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A day after being thrown at second base in yesterday's game, Mike Baxter went 3-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday

The New York Mets salvaged the third game of a three-game interleague series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon defeating the home team by a score of 6-5. The Mets took a 3-0 lead in the first inning and didn’t look back from there.

The Mets jumped on the board first as designated hitter Andres Torres drew a walk as home plate umpire Wally Bell gave the calls to the favor of the batter instead of young starter Henderson Alvarez. Mike Baxter who got the start for the second straight day capitalized with a double to right centerfield to put two runners in scoring position with David Wright coming up. The unofficial-official captain followed with a double of his own up the middle to plate two runs. Two batters later Kirk Nieuwenhuis “doubled” after Colby Rasmus made a diving catch that popped out of the glove as he came to a stop to bring home Wright.

With a 3-0 lead, Dillion Gee took the mound for the Mets and started in similar fashion to Jon Niese on Friday night as Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar reached based then got Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion on strikeouts. This time Gee got catcher JP Arencibia to retire the Blue Jays in the bottom of the first.

Ronny Cedeno got things started with a base hit in the top of the second and was moved over to third on a pair of groundouts. Mike Baxter then laced a ball over the glove of a diving Ben Francisco and made it all the way to third base with a run-scoring triple into rightfield.

After two of the first three batters reached via walk in the bottom of the third, rookie sensation who’s spent less than a week in the big leagues Yan Gomes singled through the left side to scratch across Toronto’s first run. Johnson and Escobar grounded out to end the inning and send the game to the third with the Mets up 4-1.

Jose Bautista cut the lead in half with a solo home run just inside the leftfield foul pole just above the 328 mark in the corner. Gee got the next three batters out with ease to hold the Blue Jays at bay to send the game to the fourth inning.

Baxter picked up his third hit of the afternoon with a single to the opposite field followed by Wright singling while behind in the count to put runners on first and second. Duda reached on a fielder’s choice that erased Wright and put runners at the corners, and was followed by Daniel Murphy who singled up the middle to bring home Baxter to give the Mets a three run lead back. Nieuwenhuis walked to load the bases, and Ike Davis hit a chop that came up on Johnson at second base and allowed Duda to score to put the Mets up 6-2.

Find out how the Mets hold onto their their lead after the jump.

After Escobar reached on a fielding error by Cedeno, the Mets played some nifty plays behind Gee to get him out of the inning. First Bautista hit one right up the middle but Murphy was positioned well and turned the unconventional 4-4-3 double play, then Cedeno redeemed himself with a throw that skipped off the FieldTurf in Toronto that was scooped by Davis to retire the side.

Both teams went down with ease in the sixth inning as the Mets faced Luis Perez who set down New York 1-2-3, followed by Gee’s sixth inning of work which saw him work around a leadoff single from Arencibia. On the third out of the inning Murphy intended to take the short route to retire the baserunner, but instead changed his mind mid-way through and threw the ball across his body to first to end the inning.

Gee hit Yan Gomes to start off the bottom of the seventh, but got the next two batters to bring up Bautista with a runner on second. Bautista singled through the shift to bring home Gomes which also chased Gee from the game to bring on Bobby Parnell. Encarnacion grounded out to end the inning to send the game to the eighth.

Davis doubled to Rajai Davis in right field and moved up to third base on a passed ball, on a wild pitch later in the at bat Davis scampered for the plate but was tagged out as Arencibia threw the ball back to the plate to Carlos Villanueva covering. Cedeno and catcher Rob Johnson followed up with back-to-back singles. Two batters later Baxter walked to load the bases but Wright struck out swining to end the threat.

Arencibia who made the nice play in the top of the inning, started things off with a double in the bottom of the eighth and came around with a second consecutive double off the bat of Eric Thames to trim the lead to two. A pair of batters later Colby Rasmus broke his 0-for-20 slump with a base hit up the middle to score Thames to make the score 6-5, Gomes came up and struck out on a 101 MPH or 162.5 KMH pitch for the second out. Tim Byrdak came on to face Kelly Johnson and got him to fly out to Duda to hold the Blue Jays’ bats in check.

