Flushing, NY (July 30) – The New York Mets lost their fourth straight game to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Diamondbacks just swept them in Arizona on the last road trip and the Mets were looking for revenge at home tonight. 

The Mets continue their losing streak to the Diamondbacks as they lost 9-6.  Mike Pelfrey started for the Mets and once again struggled giving up four earned runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.  Pelfrey walked two and struck out four. 

Raul Valdez got a blown save and a loss; he gave up four runs on four hits without retiring a batter.  Manny Acosta pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out all four batters that he faced and Elmer Dessens pitched a perfect inning.  Pedro Feliciano gave up a hit in his inning and struck out two.

The Mets offense once again was not a problem, Jose Reyes had three hits, and Angel Pagan had a hit and an RBI.  David Wright had a great game with three hits and five RBI.  The Mets and Diamondbacks each put up a three spot in the first inning. 

The Diamondbacks took a 4-3 lead in the third inning and the Mets answered back with two runs to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the third.  Arizona scored five runs in the sixth inning and never looked back, the Mets would add a run in the seventh but that was all they would get, and the final would be 9-6.

Pelfrey after the first inning settled down and retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced with 118 pitches he seemed to be in a groove when Jerry Manuel pulled him for Valdez who promptly gave up four runs.  It did not appear to be a great move and Manuel really looks bad after the fact.  Wright had two home runs in the game. 

The Phillies with new acquisition Roy Oswalt lost to the Nationals but the Mets squandered their chance to gain some ground.  The Mets will try to win the second game of the series tomorrow afternoon.

St. Petersburg, FL (July 30) – The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 3-2.  It was a pitcher’s duel and two big swings produced all the runs.  Nick Swisher of the Yankees hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning. 

Phil Hughes made the start for the Yankees and was cruising through the first five innings.  He had first and third two outs in the sixth inning and threw a high fastball that Joyce got on top of and hit it out for what was the game winning home run.  Hughes threw a great curveball right before that but decided to go back to the fastball.  Hughes pitched six innings giving up three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.  Joba Chamberlain pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts.

The offense was provided by Swisher who hit a two-run home run.  Robinson Cano had two hits and Derek Jeter had a hit.  Alex Rodriguez was 0-4 today and appeared to be frustrated, he argued with the umpire a couple of times.  The Yankees after striking early just could not get anything going against Wade Davis who pitched seven innings giving up the two runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts.  Joaquin Benoit pitched a perfect eighth inning and Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save.  The Rays are now just one game behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East.

The Yankees will send Javier Vazquez to the mound tomorrow against Matt Garza who is coming off of a no-hitter while attempting to hold onto first place.  The Rays with a win will move into a tie and have a chance at sweeping their divisional foes on Sunday.  The Yankees were active off the field on Friday acquiring veteran slugger Lance Berkman from the Astros. 

The deal will not be official until tomorrow because he is a 10-5 player and could veto the trade but it is happening.  The names I have heard going to the Astros are Mark Melancon and Johnny Paredes.

Phil Hughes looked better then he has in a long time, which is a good sign.  He will be having bad dreams about that one pitch he made to Joyce but he really pitched a good game.  I think Rodriguez is getting to the point where he needs to get that 600th home run out of the way and go on with the season.  He has been hitting and driving in runs but tonight the intensity of the game seemed to affect him.  It will be interesting to see tomorrow with Garza who is a fastball pitcher and will challenge him.  

Cleveland, OH (July 28) – The New York Yankees will take on the Cleveland Indians tonight trying to win three out of four and take the series before heading to Tampa for a first place showdown.  The Yankees are currently 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rays who won their game earlier today.  The Yankees will send Dustin Moseley to the mound making his first start of the season.  Here are the lineups and some news and notes for tonight’s game.

Yankees Lineup:Jeter(SS), Granderson(CF), Teixeira(1B), Rodriguez(3B), Cano(2B), Swisher(DH), Gardner(LF), Cervelli(C), Curtis(RF)

Indians Lineup:Crowe(CF), Cabrera(SS), Choo(RF), Santana(C), Kearns(LF), LaPorta(1B), Nix(3B), Duncan(DH), Valbuena(2B)

Moseley had the same kind of hip surgery that A-rod had last season.  Moseley is with the Yankees because they were willing to be patient with him, they said if you aren’t 100% we will work with you.  He has an oppurtunity now, he isn’t guaranteed more than tonight’s start but he said he just rolls with it.  In the past 16 games Curtis Granderson has started to turn around his season.  He is batting 339 with three doubles, three home runs, six RBI and 12 runs.  Most of the power he has shown has come in the last eight games.  He has three homers and two doubles in the last eight games. 

