Red Sox on April 3rd.

Radio Coverage: 6:30PM - WMML 1230 FOX Sports Radio
Television Coverage: 7:00PM - WRGB CBS 6; SNY; ESPN (in some markets, blacked out in NY)

Midday Recap: Ike!

John Munson | The Star-Ledger/nj.com

Hopefully this is the beginning of a change for the Mets 1B.

Davis broke a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning with a two-run single that powered the Mets over the Braves in the series-finale at Citi Field, 4-2. 

The hit came at the right time.

With a demotion to Las Vegas looming, Ike's hit came before a national audience on Sunday Night Baseball.  He was on base three times, twice on a hit and once on a walk.  He finished what John Buck started in the 8th, and helped preserve a fantastic pitching performance from Shaun Marcum.

Marcum pitched 7 innings, striking out 12.  He allowed 4 hits and gave up two runs, both of them  when Dan Uggla took Marcum's 100th pitch deep.

Bobby Parnell came in for his 7th save of the season, striking out 2 in the 9th inning.

Subway Series: Major League Baseball kicks off their "rivalry week" as the Mets welcome their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees, for the start of a home-and-home series.  Matt Harvey fans will keep an eye on Tuesday's game as he faces Hiroki Kuroda, but on Monday it will be Jonathan Niese vs. Phil Hughes.

Broadcast Schedule:
- Monday: Yankees at Mets - Pregame: 6:30PM; First Pitch: 7:10PM.  TV: WRGB CBS-6; Radio: WMML 1230 FOX Sports Radio
- Tuesday: Yankees at Mets - Pregame: 6:30PM; First Pitch: 7:10PM.  TV: WRGB CBS-6; Radio: WMML 1230 FOX Sports Radio
- Wednesday: Mets at Yankees - Pregame: 6:25PM; First Pitch: 7:05PM.  Radio: WMML 1230 FOX Sports Radio
- Thursday: Mets at Yankees - Pregame: 6:25PM; First Pitch: 7:05PM.  TV: WCWN CW-15; Radio: WMML 1230 FOX Sports Radio
Remember: We've got the Mets all season long on 1230 FOX Sports Radio.

Now, before we go today, we remind you to thank all those men and women who have bravely served for our country, past and present.  Happy Memorial Day!

Midday Recap: "See You In Pittsburgh"

If you blinked, you missed it.

Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean was very brief in his post-game conference following the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-3 victory in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Eastern Semifinals.

He stated at the podium, which his conference lasted all of 13 seconds, that 7-3 was enough said, and "See you in Pittsburgh", where he vowed his team would come to play.

The Ottawa Senators led at the end of the first period 2-1, but then Pittsburgh bounced back with what would become 6 unanswered goals as they take a 3-1 series lead back to Pittsburgh.

FIRESTARTER
LeBron James and the Miami Heat are up 1-0 in their best of 7 series against the Indiana Pacers after their overtime win 103-102.  LeBron James caught the inbound pass with 2.2 seconds left in overtime, attacked the basket, and layed the ball in for the game-winner.

He finished the game with a triple-double, scoring 30, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing for 10 assists.  Dwayne Wade contributed with 19 points before fouling out, and Chris Bosh scored 17.

Paul George, who was responsible for tying the game to send it to overtime for the Indiana Pacers, scored 27 points as he went 10/11 from the charity stripe.  David West contributed with 26 points and Roy Hibbert scored 19.

Game 2 is Friday (8PM, TNT).

IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME...
The Mets would love to rewind the clock and play the bottom of the 8th inning over again.  Tied 4-4 with the Cincinnati Reds.  Given the gift of Zack Cozart's throwing error, the Mets had Marlon Byrd at 1st with 1 out.  Ike Davis patiently earned a walk, setting up 1st and 2nd, and the chance for John Buck to bring home the go-ahead run.

John Buck, who has had offensive woes of late, grounded into a double play, ending the inning.

In the top of the 9th, Bobby Parnell gave up the first runs he has allowed in May, as he gave up a lead-off double to Shin-Soo Choo.  Then he intentionally walked to Joey Votto, hoping to set up a double play.

Brandon Phillips, who already made the Mets pay earlier, did it again as his double brought home the go-ahead run.  Another intentional walk loaded the bases, which came back to haunt Parnell and the Mets when Todd Frazier brought home Votto and Phillips.

Finally, Parnell got his double-play ball, as Jack Hannahan ended the Reds 9th with the damage already done.

Juan Lagares ended the game when he struck out swinging.