The Mets had a two-on, one-out scenario in the top of the ninth but neither pinch-hitter Scott Hairston nor Ronny Cedeno could do anything as both batters struck out. Frank Francisco came on for the bottom of the inning and walked Escobar, followed by Bautista poking one through the big hole on the right side to put the first two runners on. Encarnacion struck out swinging, as did Arencibia after him for the second out of the inning. Thames came up and Francisco got him swinging to end the ballgame and salvage the third game of the series for the Mets.

Game Ball: Mike Baxter, was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle hit the ball hard every time it was put in play. He was walked in front of David Wright in the top of the eigth but Wright struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning. Baxter still only has one home run on his Major League record book which came last season with the Mets.

The Mets will hop on a plane with their Pierogi suits on which aren’t as fashionable as the hockey jersies and will make their way to Pittsburgh for a three game set with the Pirates at beautiful PNC Park. Johan Santana will return to the hill as he faces off with another left-hander in Erik Bedard.

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This afternoon the Mets try to even this three game interleague set against the Blue Jays at Sky Dome Rogers Centre.  Game time is 1:07 pm.  Last night Jon Niese got lit up for 8 runs in 3 innings.  Niese was throwing batting practice from the get-go, and allowed 4 homers in his 3 innings of work.  Today Miguel Batista will be throwing batting practice for the Mets and will be opposed by flame thrower Brandon Morrow.

The game can be seen on WPIX and heard on WFAN 660 AM.

Starting Lineups via Metsblog.com  ****WARNING**** David Wright is NOT in the lineup today

New York Mets

Torres, CF - Baxter, DH - Murphy, 2B - Duda, RF - Davis, 1B - Turner, 3B - Nieuwenhuis, LF - Cedeno, SS - Nickeas, C - Batista, SP

Who’s hot for the Mets?   Since David Wright isn’t in the lineup today, it’s Daniel Murphy.  Over Murph’s last 7 games, he’s raking at a .458 clip.  He’s raised his average to .331.

Toronto Blue Jays

Johnson, 2B - Escobar, SS - Bautista, RF - Encarnacion, 1B - Arencibia, DH - Rasmus, CF - Gomes, 3B - Mathis, C - Morrow, SP

Who’s hot for the Blue Jays?  Anyone who played last night…just joking.  Catcher JP Arencibia is on fire.  JP has 4 homers, 10 RBI’s and is hitting .400 over the past week.

On The Mound

For the Mets, Miguel Batista (1-1 4.26 ERA) is looking for back to back good starts since taking over in Mike Pelfrey’s spot in the rotation.  In his last start vs. the Brewers, Batista went 7 strong, only allowing 4 hits and no runs.  The Mets have won Batista’s last two starts and are in need of another good start today after Jon Niese’s terrible performance yesterday.

Brandon Morrow (4-2 3.08 ERA) is on the hill for the Blue Jays.  Morrow is finally coming around at putting up the numbers he was supposed to when he came up with the Mariners a few years ago.  He’s figured out how to his the glove and his numbers have shown it.    Once just a flame thrower, Morrow has cut down on the walks by sacrificing just a little velocity.  Kind of what Bobby Parnell has been doing for the Mets.  Up until his last outing against the Rays, Morrow had won his past 4 starts, only giving up 2 runs over those 4 starts.

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Better bring a catcher's mask and goalie pads of you plan on hanging out on the Shea Bridge during the Homer Run Hitting Contest during All-Star Game festivities. Photo courtesy of Citi2Shea.wordpress.com

According to multiple sources, MLB commissioner Bud Selig and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will announce tomorrow that the 2013 MLB All-Star game will be held at Citi Field.  It’s about time that not only MLB, but the rest of the world will see that there is more going on at Citi Field than just Ponzi schemes and trips to the disabled list.

The last time the New York Mets hosted an All-Star game was way back in 1964, the first year of the “state-of-the-art” (I know you are giggling) Shea Stadium.  In that game, Phillies outfielder Johnny Callison hit a walk-off home run to give the NL a 7-4 win.  That was the last time an All-Star game has ended with a walk-off homer.

With the Mets turning the corner after the Bernie Madoff mess, they are now able to focus on the positives that are happening on the field. As stated in an earlier post here on TSB, the Mets are NOT a bad team.  They are actually 5 games over .500 and only 2 games out of first place.  Granted, it’s only May 14th, but there weren’t too many fans or “experts” who believed that this would even be possible this early into the season.