A.J. Burnett was really good last night and said “It’s the most I have felt like A.J. in a long long time.  That is probably because I was able to throw a curveball for a strike.”  That is the key for Burnett, when his curveball is working everything seems to work out well.  After not winning in June Burnett is 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA through five starts in July.  That is counting the terrible start he had last weekend when he cut his hand in frustration. 

Joe Girardi said he went to Joba Chamberlain in the seventh because he only wants Sergio Mitre to start innings.  He said that is what he is used too.  Brett Gardner had his 30th multi-hit game of the season last  night.  The Yankees have five hitters with 30 or more multi-hit games this season and are the only team in the majors with that many.  The Yankees are 12-3 in their last 15 road games.  Derek Jeter was the only starter without a hit last night. 

The Yankees own the best record by a defending champion since the 1968 Cardinals.  It is the best record after 100 games for the Yankees since 1998.  The Yankees are 21-11 in series finales this year.  They have won each of their last 10 such games.  The Yankees have six shutouts this season and five have come on the road.  They own the most shutouts on the road this season in the AL.  They are trailing only Colorado who have eight and are tied with Cincinatti and Florida.  Burnett has held opponents scoreless in six starts this season which is the most such starts by a AL pitcher this season.  He ties five others for most in the majors.

Flushing, NY (July 28) – The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals today by the score of 4-0.  R.A. Dickey made the start today and pitched 8 1/3  innings giving up no runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.  Francisco Rodriguez pitched 2/3 inning  striking out one and picking up his 22nd save of the season.  Dickey has been a real find for the Mets who could of never suspected that he would pitch this well.  Dickey is a 35 yr old journey man knuckleballer who has found his way with the Mets. 

The Mets offense has been completely different since returning home.  The offense which was pretty much none existent on the 2-9 west coast trip has resurrected themselves at Citi Field.  Jose Reyes had a hit, Angel Pagan had two hits and a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit and an RBI.  Ike Davis had a hit and three RBI, Josh Thole  had a hit and two walks.  The Mets got on the board with three runs in the third inning on a three run home run off the bat of Davis.  The Mets would add a insurance run in the fifth inning on a RBI single by Beltran.  Beltran after struggling upon his initial return to the lineup has started to heat up in the last few games.  The Mets really need him to be close to the player he was for their offense to succeed.  Jason Bay was not producing at all and it is unknown how long he will be out for with the concussion. 

The Mets trail the first place Atlanta Braves by 6 1/2 games in the NL East.  The Braves lost their game this afternoon to the Washington Nationals so the Mets picked up a game on the day.  The Mets will now take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at home starting tomorrow night.  Mike Pelfrey will be on the mound against Ian Kennedy.  The Mets will have revenge on their mind as they got swept in Arizona on their most recent road trip.  It is the first series the Mets have won since beating the Twins two out of three in June.  Dickey won for the first time since June 23rd even though he has posted a 1.89 ERA over his last five starts. 

By Gary W. Marchese Jr.

Flushing, NY (July 28) – The New York Mets were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals tonight by the score of 8-7.  Johan Santana made the pitching 5 2/3 innings giving up 13 hits and 7 runs with one walk and two strikeouts.

Manny Acosta struck out the only batter he faced while Hisanori Takahashi pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.  Elmer Dessens pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout; Francisco Rodriguez pitched two scoreless innings giving up one hit and a walk.  Rodriguez also struck out one batter.  Bobby Parnell gave up a hit and a walk in his scoreless inning and Pedro Feliciano pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up one hit, one run, and two walks.  Raul Valdez got out the only batter he faced. 

The Mets offense once again was not a problem at all.  It is as they are a new team just by being at Citi Field.  Jose Reyes had three hits, a walk, Luis Castillo had a hit, and Angel Pagan had two hits, two RBI, and a walk.  David Wright had three hits, Carlos Beltran had two hits, and an RBI and Mike Hessman had a hit and two RBI.  Ike Davis had a hit and two RBI.  The Mets offense in two games has scored more runs then they had on the whole road trip.  The Mets have split the first two games of this three game series. 

The rubber game will be tomorrow afternoon with Mike Pelfrey taking the hill.  The Mets are currently in third place seven games behind the Atlanta Braves and three and a half games behind the Red Hot Philadelphia Phillies.

It was a tough loss considering they were at home and should have scored just one run to win it in extra innings.  The Mets have to get over this one though and go out and win tomorrow afternoon and then they will be feeling good about themselves as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks who just swept them in Arizona. 

The Mets will be looking for pay back in that series before playing the Braves and Phillies, which may very well decide their season.

