WHAT IT MEANS: Jordany Valdespin was “El Hombre” Wednesday afternoon. With the Mets in danger of getting swept by the lowly Miami Marlins. Valdespin produced a pinch-hit three-run homer in the sixth against Marlins reliever A.J. Ramos to stake the Mets to a one-run lead. 

John Buck added a two-run double an inning later — which it turned out the Mets would desperately need — and the Amazin’s narrowly held on to salvage the finale, 7-6, at Marlins Park. The Mets (11-15) snapped a six-game losing streak. 

Scott Atchison, protecting a 7-4 lead in his second inning of work in the seventh, surrendered three straight one-out singles. On the third of those hits, by Justin Ruggiano, Donovan Solano andGreg Dobbs had stopped in scoring position. But the ball got by left fielder Lucas Duda and both restarted and scored as the Marlins pulled within 7-6 with the pair of unearned runs. 

The Mets had failed to protect one-run leads with three outs to go three times in the first two games of the series. This time, they stranded the potential tying run at third base in consecutive late innings and eked out a win. 

Atchison left Ruggiano at third base in the seventh by getting Chris Valaika to fly out. An inning later, after Nick Green doubled against LaTroy Hawkins and reached third with two outs, Scott Rice entered and retired Juan Pierre on a groundout. 

Bobby Parnell, who was upset he went unused Tuesday in a game Brandon Lyon uncorked a game-ending wild pitch, this time handled the ninth. Parnell retired the Marlins 1-2-3 on seven pitches for his third save. 

SPIN-SANITY: Valdespin had set a franchise record with five pinch-hit homers a season ago. He had been 1-for-10 with a single, RBI and four strikeouts this season as a pinch-hitter before Wednesday’s three-run shot. 

Six of Valdespin’s 10 career homers have come as a pinch hitter, which is one reason Terry Collins uses to justify using Valdespin in that role rather than as a more frequent starter. 

That pinch-hit homer total does not include his walk-off grand slam last Wednesday against theLos Angeles Dodgers, which came two innings after Valdespin entered that game as a pinch hitter and then took over in center field, also for Juan Lagares. 

This afternoon, Ramos had inherited two baserunners with two outs from left-handed starterWade LeBlanc. The righty reliever’s insertion prompted Collins to counter with the lefty-hitting Valdespin for the righty-hitting Lagares. 

GEE FIZZ: Dillon Gee surrendered four runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings. He was pulled with his pitch count at a modest 70 after Valdespin provided the 5-4 lead. Gee’s ERA ballooned to 6.16. 

WRIGHT STUFF: David Wright and Buck each had three hits. Wright scored three times. 

Wright put the Mets in position for Valdespin’s three-run shot to be meaningful. He pulled the Mets within 3-1 with a solo homer in the fourth. And Wright doubled to lead off the sixth against LeBlanc and scored on Marlon Byrd’s two-out single to make it 4-2. 

Wright has three homers this season. The other two came against Juan Nicasio in Colorado on April 16. 

WHAT’S NEXT: After an off-day in Atlanta, the Mets play a weekend series against the first-place Braves at Turner Field. Shaun Marcum (0-2, 7.94 ERA), who pitched in relief on Monday, starts Friday night’s series opener opposite left-hander Mike Minor (3-2, 3.13).

WHAT IT MEANS: Left-hander Scott Rice spent 14 seasons in the minors — including the past two with the Los Angeles Dodgers — before becoming a positive contributor this year in his first MLB season. 

The 31-year-old Rice stumbled Thursday afternoon, though. 

With a switch-hitter and a pair of lefty hitters due up and the score tied in the ninth, Terry Collins demonstrated his faith in Rice by allowing him to remain in the game to face the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup. 

Rice proceeded to surrender a leadoff double to Nick Punto. After a one-out intentional walk to righty-hitting Matt Kemp, Rice then surrendered a tiebreaking RBI single to Andre Ethier. 

Bobby Parnell entered with runners on the corners and one out and surrendered a run-scoring infield single to Juan Uribe as L.A. took a two-run lead. 

The Dodgers ultimately beat the Mets, 3-2, at Citi Field after Ike Davis contributed a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. 