Matt Harvey saw his ERA jump up to 1.93 as he allowed 4 runs, all earned in 6 1/3rds innings.  Harvey, who lost an appeal earlier in the day hoping to have one of the earned runs taken off his ledger from the past game in Chicago, struck out 6 and gave up 9 hits.  Thanks to Daniel Murphy and Rick Ankiel, the Mets were able to save Harvey from his first loss of the season with their hits in the 7th inning.

Bobby Parnell took the loss for the Mets.


HERO
Jose Bautista played the hero role well for the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.  He homered in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, then in the 10th inning, his single brought home Colby Rasmus for the walk-off.

The win helps back a decent Mark Buehrle start.  Buehrle, who has been roughed up for 5 or more runs in 6 of his 10 starts this season, pitched 7 innings, giving up only two runs on 4 hits.  He struck out 6.  Aaron Loup earned the win for the Blue Jays.


HISTORY IN THE MAKING
A state High School record could be set today when the Queensbury Spartans take on the Amsterdam Rugged Rams at Queensbury High, as Charlie Peltz looks to be the first pitcher to throw four consecutive no-hitters in known New York State High School Baseball history.

He hurled no-hitters against the Glens Falls Indians, the South Glens Falls Bulldogs, and, most recently, the Hudson Falls Tigers.

The last pitcher to go 3 straight games without allowing a hit was Ryan Dunford, who in 2003 pulled that feat (including a perfect game) for Bishop Timon-St. Jude.  In his fourth start, Dunford went 6 2/3rd innings, allowing a hit prior to the final out.

First pitch is scheduled for 4PM at Queensbury High School, weather permitting.

Midday Recap: A great night on the island

Adam Hunger | Reuters

The New York Mets didn't need a lot of offense on Tuesday night, especially with ace Matt Harvey on the mound.

All they needed was 1 run.  They got that run thanks to Mike Baxter, whose RBI single in the 10th inning gave the Mets the win to back up the best performance we've seen from Matt Harvey to date.  He fanned 12 in 9 innings of work on his way to a 1-hitter, which that lone hit was an infield single from Alex Rios that beat the throw of Ruben Tejada with 2 outs in the top of the 7th.

Bobby Parnell preserved the shutout with 2 strikeouts of his own, as he earned the win being the pitcher of record on the mound in the 10th inning.  He's 3-0 for the season.

TONIGHT'S OUTLOOK
The 2nd of the mini-series against the Chicago White Sox kicks off at 7:10PM as Jeremy Hefner takes the mound for the Mets.  Hefner has looked good in his last two starts as his ERA has lowered from 7.04 after he faced the Washington Nationals to the 4.34 it sits at now.  But for his good effort, he has yet to earn a win, as Los Angeles won the game in the 9th inning against the bullpen, and Miami was able to come back for their walk-off his last start when he pitched into the 9th.

The Mets will have to face Jake Peavy, who has a 3-1 record and is coming back after missing his last start due to back spasms.  His last time out, Peavy struck out 6 as the White Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays. His last start against the National League East, however, didn't fare as well, as he gave up 6 runs in 5 1/3rds innings of work.  Radio Coverage: 1230 FOX Sports Radio, 6:30PM

ISLE HAVE ANOTHER
Goaltending was not essential in Game 4 between the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

10 goals in all were scored, and the Islanders crowd roared loudly as the Islanders have suddenly tied the series at 2-2 against the number one team in the east, the Pittsburgh Penguins.  John Tavares came up big midway through the third period as he settled a 4-4 tie and gave the Islanders the lead.  Then with less than 90 seconds left, Casey Cizikas added insurance as Marc-Andrew Fleury had to retreat back to the net, trying to come off the ice for the extra attacker.

For a team that for 70 minutes in the series looked like they didn't belong, the Islanders find themselves back on even terms, and could return to Uniondale with the chance to win the series on Saturday if they can take Game 5 in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

SHARK-BIT
It was not a good series for the Vancouver Canucks.  Troubles scoring, troubles with starting goaltenders, the Canucks were looking anything to help save their season.  In the 3rd Period, that help came by the two Alexes, Alexandre Burrows and Alexander Edler, whose goals gave the Canucks the 3-2 lead with under 9 minutes to play.  For four and a half minutes, it was looking like Vancouver was going to see another game, but then came Joe Pavelski, whose shot beat Schenider with 4:27 left to play to force overtime.

After a 3-on-1 that ringed the post, the Sharks clinched the series about 3 minutes later with Patrick Marleau's goal that beat Schenider with traffic in front.

As the National Hockey League bases 2nd round matchups based on seeds and not on 2/7-3/6 brackets, the San Jose Sharks will have to wait and see how the rest of the Western Conference 1st Round plays out.

UNOCCUPIED BOX
After Sunday's Montreal/Ottawa game brought 236 minutes worth of penalties and 9 game misconducts, it's a little surprising to see that Tuesday's Game 4 only brought 8 minutes of penalties, all in the first 40 minutes of the game.