Cleveland,OH (July 28) – The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians by the score of 8-0.  A.J. Burnett got the start and pitched six and one third innings giving up no runs on seven hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.  Joba Chamberlain faced two batters and got them both out in the seventh inning.  Sergio Mitre pitched two shutout innings giving up one hit and one walk, striking out three.

The Yankees really hit Carmona around the park after not hitting at all yesterday.  Nick Swisher had a hit and an RBI, Mark Teixeira had two hits, two RBI and a walk and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and an RBI.  He is still sitting on 599 career home runs but after struggling the first couple of games of this series he did look good today.  It is just a matter of time before the home run comes.  Rodriguez power numbers are down this year so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that he takes a while to hit home run number 600.  Robinson Cano had two hits and an RBI, Jorge Posada had a hit and Curtis Granderson had two hits and an RBI.  Francisco Cervelli had a hit and Brett Gardner had two hits and two RBI. 

The Yankees have won two out of the first three games in this series.  The Yankees will try and win the series tomorrow night with Dustin Moseley making his first start of the season.  Rodriguez will try and hit his 600th home run before heading to Tampa Bay for a first place showdown with the second place Rays.  The Yankees are two games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East.  Tonight was a complete win for the Yankees as they had good pitching, good defense and lots of hitting.

The Yankees offense sprang to life late in the game after struggling most of the night.  Derek Jeter had a hit, two RBI and two walks, Ramiro Pena had a hit and RBI and Curtis Granderson had two hits and two RBI with a walk.  Juan Miranda had a hit and an RBI, Alex Rodriguez had one hit and three RBI, Robinson Cano had one hit and one RBI and Nick Swisher had a hit and walk.  Brett Gardner had one hit and three walks, Francisco Cervelli had a hit and Colin Curtis had two hits.  The Yankees tied the game at one in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Rodriguez.  The Yankees took the lead on an RBI single by Jeter in sixth inning and really broke it open in the seventh inning.  The Yankees scored seven runs in the seventh to make it a 9-1 game and tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning.  Pena and Miranda each had RBI singles in the eighth inning.

The Yankees are two games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.  The Yankees will begin a three game series tomorrow night with Tampa Bay in Tampa.  The pitching matchup will be Phil Hughes against Wade Davis.  Rodriguez is driving in runs and hitting well but he is still looking for home run 600.  The Trop would be a good place to do it but first place is on the line and it will be interesting to see how the Rays approach him.

By Gary W. Marchese Jr. – Sports

Cleveland, OH (July 27) – The New York Yankees played the second game of their four game series tonight in Cleveland.  It was also the second game of a seven game road trip that will see them head to Tampa after Cleveland.  The Yankees are 1-1 on the trip thus far.  They will have A.J. Burnett on the mound tomorrow against Fausto Carmona.  Here are some news and notes from around the Yankees tonight.

Jorge Posada was a late scratch from the lineup because his knee was bothering him.  It appears he will be the DH tomorrow night.  It is behind his left knee and he has been dealing with nagging pain behind there since last season.  It has been there off and on this season but manager Joe Girardi decided to give him today off.  Posada said he could of played if he had too and that it was just a little more achy then usual.

Alfredo Aceves threw a 55 pitch bullpen session today.  It was a simulated type of game.  He threw 25 pitches then rested for four minutes and threw 30.  Aceves will throw another bullpen either Thursday or Friday and then the Yankees will decide what is next for him.  If he comes through these ok he may go out on a rehab assignment soon.  The Yankees have definitely missed his versatility out of the bullpen this season.  It would be nice to have a guy like that for the stretch run and even into the playoffs if it works out. 

Nick Johnson was doing some hitting with a fungo bat and took swings with a regular bat today.  Girardi said he didn’t know what to make of it and until he actually hits live BP he won’t know what to think.  He said maybe we will get this guy back for us.  Girardi said before the game there was no definitive plan for the eighth inning.  It sure sounds to me like Joba Chamberlain has lost his job for now.  It will be interesting to see how he reacts to this and if it lights a fire under his belt. 

Today was Alex Rodriguez 35th birthday.  According to Elias only two players have hit a century home run on their birthday.  Cecil Fielder hit his 300th career home run on his birthday in 1997 and Raul Ibanez hit his 200th career home run last year on his birthday.  Tomorrow is the 14 year anniversary of Darryl Strawberry hitting his 300th career home run in a Yankees 3-2 win against the Royals.   

The Mets come home from a terrible 11 game road trip.  They were 2-9 on the trip and on the brink of collapse.  The fans are screaming for heads to roll but the Mets are standing pat for now.  The trade deadline is Saturday and it will be interesting to see if they do anything, it doesn’t look like it right now but things could change and sometimes things happen that you couldn’t predict.  Here are some news and notes for the Mets tonight.

