Midday Recap: Mets prevent sweep

Jim McIssac | Newsday | From April 24th

The Mets were able to hold this lead, barely.

The New York Mets prevented the sweep by the Miami Marlins as they won 7-6.

They can thank Jordany Valdespin and John Buck for this one. Valdespin's three-run blast in the 6th inning gave the Mets the lead and have the Mets their best inning since April 20th, when they plated 5 against the Nationals. John Buck added insurance in the 7th when he doubled in Murphy and Wright.

Bobby Parnell, irked that he wasn't asked to save the game Tuesday night when Hefner had to leave the mound, came in and delivered a 7-pitch save.

The 7 runs were the most the Mets have produced since their April 24th win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when Jordany Valdespin won the game with his grand slam.

The Mets are off today as they travel to Atlanta to start a three-game series against the Braves.  It will be the meeting of the two NL East rivals this season.  Preview coming tomorrow.

Mets Recap: The one that got away.

Lynne Sladky | AP

The Mets can't hold a lead.

Less than 24 hours after the Mets blew two leads in a 15-inning loss, the Mets blew a 1-0 lead in the Bottom of the 9th inning, as the Marlins walked off with a bases loaded wild pitch.  The loss is the Mets 6th straight loss, 7th out of 8, and blows what was a stellar performance from Jeremy Hefner.  

Hefner, abused in his first three starts, struck out 8 with no walks in 8 innings of work.  Left to complete the shutout, the Oral Roberts alum surrendered a lead-off single to Chris Coghlan.  A passed ball from Anthony Recker allowed Coghlan to move to 2nd, and then beat the throw on a sac-bunt that put runners on 1st and 3rd.  The attempted tag by David Wright was heavily disputed by both Wright and Terry Collins. 

Hefner then was finished for the night, replaced by Brandon Lyon.  Lyon got the first two strikes against Donovan Solano, but then three straight balls loaded the count.  Solano then took the 6th pitch to right field, scoring Coghlan to tie the game.

An intentional walk loaded the bases, and then the wild pitch brought Juan Pierre home.

THE ANATOMY OF THE LOSING STREAK

During the 6 game Mets losing streak, the Mets have been outscored 27-11.  Only once have they made it to 4 runs, coming against the Phillies on Sunday.  Only one inning out of sixty have the Mets scored more than one run, and that was thanks to John Buck's home run on Monday.

The Mets have been outhit 57-34, and have reached double-digit hits once during this stretch.  That was Monday's 15-inning marathon, where they gathered 11 hits against the Marlins pitchers.  Last night's 5 hits was the fewest hits they have held the opposition to.

The Mets have left 42 runners on base during that stretch, just three more than their opponents.  14 of those runners came in the 15-inning marathon where the Mets went 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position, only getting that 1 conversion during the 15th inning.  

The stretch has also seen the Mets strike out 55 times.  Twice (11, Thursday vs. Los Angeles; 16, Monday vs. Miami) have the Mets struck out more than 10 times.  By comparison, their opposition have K'd 38 times.  The 55 times means the Mets are out without putting the ball into play 34% of the time.

And last night was the fourth straight game where the Mets had the lead at one point in the game, but could not maintain it and thus lost.

TODAY'S OUTLOOK

The Mets will try to prevent their 2nd sweep of the season with Dillon Gee.  Gee went five innings without an issue against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the 6th inning was his undoing as the Phillies scored all four of their runs in that inning for the win.  He'll be paired with Wade LeBlanc, who is 0-4 with a 6.20 E.R.A.  Grab some lunch with the Mets - it's an early 12:40PM start. Radio Coverage: 12:00PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio

ICYMI: Queensbury's Brendan Harris involved in longest game in Angels franchise history

Rich Pilling | Getty Images

Queensbury's Brendan Harris has seen many twists and turns during his Major League career.  He's been with the Cubs, the Expos, the Nationals, the (Devil) Rays, the Twins and now with the Los Angeles Angels.  Earlier this month, he hit his first Major League home run in three years against the Minnesota Twins.  Ironically, that home run three years ago came against the Los Angeles Angels as a member of the Twins, on April 8th, 2010.

But it's safe to say last night's game will be permanently etched into his head, as he was a part of the Angels/A's 19-inning marathon that was a franchise record for game length for both clubs involved.

The game could have ended sooner, thanks to Harris.  His double in the top of the 15th inning set up runners on 2nd and 3rd with one man out.  After loading the bases with an intentional walk, Harris found himself at 3rd as Andrew Romaine grounded, forcing Howie Kendrick out at the plate.  The next batter was walked with the bases loaded, bringing Harris home to give the Angels the 8-7 lead.

The A's would tie the game in the bottom of the 15th inning, but not before Harris's double play helped to make up for Albert Pujois's error which allowed the lead-off batter on base.  Without that double play, the A's could have walked off sooner, but instead the two teams would fight onto the 16th inning.

In the bottom of the 19th, at 4:37AM Eastern Time, Brandon Moses would put an end to the marathon with a walk-off home run.  6 1/2 hours later, the A's emerged victorious with the 10-8 victory, but win or lose, it will be a game that Harris will remember forever.