In the game, it was looking like the Canadiens were going to even the series until Cory Conacher, last year's American Hockey League MVP with the Calder Cup winning Norfolk Admirals, tied the game at 2-2 with 23 seconds left to play.

In overtime, Kyle Turris ended things quickly as he gives the Sens a 3-1 series lead with the chance to clinch it at Montreal on Thursday.

In the other game played on Tuesday, the Chicago Blackhawks have the chance to clinch their series at home after the 3-0 win against the Minnesota Wild.

KNICKED
The New York Knicks shot 49% from the field, had 3 times fewer turnovers than the Indiana Pacers, and saw 32 points from Carmelo Anthony as the Knicks evened the series 105-79.  Oh, yeah, the Knicks outscored the Pacers 33-13 in the 4th Quarter in the victory.  Paul George led the Pacers with 20 points.

SPORTS ON THE RADIO
Tonight: Chicago White Sox vs. New York Mets - 6:30PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio
Mets are off on Thursday.

Danger Averted

Rangers celebrate after a goal: The Journal News | Getty Images
Red Wings celebrate Brunner's OT winner: Tanya Moutaliaz | M Live
Los Angeles skates with the puck en route to 4-3 victory: AP

For  three teams, a victory on Monday keeps them from the brink of elimination.  For two of these three teams, a victory evens the series and ensures it will go at least 6 games.  The other team was trying to prevent an 0-3 hole.

That team was the Rangers, who needed the energy of playing in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd to help them find the back of the net, which was a real issue in the first two games.  After scoring the 4th from Derek Stepan, the Rangers needed every ounce of the crowd's cheer to help them through the final 1:54 of the game, which they had to face shorthanded, plus the pulled Branden Holtby made a 6-on-4 situation for the Capitals.  When the final horn sounded, the Caps had failed to find the back of the net, and the Rangers would prevail 4-3 to cut the Caps series lead to 2-1.

The Red Wings needed a Pavel Datsyuk shot that hit the water bottle and bounced out of the net to tie their game against the Anaheim Ducks.  Datsyuk's goal came right after a review was needed to verify that a previous Red Wing shot didn't cross the goal line.  The goal tied the game 2-2, and brought overtime.  After some good Anaheim chances, Gustav Nyquist was able to dance around Anaheim defenders on a pass, and was able to fling it towards Jonas Hiller.  He was able to block the first shot, but the rebound ended up right on Damien Brunner, who was able to shoot it into a mostly-open net for the game-winner that evened their series at 2 games a piece.

Over in Los Angeles, the Kings rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game heading into the 1st intermission.  After T.J. Oshie regained the lead for the Blues in the 2nd Period, the Kings used back-to-back goals in 76 seconds span to take a 4-3 lead, which they were able to hold onto for the win.  Anze Kopitar scored the first of those two goals, and Justin Williams netted the game-winning goal at 8:30 in the 3rd Period.

In the other game in the NHL last night, the Boston Bruins took a 2-1 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first game that Toronto has hosted in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2004.  The Bruins won 5-2.

FIREWORKS TONIGHT?

The game of the night tonight has to be the Montreal Canadiens at the Ottawa Senators.  After Sunday's game left the benches bare and players ejected left and right, it'll be interesting to see what hostilities remain.  But for the Montreal Canadiens, there's the extra pressure of keeping the series under control, and even though Game 5 is in Montreal, the Canadiens don't want to give the Senators the possibility of clinching the series on their ice.  They'd rather do the opposite and clinch in Game 6 at Ottawa.  

For both of these storylines, the first 10 minutes will be most critical.  Who will make the first move?  Will the Canadiens immediately start with their fists or will they try to gather some goals first?  Will Ottawa use the home crowd to its advantage?  TV Coverage: 7:00, CNBC

In addition to this, the Islanders need to extend their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who with a win tonight will have the possibility of clinching the series on home ice in Game 5.  (TV Coverage: 7:00, NBC Sports Network, MSG+)  Chicago is looking to take a 3-1 series lead back to home ice against the Minnesota Wild tonight (TV Coverage: 9:30, NBC Sports Network), and the San Jose Sharks can be the first team admitted to the 2nd Round if they can sweep the Vancouver Canucks on home ice. (TV Coverage: 10:00, CNBC)

RANGER HARVEY

Matt Harvey was among the attended crowd at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and will be at Citi Field tonight as he pitches against the Chicago White Sox.  The White Sox come to town after rallying to beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 in 11 innings, blowing a save chance from Greg Holland.  The two game series against the Chicago White Sox will be a first for the White Sox, as they have never played a game against the Mets in Queens.  The last time these two teams met was in July, 2002, when the White Sox won two of the three games in that series.