Being a Mets fan, I cant wait to see the buzz around the stadium and franchise next summer.  Would I love to sit in the Pepsi Porch next summer?  Absolutely.  Would I love to mill around on the Shea Bridge?  You betcha!  But as we all know, the regular die-hard fan won’t be able to afford that ticket.  A $40 ticket on the Pepsi Porch will for sure run in the $150-$200 range.  But you know what?  Maybe it’s just better off sitting at home and watching on TV.

The Pepsi Porch at Citi Field will be one hot ticket next summer. Photo courtesy of Metsseatingchart.com

These days, the best part of the whole thing is the Home Run hitting contest.  If somehow Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, or David Wright are in the contest, I’ll break the bank for a ticket, but that’s probably it.  The game has truly become a bore and it’s no fun watching fringe players having good years, possibly decide wether or not the Mets have home field advantage in the World Series.

I hope next year that the Mets fans stuff the ballot boxes like other cities fans do.  David Wright should be the leading vote getter and if he’s not, shame on Mets fans.  Make a statement and have Johan Santana represent the New York Metropolitans.  Hell, give Jose Reyes the middle finger and vote Ruben Tejada the starting shortstop.

Here’s to the New York Mets and turning to the page to baseball.  Not “money” ball.

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Frank Francisco struggled for the second straight out and twice in the series against the Marlins

It was a pretty ho-hum afternoon in Miami, Florida as the Mets and Marlins played into the ninth inning tied at two. The Mets bullpen imploded today with the exception of Jon Rauch who pitched the eighth inning, meanwhile DJ Carrasco, Tim Byrdak and Bobby Parnell didn’t pitch in the game.

Prior to the game the pitching matchup on paper was well in favor of the Marlins who were riding on Carlos Zambrano who entered with 16 straight shutout innings, he continued that stretch into the first as he set down the Mets 1-2-3.

Counterpart Jon Niese worked around a leadoff walk to former Met Jose Reyes to match Zambrano with a zero in the first.

The Mets got their first hit of the game as catcher Rob Johnson singled with one out in the third and was bunted over to second, but the offense was unable to bring him around. New York broke through in the fourth inning after Kirk Nieuwenhuis and David Wright started things off with back-to-back singles.

The two runners moved up on a passed ball by John Buck, which allowed Nieuwenhuis to score on a groundout by Lucas Duda. The next batter was Daniel Murphy who went to the opposite field with a single to bring home Wright and put the Mets up 2-0.

Niese continued to roll on the mound scattering five hits through six innings of work before being pinch hit for by Ike Davis in the top of the sixth. Ramon Ramirez came on next and allowed a triple to Emilio Bonifacio followed by recent Met killer John Buck launching a game-tying two run home run over the left centerfield fence. Ramirez allowed a single to Reyes and did a brilliant job holding him on base for as long as he could and eventually Hanley Ramirez to strike out.

Edward Mujica relieved Zambrano and got the Mets out in the eights, while Rauch did the same in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth Marlins’ closer Heath Bell came on looking to keep the game tied and got Duda out for the first of the inning. Murphy doubled and Ronny Cedeno walked, Jordany Valdespin grounded out to move them up before Mike Baxter was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Justin Turner was up next to face Bell and was looking for another epic at-bat to the one he had a few weeks ago at Citi Field. This time it only took Turner seven pitches to lace a double to the opposite field and put the Mets up 4-2.

Then came Frank Francisco looking for the save and allowed a leadoff triple to Bonifacio followed by a walk to put runners at the corners with no one down. Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs came up and did what he did two nights earlier and blooped a single into right center to bring home Bonifacio and trim the deficit to one. Terry Collins brought on Manny Acosta to replace Francisco who had lost his composure on the mound and berated the umpire during his exit.

Acosta allowed a sacrifice fly to Reyes to tie the game at four before getting Omar Infante to pop up for the second out. Austin Kearns was hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring up the artist formerly known as Mike Stanton. First pitch fastball was sent well into the deepest part of the park near the hideous home run structure for the walk-off game-winning grand slam.

Game Ball: Jon Niese pitched six shutout innings while leaving with a 2-0 lead, Jon Rauch and Justin Turner get a piece of the pie too for their contributions.

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Chris Schwinden was not the hero the Mets needed, nor the one that Mets fans deserved.

But he’s the pitcher that New York sent to the mound on Wednesday afternoon.  The Mets’ chances of winning —and avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Astros — didn’t last long after he took the hill.