The Mets (10-10), bidding to win their first four home series of a season for the first time since 1976, instead dropped to .500 with the rubber-game loss. 

The Mets now are 5-0 in games started by Matt Harvey and 5-10 when anyone else takes the mound. 

HEFTY PERFORMANCE: Jeremy Hefner, who had struggled serving up long balls this season, limited L.A. to one run on three hits while striking out four, walking three and hitting a batter in a 93-pitch effort spanning seven innings. The lone run came in the first, when Hefner plunked leadoff batter Carl Crawford and surrendered a two-out RBI single to Kemp. 

WOE IS IKE: Davis, who was displaced from the cleanup spot by Lucas Duda on Thursday afternoon, struggled until delivering the ninth-inning homer. Davis had been 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. His second strikeout ended the sixth inning and stranded two runners in scoring position. 

The Mets had evened the score at 1 against left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (7 IP, 3 H, 1 R) earlier in the frame on a sacrifice fly by David Wright. 

Davis has 24 Ks in 69 at-bats. 

He also dropped a ball off the heel of his glove in foul territory in the eighth, although Jerry Hairston Jr. subsequently flied out and the faux pas did not cost the Mets. 

WHAT’S NEXT: The Philadelphia Phillies visit for a weekend series. Dillon Gee (1-3, 5.95 ERA), who is coming off an outing in which he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Nats and picked up his first win, opposes right-hander Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 3.28) in Friday’s 7:10 p.m. series opener.

WHAT IT MEANS: Ruben Tejada committed a costly throwing error that allowed the Rockies to overcome a six-run deficit. 

Colorado completed a 9-8 win in the 10th as Jordan Pacheco delivered a two-out walk-off RBI single against Greg Burke to complete the doubleheader sweep. 

Bobby Parnell, bidding for a four-out save, had inherited runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth and the Mets’ clinging to a two-run lead. 

After allowing Carlos Gonzalez to steal second without paying much attention — which placed the tying run in scoring position — Parnell coaxed Michael Cuddyer into a seeming inning-ending groundout to shortstop. 

Instead, Tejada fired the ball into the Rockies’ dugout for his sixth error of April. Two runs scored on the misfire and the Rockies tied the score at 8. 

Tejada had 12 errors all of last season. 

He had a chance at redemption in the top of the ninth, batting with runners on the corners and two out in the ninth. But Tejada flied out to center against left-hander Rex Brothers. 

PAIN IN THE BACK: Lucas Duda left the game in the fifth inning with lower-back tightness. 

LAFFEY MATTER: The Mets had bashed Rockies starter Jeff Francis for eight runs (seven earned) in 4 1/3 innings. 

Meanwhile, Aaron Laffey was pulled after four innings and 77 pitches, seemingly to set him up to return on short rest Saturday against the Washington Nationals. 

Assuming that was the motivation, the projected matchups for the weekend series at Citi Field — barring snow interruptions the next two days in Denver — would be: 

Friday: Matt Harvey vs. Stephen Strasburg 

Saturday: Laffey vs. Gio Gonzalez 

Sunday: Dillon Gee vs. Jordan Zimmermann 

Collin McHugh tossed 102 pitches for Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday night (allowing one unearned run), indicating he is not a candidate to start Saturday. 

Laffey was charged with two earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out three in four innings. 

UGLY FIFTH: After Laffey departed, Josh Edgin entered with an 8-2 lead and struggled in the fifth, loading the bases and then forcing in a run with a walk. LaTroy Hawkins then allowed all three inherited runners to score as Colorado pulled within 8-6 with a four-run frame. 

DEEP THOUGHTS: The Mets’ homer streak to open the season ended at 12 consecutive games after they failed to go deep in the nightcap. It marked the longest streak to open a season since Tampa Bay also went deep in 12 straight to open 2007. 

ATCHA BOY: After loading the bases in the seventh inning, Scott Atchison bailed himself out by striking out pinch-hitter Troy Tulowitzki to preserve an 8-6 lead. 

WHAT’S NEXT: Heavy snow overnight. The prediction is for four to eight inches of snow by Wednesday’s scheduled game. 