The Mets will look to rebound from its loss to the Braves on Sunday, blowing a chance to earn a rare sweep in Atlanta.  The White Sox have had a tough season of their own, and will look to Hector Santiago tonight.  Santiago struck out 6 en route to a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on May 2nd, pitching 5 1/3rds.  Radio Coverage: 6:30PM, 1230 FOX Sports R adio

BULL-IED

Is it really a surprise that the Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals?  After all the Bulls were the team responsible for ending the Heat's long 27 game win streak.  Then the Bulls brought an end to the Knicks win streak, at 13 games.   Nate Robinson scored 27 points and dished it 9 times for the Bulls, and Jimmy Butler added 21 points.  The NBA's MVP, Lebron James, scored 24 points, assisting 7 times and gathering 8 rebounds.  But James did not earn a lot of support from the rest of the Heat, as Dwayne Wade was the only other player in double-figures, scoring 14.

Emanuel Ginobili's three with 1.2 seconds left in the 2nd overtime gave the San Antonio Spurs the 129-127 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals.  Tony Parker scored 28 for the Spurs, and Tim Duncan and Gary Neal both had double-doubles.  Stephen Curry scored 44 for the Warriors, and led all players with just under 58 minutes of on-court time.

SPORTS ON THE RADIO

Tonight - Chicago White Sox at New York Mets - 7:10PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Tomorrow - Chicago White Sox at New York Mets - 7:10 PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Midday Recap: Marathon Baseball

Lynne Sladky | AP

It was a tough night in Mets land.

The Mets blew two leads and fell to the last-place Miami Marlins 4-3 in a 15-inning marathon that lasted nearly 5 1/2 hours.  In the 9th inning, Bobby Parnell blew a 2-1 lead, surrendering a lead-off double to Justin Ruggiano, who would score on a Nick Green sac-fly.

After some scoreless innings, the Mets found the ability to break an 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position with Ruben Tejada's single that brought home Lucas Duda in the top of the 15th.  But, with the bullpen completely spent, Shaun Marcum returned to the mound in the bottom of the 15th, and after getting the first out, fell into trouble with Greg Dobbs singling, Ruggiano walking, and then Rob Brantly singling to tie the game at 3-3.  But when Nick Green popped out to Lucas Duda, Ruggiano tagged up and brought home the winning run, ending the game at 12:40.

It was the first time this season where a Matt Harvey start didn't translate to a Mets win.  The last time he pitched, the Mets rallied back in the 9th and won the game in 10 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Harvey only went 5 1/3rd innings, but used up 121 pitches in the effort, his career high.  

RISP-Y BUSINESS

As mentioned above, the Mets went 0 for 16 with runners in scoring position before Ruben Tejada brought Lucas Duda home from 2nd in the 15th inning, a franchise record.  The Marlins weren't much better, going 2 for 13.  Combined, the two squads left 28 runners on base.  John Buck, who gave the Mets the lead with his 2 run shot in the 4th, stranded 6 runners as he struck out three times.

DOUBLE FIELDING

One bright spot for the Mets, especially their pitchers, was how they used the Double Play to get themselves out of trouble.  Marlins hitters grounded into double plays 5 times, with a few coming at key times during extras.

NOT SYMPATHETIC

However, the Mets and Marlins did not gain the sympathy of the Los Angeles Angels or the Oakland Athletics, who set franchise records with their 19 inning marathon that began at 10:10PM Eastern and finally ended at 4:42AM Eastern with Brandon Moss's walk-off homer.  

There were a few similarities to the Mets/Marlins game.  Like the Marlins, the A's tied the game up in the bottom of the 9th, as Coco Crisp crossed home plate on a Yoenis Cespedes single.  Like the Mets, the Angels were able to take the lead in the top of the 15th when Queensbury's Brendan Harris came home from 3rd Base after J.B. Shuck was walked.  However, the A's were able to tie things up on an Adam Rosales single.  After a scoreless three innings, in came Brandon Moss, whose shot in the 19th brought the remaining crowd home happy.

TONIGHT'S OUTLOOK

After taxing the bullpen for all its worth, the Mets will need to make sure that Jeremy Hefner goes a long distance in tonight's game.  Especially since the two teams will need to bounce back after tonight's game with a day game tomorrow.  The Marlins send Kevin Slowey, who had a no-decision as the Marlins lost to the Chicago Cubs 4-3.  He gave up 5 hits, including a home run as he allowed 3 runs in his 6 inning effort, striking out 6.  Radio Coverage: 6:30PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio

LATER TODAY: The NBA Playoffs see teams hold off elimination, and the NHL Playoffs get under way tonight with a pair of Western Conference games.  Preview on the way.