Making his second start in the majors this season, Schwinden was rocked, allowing five earned runs in four innings, including two home runs to Astros third baseman Chris Johnson. Houston tacked on three runs against the New York bullpen and Wandy Rodriguez twirled seven mostly dominant innings as the Astros swept the Mets with an 8-1 getaway day victory.

The game got off to an ominous start for New York. Ruben Tejada led off the game with a double off the scoreboard in left, but got aggressive when left fielder J.D. Martinez plodded after the ball and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Rodriguez settled in from there.

In the opposing half of the first, Schwinden walked leadoff man Jordan Schafer, but got three ground balls to escape the opening frame without damage. He wouldn’t be so lucky in the second. Back-to-back singles by Jed Lowrie and Brian Bogusevic preceded Johnson, who launched a 2-2 cutter into the stands above the scoreboard in left. The third baseman padded the Astros’ lead in the third when he blasted another homer to left-center. The two-run shot to put Houston in front 5-0.

The Mets scratched across a run in the fourth thanks to David Wright, who walked for the 17th time this season, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Andres Torres (Can we call that a Wright Wrun?). But it was all the offense New York could muster against Rodriguez, who scattered six hits over seven innings. Rodriguez did walk two, but he struck out five and stranded six on the basepaths.

Schwinden, meanwhile, lasted just four frames. He was knocked around for six hits and added to the mess with two walks. Manny Acosta was no better in his stead, allowing three more runs in the fifth inning on five consecutive Houston hits. By the time the smoke had cleared and the game was official, it was well out of New York’s reach.

After Rodriguez’s seven innings, Houston’s bullpen added two scoreless frames to finish it, sending the Mets home unhappy after a 2-4 road trip.

Turning Point: When Schwinden took the mound? If not, it was at the very least that three-run bomb to Johnson in the second inning, which proved Schwinden wasn’t fooling anybody again today.

Game Ball: On a bad day for the Mets, David Wright continued to produce. Wright was 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk and scored the Mets’ only run.  He is now hitting .392/.495/.582. Hey Sandy, maybe call his agent?

Next Game: The Mets get Thursday off before opening a quick three-game homestand on Friday night at Citi Field against the Diamondbacks. Dillon Gee (2-2, 4.85  ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 23 K) will oppose surprising Arizona rookie Wade Miley (3-0, 1.29 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 15 K) on the bump. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and the game can be seen on SNY or heard, as always on WFAN 660 AM.

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After a wild series opener, the Mets and Astros engage in game two of a three-game set tonight at Houston’s Minute Maid Park. New York sends lefty Jon Niese to the hill looking to get them back on track after last night’s 4-3 loss. Niese will be opposed by Houston’s J.A. Happ. First pitch is 8:05 p.m. and the game can be seen on SNY or heard, as always, on WFAN 660AM.  Join the conversation on Twitter by following @dailystache or yours truly, @DevOnSports.

After another solid outing from a starter the Mets were victimized by a bullpen that seems to get shakier by the day. Some changes may be afoot for the Mets relief corps, but it’s hard to be unhappy with the efforts of the starters thus far. Niese will have the chance to continue that success against Happ, whom New York will face for the ninth time in his career.

The New York offense was held quiet for most of Monday’s game, save for a three-run outburst in the eighth to tie the game. The leader of that outburst was Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who drove in two runs on Monday and seems to have planted his flag at the top of the lineup for the foreseeable future. Behind Nieuwenhuis, the lineup will look slightly different against the lefty Happ.

Lucas Duda sits for the second straight game with flu like symptoms, replaced by righty Scott Hairston tonight rather than lefty Mike Baxter.  Daniel Murphy joins Duda on the pine. He’s replaced in the lineup by Justin Turner, who, for some reason, will be hitting third.

Mets Lineup:

Nieuwenhuis - Tejada - Turner - Wright - Hairston - Davis - Torres - Thole - Niese

Stache Fact: Nieuwenhuis enters May coming off one of the best opening months ever for a Mets rookie. Kirk hit .325 in April with a .386 OBP and eight runs batted in. His average is the third best in club history for a rookie in April.

Astros Lineup: 

Altuve - Lowrie - Martinez - Lee - Downs - Bogusevic - Maxwell - Snyder - Happ

Stache Fact: Houston’s Carlos Lee returns to the lineup after a four-game absence due to a left ankle sprain. Lee has mashed the Mets in the past, to the tune of a .337 career average with nine home runs and 29 RBI in 44 games.