Snow already had started falling by the end of Tuesday’s nightcap. 

Weather-permitting, Jeremy Hefner (0-2, 6.00 ERA) opposes Jon Garland (1-0, 3.75) in Game 3 of the four-game series, at 8:40 p.m. ET Wednesday.

It was cold in Minneapolis, but Matt Harvey was ridiculously amazing. He continued his impressive run of pitching today against the Minnesota Twins. Harvey pitched a nail-biting no-hitter into the 7th inning before giving up a solo homerun to the Twins’ Morneau. It didn’t seem to faze him one bit. He kept his cool and continued pitching well into the 8th, just giving up another hit, a single by Dozier. He pitched 8 innings for the first time in his young career and earned his 3rd win of the season!

Justin Turner was very impressive with the bat, going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of singles. Daniel Murphy also continued his impressive hitting going 2-4 with an RBI. Lucas Duda didn’t get a hit, but his OBP continued to rise with a walk in the 4th, it sits nicely at .452. Marlon Byrd started the offense in the 5th by hitting his first homerun as a New York Met. Byrd’s homerun in the 5th started a barrage of hits that was followed by 6 more from Mets hitters in that inning.

David Wright went 1-for-4 with an RBI. While John Buck missed out on a hit for the first time this season. Ike Davis got his first hit in a while, but was thrown out trying for a double in the 5th. Ruben Tejada also collected a hit, a double in the 5th. Collin Cowgill started in CF and reached on an infield single in the 5th.

Bobby Parnell went for his first save of the season, but struggled by giving up two hits and an earned run in the 9th. However, he struck out two and closed the game out earning his first save.

Offense:

• Collin Cowgil (1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI)
• Daniel Murphy (2 H, 1 RBI)
• David Wright (1 H, 1 RBI)
• John Buck (0-4)
• Lucas Duda (0-4, 1 BB)
• Marlon Byrd (1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR)
• Ike Davis (1 H)
• Justin Turner (3 H, 1 R)
• Ruben Tejada (1 H, 1 R)

Pitching: 

• Matt Harvey (8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, PC: 107)
• Bobby Parnell (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, PC: 17)

Next game: Sunday @ Twins 2:10PM, WPIX 11, MLB.TV

Full Recap: HERE

LET’S GO METS!!!!!

From ESPN:

WHAT IT MEANS: Jeremy Hefner allowed the first six batters to reach base in what became a five-run first inning and the Mets lost a rubber game to the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3, on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. 

Lucas Duda homered twice, while John Buck had a solo shot in the loss. 

The damage against Hefner came on a two-run homer by Chase Utley and three-run homer by Domonic Brown. 

Hefner had failed to retire any of the seven batters he faced in a Sept. 20 start against the Phillies last year at Citi Field. Combine the two outings and 13 straight Phillies reached base against him over two starts. 

After being charged with five earned runs on six hits and three walks over three innings Wednesday, Hefner now has a career 15.68 ERA against the Phillies in four appearances (three starts). 

Since Sunday, Mets starting pitchers have logged 4 1/3 innings (Aaron Laffey), seven innings (Matt Harvey), three innings (Dillon Gee) and three innings (Hefner). That has strained the bullpen. 

LaTroy Hawkins surrendered a two-run homer in the sixth to Laynce Nix to push Philadelphia’s lead to 7-2. 

The game included a 27-minute rain delay in the fourth. 

BUCK O’ FIVE: Buck mashed his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot in the second against Kyle Kendrick that pulled the Mets within 5-1. Buck’s long ball total matches the total the Mets received from all of their catchers in 2012 (Kelly Shoppach 3, Josh Thole 1, Mike Nickeas 1). 

The Mets have now homered in all nine games, establishing a new franchise record to open a season. They went deep in eight straight to begin the 1987 season. 

Buck’s 15 RBIs are two shy of matching his career high for a month (17 in August 2004). He has homered in three straight games for the first time in his career. 

’SPINSANITY: After Buck’s second-inning homer, the Mets loaded the bases trailing 5-1. But Hefner and Jordany Valdespin consecutively struck out looking to end the threat. 