Wally Backman is managing for the A-Brooklyn Cyclones and is the only Mets team in first place.  He is  fiery guy and a link to the 86 championship team.  A lot of people are calling for him even though he has not major league experience.  He is a guy that would appease the fan base and maybe he would get something out of his players, he has everywhere he has managed.  Bob Melvin seems like the most likely guy to take over but unless they totally collapse Jerry Manuel should have the job the rest of the year.

The Mets scored six runs off of Adam Wainwright, that was a season worst for him.  Wainwright had a 26 innings scoreless streak going which was the longest of his career.  It is amazing but the Mets have been like two different teams all year.  They play great at home and on the road they are a lousy team.  The long trip came at a terrible time right out of the break and put them in a bad position.  I think if the Mets have a good week here at home they could make some noise the rest of the season.  The tough thing though is that when they go on the road all of the good vibes go away and they have to find a way to win on the road if they are going to go anywhere this season.  Jerry Manuel was fined and suspended for tonight’s game.  It had to do with the second inning in Friday night’s game.  Dave Jauss the bench coach was the acting manager.  Jason Bay has been diagnosed with a mild concussion.  He is going to miss at least this series and maybe longer.  It is possible he goes on the 15 day DL but we will wait and see on that.

Flushing, NY (July 27) – The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 8-2 tonight.  The Mets just went through a 2-9 road trip that had everyone calling for heads to roll but the Mets did nothing on their off day yesterday. 

The Mets came back to Citi Field to play today and they looked like a completely different team even though they were not.  Jason Bay did sit out tonight’s game, with symptoms of a concussion that he experienced on the flight home. It seems a little peculiar but that is a serious thing and I do not want to even speculate on it. 

Jon Niese pitched six innings giving up seven hits and one run with two walks and a strikeout.  Manny Acosta struggled in his one inning giving up three hits and one run. Raul Valdez and Francisco Rodriguez each pitched a perfect inning. 

The Mets offense finally came to life; they were shutout four times on the road trip.  Jose Reyes hit a two-run home run, Luis Castillo had two hits and Angel Pagan had a hit.  David Wright had an RBI and two walks, Carlos Beltran had two hits, a walk, and an RBI, and Ike Davis had a hit an RBI. 

Jeff Francoeur had a hit and three RBI and Jon Niece had a hit. The Mets got on the board in the second inning with one run to tie the game.  They had a big fourth inning with three runs on a three-run home run by Francoeur. 

The Mets scored two more runs in the fifth inning on a Wright sacrifice fly and a Pagan RBI single. The team then, tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning on a Reyes two run home run. St. Louis scored a run in the eighth to make it 8-2 the final scoring in the game.

The Mets will try and make it two in a row tomorrow night with Johan Santana on the mound.

Cleveland, OH (July 27) – The New York Yankees were defeated by the Cleveland Indians by the score of 4-1.  The Yankees could not get anything going offensively at all until the ninth inning.  CC Sabathia made the start and gave up four runs; only two were earned on seven hits. Sabathia pitched seven innings walking three and striking out five. Chan Ho Park pitched one inning giving up a hit. Sabathia was hurt by two errors in the fourth inning leading to two runs.

The Yankees did not score a run until the eighth inning on a RBI groundout by Colin Curtis. The Yankees only rally came in the ninth inning when they had runners on first and third no outs but Nick Swisher struck out, Mark Teixeira popped out on the first pitch and Alex Rodriguez grounded out to the shortstop to end the game. It would have been a very dramatic moment if A-rod hit his 600th home run to tie the game in the ninth inning but it was not meant to be. I thought Rodriguez was having good at-bats at home but now he seems to be pressing, as he is 0-8 in Cleveland even though he really had a single yesterday but they called it a catch. 

Derek Jeter had two hits, Swisher and Cano each had a hit and Brett Gardner had a hit.  The Yankees did not even draw a walk so they had five base runners and two came in the ninth inning. The Yankees were completely shut down.

The Indians got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. They had runners on second and third no outs and a grounder was hit to third base. Rodriguez came home and had the runner out at the plate but when catcher Francisco Cervelli applied the tag the ball came loose scoring the first run.  The Indians scored another run on a Matt LaPorta sacrifice fly. 

The sac fly came after what should have been a double play but Cano dropped a ball causing the runner to reach second base. LaPorta doubled home another run in the sixth inning and Chris Gimenez walked to drive in another run. The Yankees run came in the eighth inning on a Curtis groundout. 

The Yankees will try to win their second game of this series; it is split at one game each right now. A.J. Burnett to the mound against Fausto Carmona and will have Dustin Moseley making his first start for the Thursday. 

The Yankees are two games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and have the best record in baseball.  The Yankees and Rays will play a three game series this weekend in Tampa.