Pitching Matchup:
NYM: Jon Niese (2-0, 2.81 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 23K) – Niese has been the Mets’ best pitcher this year through four turns in the rotation and will look to build on his April success against the light hitting Astros on May Day. Niese has gone at least six innings in all four of his starts and limited opponents to a minuscule .191 batting average against.

Niese is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings lifetime against Houston, but only two members of tonight’s Astros lineup have ever faced Niese: Lee and Chris Snyder. Lee is 2-for-8 lifetime against the lefty while Snyder is hitless in two at-bats.

HOU: J.A. Happ (1-1, 4.70 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 24 K) – The Mets are plenty familiar with Houston’s Happ, a former Philadelphia Phillie. Happ’s start to the 2012 season is right in line with his career averagesm but he’s coming off his worst performance of the year, an outing against the Brewers in which he lasted just five innings and allowed four earned runs. He did however strikeout eight and his strikeout totals for the season — better than one strikeout per nine innings — are impressive.

Happ is 2-2 lifetime vs. the Mets. He faced them twice last season, allowing six runs in 4 2/3 innings in an April loss and just two runs in six innings in a win last May. Among Mets hitters, David Wright has faired by far the best against Happ. He is 6-of-13 lifetime against the lefty with three home runs and two doubles. The only other Met with at least five at-bats against Happ is Turner, who is 1-for-5 against him.

Stache Keys to the Game:

1. Get to Happ Early – The Houston lefthander is susceptible to the big inning and it’s more likely to come early than late. Of the 12 runs he has allowed this season, 11 have come in the first three innings of games. The Mets can’t allow Happ to settle in, or it could be a long night for the offense.
2. Get Some Insurance – If the Mets do get to Happ early, they need to pile on. The misgiving of the bullpen have been too many in recent days for the relievers to be relied upon in close and late situations. Some cushion would be nice.
3. Let Niese do his thing – Tonight might be a night when — if he’s going well — the Mets look to extend Niese beyond the seventh inning. New York has paid close attention to pitch counts on all starters through the first month of the season, but the starters should be pretty loose by now. If Niese is going as well as he has in his last few starts, manager Terry Collins should let the leash go.

This Date in Mets History:
May 1st marks the birthdate of one of the more polarizing figures in franchise history, M. Donald Grant. Grant was the architect of some of the early Mets teams, but is perhaps best known for trading away “the franchise” when he sent Tom Seaver packing to Cincinnati back on June 15, 1977 in a trade that remains known as “The Midnight Massacre.”

On May 1, 1965, Yankee great Yogi Berra made his first appearance as a Met. Also on May 1, 1980 Met pitcher Pete Falcone tied a major league record by striking out the first six batters to face him in a game the Mets eventually lost, 2-1 to the Phillies.

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Photo courtesy of Michael Baron, MetsBlog

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this man.  I am a strong David Wright supporter, so if you’re a D-Dub hater, you should probably not read any further.  No, this is not going to turn into a gushing post about how awesome he is, but you cannot argue that he HAS been great so far this season.  However, after the dog-and-pony-show circus that was Jose Reyes last year, with his “will he or won’t he” remain a Met, one can’t help but be skeptical and more than a bit nervous that we could be in for Round 2 this year with Wright.  Also, one has to wonder if his performance is legit or is “contract year syndrome”?

Before you jump all over me, I believe David is truly talented, and has pretty much had to deal with every bit of bad luck under the sun since 2006.  He has a bit more protection in the lineup this year and admittedly he WAS playing with a broken back last season and got clocked in the head in seasons past, so it couldn’t really have gotten much worse.  The reason I bring up the contract year thing, is because of Jose.  I too loved Jose while he was here but I have to be honest and say I lost a bit of respect for him with the way he departed New York.  Yes, the Wilpons are just as much (if not more) to blame, but the whole bunt-to-protect-the-batting-title thing while people paid money to see him for the last time was a snub to the fans…at least in my opinion.  He topped it off by whining like a jilted girlfriend for weeks afterwards.