Valdespin did finish with a career-high three hits (all in the infield). And he had a stellar play in center field. He charged in to take away a potential bloop hit from Erik Kratz that ended the third inning and stranded the bases loaded. 

Duda’s solo homer in the fourth pulled the Mets within 5-2. Justin Turner, pinch-hitting for Hefner, stranded Mike Baxter at third base with an inning-ending groundout that frame and the Mets got no closer. 

WHAT’S NEXT: The Mets fly into wintery Minnesota tonight and spend Thursday’s off-day in the Twin Cities. Several players plan to watch the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues face off.Jonathon Niese (1-0, 2.13 ERA) opposes right-hander Vance Worley (0-1, 5.73), a former Phillie, in Friday’s series opener. Weather permitting.

The Mets win with a score of 7-3! They’re back above .500 and they go for the rubber game tomorrow afternoon. Jon Niese wasn’t as impressive as he was in his first start, but he was solid. He didn’t get the win due to the ineffectiveness of the offense in the first few innings. It was until he exited the game that the Mets offense made a reappearance.

Late hits from Mike Baxter, Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis, David Wright, John Buck and Collin Cowgill contributed to the Mets box score and gave Niese a chance of earning his second win of the season. However, the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead and Niese was unable to earn the win. 

The Mets took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh. Baxter walked to lead off the inning, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo. Murphy then drove Baxter home with a triple, putting the Mets in front, 4-3. 

Wright singled home Murphy, and he eventually scored on Buck’s sac fly to make it 6-3. Collin Cowgill, a late-inning defensive replacement, hit a solo home run in the eighth to round out the scoring. 

Baxter, making his first start of the season, was on base three times, a single and two walks. Wright went 3-for-4, with three singles. And Davis, who was 1-for-16 on the season entering the game, was 2-for-3 with an intentional walk. 

Offense:

• Mike Baxter (1 H, 2 R, 2 BB)
• Daniel Murphy (1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI)
• David Wright (3 H, 1 R, 1 RBI)
• Ike Davis (2 H, 1 R, 1 BB)
• John Buck (1 H, 4 RBI)
• Lucas Duda (2 BB)
• Kirk Nieuwenhuis (0-3)
• Ruben Tejada (0-3)
• Collin Cowgill (1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI,1 HR)

Pitching: 

• Jon Niese (6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, PC: 100)
• Scott Atchinson (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, PC: 11)
• Josh Edgin (0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, PC: 3)
• Brandon Lyon (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, PC: 17)
• Bobby Parnell (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, PC: 12 )

Full recap: HERE

Next game: Sunday vs. Marlins 1:10PM, SNY, MLB.TV

LET’S GO METS!!!!

After scoring a total of 19 runs in two games, the Mets’ offense was subpar, and barely even there today. They compiled a total of 5 hits, 3 of them coming from Justin Turner, the other 2 from John Buck, who hit a 9th inning solo blast to cut the Padres’ lead by 1. The offense was very disappointing after a great outing from Dillon Gee (his first in 8 months), who pitched 6.1 innings, surrendering 3 hits and a run while walking a trio of batters. 

Padres pitching struck out a total of 14 batters on the Mets. 

The upside is the Mets win the series, taking the first two games against the Padres, and the pitching has been consistently impressive.

Check out the blog’s home page for the player of the game.

Offense:

• Collin Cowgill (0-for-3)
• Justin Turner (3 H)
• David Wright (0-for-3, 1 BB)
• Ike Davis (0-for-3, 1 BB)
• Marlon Byrd (0-for-3)
• Lucas Duda (0-for-3)
• John Buck (2 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR)
• Ruben Tejada (2 BB)

Pitching:

• Dillon Gee (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, PC: 93)
• Scott Rice (0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, PC: 14)
• Jeurys Familia (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, PC: 11)
• Josh Edgin (0.2 IP, 0, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, PC: 14)
• Brandon Lyon (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, PC: 18)

Full recap: HERE

Next game: Friday vs. Marlins 7:10PM, SNY, WFAN

LET’S GO METS!!!!