NHL Playoffs Preview

48 games in the books.

16 teams are left, each 16 wins away from hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup in early June.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs kick off tonight with three Western Conference series-openers as the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks meet, the Los Angeles Kings begin to defend the Cup against the St. Louis Blues, and then later the Detroit Red Wings play the Anaheim Ducks.

Let's preview how these series may start.

(W8) Minnesota Wild vs. (W1) Chicago Blackhawks
Game 1: Tonight, 8PM - TV: NBC Sports Network

The first ever post-season meeting between these two franchises may favor the Blackhawks when you look at their records, but close examination shows this might not be a walk in the park for the Blackhawks.  In the first meeting of the season, the Minnesota Wild forced the Chicago Blackhawks to a shootout where the Wild came away with the 3-2 win in Minneapolis.

Then in Chicago, the Blackhawks skated away 5-3 winners, but was a game where they led 4-1 at the end of the 1st period before the Wild came back to make things interesting halfway through the 3rd Period.  But Patrick Kane doubled the Blackhawks lead to two with his 12th of the season with less than 9 minutes to play.

The third was earlier this month, when Marian Hossa bounced on a Wild turnover to score the only goal of the game.

The Chicago Blackhawks have had a spectacular season that helped get people talking hockey and not the lockout the preceded it.  However, the Minnesota Wild are not afraid of Chicago's #1 seed, especially since last year's Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, came in as the #8 seed.  Minnesota's ability to keep close may come in handy, but in the end, the Blackhawks talent will move them to the 2nd Round.

Our Prediction: Chicago wins series, 4-2.

(W5) Los Angeles Kings vs. (W4) St. Louis Blues
Game 1: Tonight, 8PM - TV: CNBC

The defending Stanley Cup champions start their quest on the road against the St. Louis Blues, a team they're happy to see, having won all three meetings this season.

The first game was a 4-1 victory where the Kings scored the first three, and then traded goals for the 4-1 victory.  Jeff Carter had two of those four to earn 1st star honors.

The second game was looking to go the Blues way, up 4-2 at the 2nd intermission, before the Kings rallied for four goals in the third (and five unanswered), capped by Anze Kopitar's goal for the 6-4 Kings win.

In the third meeting, Mike Richards scored the go-ahead goal for the Kings with less than three minutes to go in regulation in another game in which the St. Louis Blues had the lead at one point in time.

In order for the Blues to come away with a win, they're going to have to find a way to maintain a lead once they build it.  The way the Kings are able to get quick goals may enable them to play beyond the first round, allowing them to continue their defense of Lord Stanley's Cup.

Our Prediction: Los Angeles wins series, 4-1.

(W7) Detroit Red Wings vs. (W2) Anaheim Ducks
Game 1: Tonight, 10:30PM - TV: NBC Sports Network

The Detroit Red Wings, postseason players for 22 years straight, remember what happened to them in 2003, when as the 2 seed, they got swept by the 7 seeded Anaheim Mighty Ducks.  10 years later, with both teams flipping the roles, they'd love to do what Anaheim did to them.

It's possible we could see revenge this year.

In their three meetings this year, the visiting team won all of them.  The first meeting saw the Anaheim Ducks score three goals in the 3rd Period to earn them a 5-2 victory at the Joe.  Andrew Cogliano scored two, including the game-winner early in the 3rd Period for the Ducks.

Teemu Selane scored the first goal for the Ducks in the first of a weekend pair of games in Anaheim, but then the Red Wings, fueled by Justin Abdelkader's hat trick, poured it on for the 5-1 victory.

On the Sunday game, Red Wing fans who made the trek to the Honda Center showed their true colors as they pushed the Red Wings to a 2-1 victory in a game that included an octopus sighting late in the 3rd Period.  Drew Miller tipped in what would become the game-winner for the Red Wings.

The inability to win at home for either team would benefit the Red Wings, who will wear the road jersey for four of the seven games.  However, the team that prevails will be the one who can show they can win at home, too.  Anaheim has the ability to show that first, and will need Selane's power to push them into the 2nd Round.  The Red Wings, as perennial playoff contenders, come in with a 4-game win streak, and if any team is to pull off the 16 wins, it's a team who gets hot at just the right time.  Just ask the Kings and Coyotes from last year's playoff run.

Our Prediction: No sweep. Detroit wins series, 4-2.

Wednesday we'll preview more of the NHL Playoffs as three more 1st Round series kick off.  Toronto opens their series in Boston, the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against the New York Islanders, and the Vancouver Canucks host the San Jose Sharks.

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.

Midday Recap: Mets get swept, NHL Playoffs set

Howard Simmons | New York Daily News

John Buck dropped the ball.  Both Figuratively and Literally.

Midday Recap: Oliver Lauridsen scores... the right way!

Matt Slocum | AP

Two days ago, we reported about how Oliver Lauridsen scored his first goal with the Philadelphia Flyers thanks to a Zdeno Chara own goal.  So how did he follow that act?  By scoring one legitimately against the New York Islanders on Thursday.  And it was the deciding goal as the Flyers beat the Islanders 2-1.