The other reason I am a little wary is the way Jose performed last season.  He was the NL batting champ and played as well as I’ve ever seen him play, which leads me to believe he was playing for a contract.  Again, I realize he was hurt in the past few years and he is an exciting player to watch, but it was too little too late for me.  He FINALLY shines again, and promptly walks out the door.

Now, David has said many times that he wants to remain in New York and finish his career with the Mets.  I really, really want to believe him, and I do think he is an honest and loyal person, but I also know he desperately wants to win.  Do I think he’d leave the Mets for a chance to win a World Series with another team?  I want to say that he wouldn’t leave New York, but who wouldn’t want a chance at a ring?

The Wilpons would be absolute fools (even more than they are now) to let David go.  The fact that they haven’t even started contract negotiations with him makes me a tad concerned but Sandy Alderson himself did say “I can’t imagine David playing anywhere else”, so that’s something to keep a little faith in.  If indeed that’s the case, it’s all up to David as to whether or not he really wants to stay in New York.  Let’s hope he says YES, and let’s hope that the Wilpons are listening.

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Ike Davis is beginning to show signs of life again, and for opposing teams...that's not good.

The New York Mets held a 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the eighth, but a grand slam from the Rockies tied the game sending it to extras two innings later. The Mets got a one run lead once again, but another homerun tied it for the second time. New York got the lead back in the top of the 11th and held on to take two of three from Colorado in their weekend series in the Mile High City.

The Mets started off with a bang sending nine batters to the plate in the top of the first inning against ageless wonder Jamie Moyer. Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Ruben Tejada started off with back to back singles, and two batters later David Wright double to left field to bring them around. Lucas Duda reached with a walk and Scott Hairston broke a career 0-for-9 against Moyer with an RBI single to open up a 3-0 lead.

Opposing Moyer was another left hander in Mets’ ace Johan Santana who worked around a two out single to the opposite field taken by Carlos Gonzalez. Santana got out of the inning and retired the next three in the bottom of the second as well.

In the top of the third Hairston reached on a one out single, before Ike Davis collected his second hit of the game and pulled his first double of the season down the right field line. Josh Thole struck out for the second straight time before Moyer got his counterpart to strikeout, needing 75 pitches to get out of the first three innings.

The bottom of the fourth saw Gonzalez lead off with a single for the Rox followed by a stolen base, Santana got the next three batters inlcuding striking out 41-year old Jason Giambi to end the inning. Hairston led off the top of the fifth with a rocket to third base that was stopped nicely by Chris Nelson that was scooped out of the dirt by Giambi on the other side of the diamond. Two batters later Thole got some redemption after striking out the first two times before lining a homerun over the right centerfield wall to increase the lead to 4-0.

Nelson doubled with one out off of Santana, followed by pinch-hitter Jonathan Herrera sending one deep into the left centerfield gap that Nieuwenhuis layed out for and robbed an extra base hit. Santana got the next batter on a comebacker to retired the side.

Tejada hit a one out single to start off the top of the sixth off of new pitcher Josh Roenicke, he became the first Met to collect 10 hits in a three game series since Edgardo Alfonzo did it back in the 2000 season also in Denver. Murphy however followed it up by grounding into a double play. Santana then worked around an error by Daniel Murphy who was playing deep in the hole at second and was unable to field the ball cleanly.

To lead off the seventh Wright walked but Roenicke got the next two batters while left-hander Rex Brothers came on to get Davis looking. Miguel Batista came on to pitch the bottom of the seventh and got two of the three batters he faced via strikeout. Meanwhile Brothers came back on in the eighth inning and struck out Thole, followed by pinch-hitter Zach Lutz to strike out as well, Nieuwenhuis got his second hit forcing the Rockies to bring on the right-hander Edgmer Escalona to face Tejada who reached on an error before getting Murphy looking.

–See How the Rockies Tied the Game the first time, and more after the break–

Right-hander Jon Rauch came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning and got former Met Marco Scutaro to fly out prior to Dexter Fowler getting a base knock up the middle and walking Gonzalez. Rauch got Troy Tulowitzki on a comebacker that moved up the runners, then walked Michael Cuddyer to load the bases. With Todd Helton announced as a pinch hitter the Mets went to lefty Tim Byrdak who allowed the pinch hit grand slam to Helton to tie the game at four. Bobby Parnell came on next and struck out Ramon Hernandez to send it to the ninth.

Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt came on in the tie game with no chance at a save and walked Wright to start off the inning, Duda grounded up moving Wright up to second who was running on the pitch. With Hairston up, Betancourt balked and moved Wright to third before Hairston struck out looking. Davis was up next and worked the count before lining out to Scutaro on a bullet, stranding Wright at third. Parnell meanwhile got the Rockies 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.

The Rockies took out Betnacourt for Matt Belisle in the top of the 10th who got Thole to groundout, then pinch hitter Mike Baxter dunked in a single to reach base and later came all the way around when Nieuwenhuis doubled down the leftfield line. Mets’ closer Frank Francisco came on to seal the deal in the bottom of the 1oth and allowed a one out homerun to Gonzalez to tie the game that just cleared the tall fence in rightfield to even up the game. Tulowitzki reached on an infield single to Wright, and Cuddyer struck out swining to bring up Helton. The franchise first baseman walked, before getting Hernandez to pop up to Davis to send it to the 11th.

Wright and Duda singled off of Belisle with Duda’s hit moving Wright first to third. Hairston replaced Duda on the base paths with a groundout, followed by Davis poking a pitch through the left side to bring home Wright. Thole followed it up by grounding into a double play. Davis was pulled during the next inning as Murphy moved to first base while Jordany Valdespin came on at second base who doubleswitched to get Ramon Ramirez in to pitch. Ramirez got the first two easily and then faced Scutaro who launched one to deep leftfield that made the hearts in every Mets’ fan sink, thankfully for the Mets Coors Field was large enough to hold the ball as Hairston made the catch against the wall to end the game.

Game Ball: Ike Davis…slowly but surely he’s coming back. Today he went 3-for-6 at the plate with the go-ahead RBI in the top of the 11th. Johan Santana comes in for a close second after allowing no runs on a pair of hits in six innings while striking out five.

Up Next: The Mets fly down to Houston tonight and will meet up with their fellow 50-year old organization for the last time as National League foes. Earlier today the Reds defeated the Astros in Cincinnati and will throw Bud Norris against R.A. Dickey who will start the series for the Mets. Andres Torres will be activated from the 15-day DL while it is expected that Lutz will be sent back to Buffalo, after the catch Nieuwenhuis made in centerfield today there will be an outcry about Torres playing center but Nieuwenhuis can handle left just as well. First pitch tomorrow night is set to be thrown at 8:05 p.m.

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This afternoon the Mets look for the sweep the Marlins.  Jon Niese will try to continue the string of strong starts by Johan and Dickey.  For the Fish, Rickey Nolasco will be on the hill.

Last night David Wright’s 2 run home run propelled him past Darryl Strawberry into the all time Mets lead for career RBI’s, with 735.

Today’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm.  As always, the game can be heard on WFAN 660 & seen on SNY.

Mets Starting Lineup
1. CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
2. SS Ruben Tejada
3. 2B Daniel Murphy
4. 3B David Wright
5. RF Lucas Duda
6. 1B Ike Davis
7. C Josh Thole
8. LF Jordany Valdespin
9. LHP Jon Niese

Who’s Hot?…Josh Thole.  Via Metsblog.com, Thole  extended his hitting  streak last night to a career-high eight games, during which he’s batting .375 in 24 at bats. He has reached base in all 16 games he has played so far this season, the longest streak to start a campaign by a catcher in franchise history,

Marlins Starting Lineup
1. SS Jose Reyes
2. CF Emilio Bonifacio
3. 3B Hanley Ramirez
4. LF Austin Kearns
5. 2B Omar Infante
6. RF Giancarlo Stanton
7. 1B Gabby Sanchez
8. C Brett Hayes
9. RHP Ricky Nolasco

Who’s Hot?…NOT Jose Reyes.   Reyes is batting .217 and has a .276 on-base percentage so far this year.

On The Hill…
Jon Niese (2-0 2.89 ERA) has had 3 “quality” starts in a row to start off the season.  In his last start against the Giants, Niese allowed 3 runs over 6 innings, while striking out 5.  Initially I was worried that Jon would come out flat to start the season after signing his 5yr $25 million extension.  But I’m glad he has proven me wrong.  Jon is 1-4 with a 5.67 ERA in his career against the Marlins.

Ricky Nolasco (2-0 3.93 ERA) is 5-7 with a 5.27 ERA lifetime against the Mets.  In Nolasco’s last start, he yielded 8 hits and 3 runs over 5.1 innings against the Cubs for the win.