Matt Harvey made his first start of the season, and boy was he impressive! Harvey hurled for 7.0 innings, allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks. He didn’t allow any runs and struck out a total of 10 batters (out of the 15 he faced). Harvey even contributed to the offense with a single in the bottom of the 2nd. He earned his first win of the season. Very well-deserved!

Lucas Duda, Ike Davis and John Buck contributed to the offense with each of them hitting two-run homeruns. The Mets have scored a total of 19 runs in their first two games of the season, which matches their most ever (first time being 1969). Pretty impressive!

Rounding out the offense was Marlon Byrd with a single in the 2nd, Matt Harvey also with a single in the 2nd, and David Wright with a double in the 5th.

The bullpen struggled to keep up the momentum that Harvey exited with. Greg Burke gave up a pair of hits in the 8th, which resulted in the Padres’ first run of the game. Josh Edgin wasn’t too bad, he limited the damage to a hit in the 8th. LaTroy Hawkins struggled the most, giving up 2 runs in the 9th, 4 hits and threw a total of 28 pitches. Hawkins was close to finishing the game, however, Ruben Tejada committed an error throwing to first base resulting in a run. In addition, Hawkins allowed a double in the 9th resulting in the third run of the 9th inning. Bobby Parnell came in to save the game, and did just that by throwing 3 pitches for strikes, securing the Mets second win of the season!

Offense: 

• Collin Cowgill (0-for-4)
• Daniel Murphy (H, 1 R, RBI, HR, BB)
• David Wright (1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR, 1 BB)
• Ike Davis (1 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, BB)
• Marlon Byrd (1 H, 2 R, RBI, HR, 1 BB)
• Lucas Duda (2 H, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB)
• John Buck (2 H, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR, BB)
• Ruben Tejada (0-for-3)
• Matt Harvey (1 H)

Pitching: 

• Matt Harvey (7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, PC: 94)
• Greg Burke (0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, PC: 14)
• Josh Edgin (0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, PC: 10)
• LaTroy Hawkins (0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, K, PC: 28)
• Bobby Parnell (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, PC: 3)

Next game: Thursday vs. Padres 1:10pm, SNY, MLBN, MLB.TV, WFAN

LET’S GO METS!!!!!

There were 41,053 fans in attendance as the Mets continued their opening day success with an 11-2 victory over the San Diego Padres! They are now 34-18 in season openers.

Jon Niese was great in 6 2/3 innings. His line for the day:  6 2/3 innings, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 101 pitches. He earned his first win of the season. Niese also contributed to the offense, going 2-for-2 that included an RBI single in the 2nd inning. He also drew a walk.

The brand new outfield impressed with the glove and the bat. Collin Cowgill went 2-for-5 and had a total of 4 RBI (career-high) which included his first ever grand slam to put the Mets up 11-2 in the 7th inning! Marlon Byrd also had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI!

John Buck was also impressive with 2 hits, 2 runs, an RBI and a walk.

Birthday boy, Daniel Murphy, contributed nicely to the offense to 2 hits, an RBI and a run scored! Happy birthday, Murphy!

Can’t forget about Ruben Tejada, who put his abysmal spring behind him and got a pair of hits for himself. He scored twice and drove in a run.

Offense:

• Collin Cowgill (2 H, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR)
• Daniel Murphy (2 H, 1 R, 1 RBI)
• David Wright (1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB)
• Ike Davis (0-5)
• Marlon Byrd (2 H, 1 R, 2 RBI)
• Lucas Duda (2 BB)
• John Buck (2 H, 2 R, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
• Ruben Tejada (2 H, 2 R, 1 RBI)
• Jon Niese (2 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
• Jordany Valdespin-PH (1 R)

Pitching: 

• Jon Niese (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, PC: 101)
• Brandon Lyon (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, PC: 2 )
• Scott Atchinson (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, PC: 14)
• Scott Rice (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, PC: 14)

Full recap: HERE

Next game: Wednesday vs Padres 7:10pm, SNY, MLB.TV

LET’S GO METS!!!!!

The Mets (54-58) defeated the Marlins (51-61) by the score of 6-1 today at Citi Field. With the win, the Mets avoided a three-game sweep.