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After an incredible pitchers’ duel on Monday night between Johan Santana and Josh Johnson, R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle decided to give us an encore on Tuesday.

Dickey was dominant, making just one mistake over seven innings — a fifth inning knuckleball that Omar Infante hit off the facing of the second deck in left. But that was all the Marlins would get off R.A. over seven innings. He allowed just three hits, including the homer, and walked only one while striking out seven.

Buehrle was nearly as good, allowing just two runs on five hits over seven. But his lone mistake was bigger. With two outs and a runner on in the sixth, Buehrle grooved a 0-2 changeup to David Wright, who mashed it over the centerfield fence for a go-ahead two-run homer. With the blast, Wright passed Darryl Strawberry for the top spot on the Mets RBI list with 735.

The Mets tacked on three more in the eighth and the bullpen quartet of Jon Rauch, Bobby Parnell, Tim Byrdak and Manny Acosta pieced together two scoreless innings to secure the 5-1 win. The victory gave New York its third series win of the season, all over National League East foes.

The offense broke out late in the game, but the story of the night was Dickey. R.A. said on Monday that he could match Mark Buehrle’s pace and he wasn’t kidding. He got off to another solid start, needing just 10 pitches to get through the first inning. In the second, Dickey allowed a leadoff single to Logan Morrison, but he pitched around it and mowed through the frame in just 13 pitches.

It was another 10-pitch affair in the third as R.A. breezed through John Buck, Buehrle and Jose Reyes in order. The fourth required a little more effort —18 pitches — but Dickey again set the Marlins down in order. Buehrle was just as strong early, matching Dickey zero-for-zero through four.

Miami struck first in the fifth on Infante’s homer and Dickey also gave up a one-out double to Gaby Sanchez, but he retired Buck and Buehrle to end the threat. After the fifth inning hiccup, Dickey picked it up again in the sixth, striking out Reyes ahead of groundouts by Emilio Bonifacio and Hanley Ramirez.

While Dickey was twirling a game, the Mets offense was scuffling and they failed to get a runner past first against Buehrle through the first five. Wright put an end to that in the sixth.

The inning started when Kirk Nieuwenheis was plunked by the Marlins lefty. The Mets had life, but after Ruben Tejada flew out, Daniel Murphy hit what appeared to be a double play ball to second. However an old friend did the Mets a favor. Despite a good feed from Infante, Reyes was disrupted by Nieuwenhuis’ slide and threw high to first, allowing Murphy to reach. Wright didn’t let the extra out go to waste as he followed by crushing Buehrle’s 0-2 offering for a two-run shot center that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.

The Mets gave some extra outs back to the Marlins in the seventh on a miscommunication at second that cost them a double play and an error by Wright on a Sanchez groundball. But Dickey endured, getting Buck — with two on and two out — to ground into a force, ending the inning. Dickey stranded nine through seven innings of three-hit ball.

In the eighth, Reyes blooped a one-out single to right for his first hit of the series, but Rauch got Bonifacio for the second out and Parnell came in to strike out Hanley Ramirez and end the inning.

The Mets struck for three insurance runs in the bottom half on an RBI single by Lucas Duda and a two-run double by Mike Baxter that made it 5-1. Byrdak and Acosta made it interesting in the ninth, but Acosta got Sanchez to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end it.

Turning Point: Buehrle was rolling through the game until Wright blasted his two-run homer in the sixth. It turned the tide, gave the Mets the lead and stood up as the game-winning hit in a 5-1 victory.

Game Ball: If Wright gets the turning point, Dickey has to get the game ball. He made one bad pitch all night and had the Marlins flailing at almost every other one.  After a tough fifth, he buckled down for a great sixth and gutted out a seventh inning in which he basically recorded five outs. Tonight was vintage Dickey and it was just what the Mets needed.

Random Stache Fact: The Stache was in the house at Citi Field as our fearless leaders, Matt Falkenbury and Michael Ganci were invited to blogger night at the ball game. Click here for some exclusive content.

Next Game: The Mets finish the three-game set with the Marlins, and this homestand on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field. Jon Niese (2-0, 2.89 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 17 K) will oppose Ricky Nolasco (2-0, 3.93 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 12 K) on the bump. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. and the game can be seen on SNY or heard, as always on WFAN 660 AM.