Phillies 8, Mets 7: How much can the bullpen be blamed in an 8-7 loss that came in a game in which the Mets once held a seven-run lead? Not as much as people would think. Pedro Martinez gave back five of the seven runs he was given -- those tallies came thanks to home runs by Damion Easley and Fernando Tatis -- but was perversely still in line for the win. Luis Ayala, the......

Mets 9 Washington 3: Good teams need to beat bad teams in August and that is exactly what the Mets did to Washington this week. Thursday they capped off the sweep with a strong start from Oliver Perez and some timely hitting. Brian Schneider hit his fifth home run of the season and Carlos Delgado added his 26th in the sixth inning. Fernando Tatis went 1-for-1 with three walks and Damion Easley added a pinch-hit......

Yankees 9 Minnesota 6: Do you think Johnny Damon took being benched against a lefty last night personally? Damon showed why he should be in the lineup every night by leading off the game with a home run. It was a desperately needed spark for a team that came into the game having lost 11-of-16. Mike Mussina kept up his unbelievable season with seven strong innings, allowing three runs while striking out five. But, Mariano......

Mets 2, Rockies 1: Wins against National League West teams still count in the standings. Remember, the Mets couldn't compete with the Seattle Mariners a few weeks ago. Now they are owners of their first seven-game win streak since 2006. Oliver Perez wasn't as sharp as he has been in recent starts, but he did produce six innings of one-run ball. He was fortunate to allow so few, as he walked six. Damion Easley hit......

Yankees 2, Red Sox 1: Classic games between these teams usually take four hours -- or four hours, 45 minutes -- not 2:58. The Yankees will take this. Mike Mussina spun six scoreless innings before Mariano Rivera wriggled off the hook in the ninth inning. The win came on the heels of two straight losses to open this four-game set. Mussina, whose unexpected successs (11 wins, 3.64 ERA) probably deserves to be on the All-Star......

Sidney Ponson, who will soon be forgotten himself, made a start that will be forgotten. That's thanks in part to his ineffectiveness but mostly to the Yanks' offensive explosion spearheaded by Jason Giambi (grand slam, six RBIs) and Alex Rodriguez (homer, three RBIs, four runs scored). Every Yankees starter had a hit. That includes Brett Gardner, who could be the new center fielder if Melky Cabrera continues his sour play. Ponson, picked up as a stopgap measure, was barely decent -- but fully clothed -- until the sixth inning, when he allowed a pair of two-run home runs. But then the Yankees exploded for a nine-run seventh. ...

Photograph of Carlos Beltran sliding into home--and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez--by Seth Wenig/AP It seemed like such an innocent play at the time. Willie Blumquist grounded to third for what should have been an easy out, but David Wright bobbled the ball and the bases were loaded. But, the pitcher was due up and pitchers can’t hit, especially American League ones, right? Wrong, Felix Hernandez became the first AL pitcher in 37 years to......

Blue Jays 9, Yankees 3: Joba Chamberlain's first start in the Major Leagues didn't last much longer than some of his relief appearances. He threw 62 pitches -- 32 strikes -- to get seven outs. Walking four, including three in the first inning, curtailed an outing that was already sure to be short thanks to a strict pitch count. Dan Giese, who was called up with the express purpose to back up Chamberlain, gave up......

Rays 7, Yankees 1: The days of dominating the Rays are over, or at least on hiatus. Matt Garza shut down the inconsistent Yankees lineup in the first game of a four-game series. Andy Pettitte allowed five runs in four innings. Four of those came in the third. For the rest of his outing, the veteran lefty looked OK. He struck out five and walked two, so his peripheral stats suggest he deserved better. The......

Red Sox 7, Yankees 5: Mike Mussina will be seeing Manny Ramirez in his sleep. The Stanford graduate gave up two home runs to the George Washington High School product as part of a distressing performance. The righty allowed five runs in three innings, and, unlike Wednesday, the Yankees could not put up 15 runs. Ramirez has worn out all Yankees pitching, not just Mussina, and who could be blamed for thinking the slugger is......

Red Bulls 5, Galaxy 4: Giants Stadium fills up for plenty of events, but Red Bulls games don't usually rank among those. Saturday's did, if only because David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy was in town. Those fans, who were there for Beckham and not the Galaxy, found another rare treat: goals in a Major League Soccer game. Soccer doesn't need frequent scores to be exciting, but the rare 5-4 game never hurt anyone. Not......

Mets 12, Brewers 4: Tuesday's 13-inning loss didn't seem to portend good things for the Mets' road trip. A worn-out rotation and bullpen looked ripe for a beating during the final two games in Milwaukee. But Oliver Perez stepped up Wednesday, and Brian Lawrence, pitching in the big leagues for the first time since 2005, reaped the benefits of run support in Thursday's matinée finale. That included Damion Easley's unlikely inside-the-park home run. Next up:......

Yankees 9, Red Sox 5: Now the Yankees only trail their rivals in the American League East by 12 1/2 games. They rocked Tim Wakefield -- again -- and then held on for a 9-5 win in the first of three games at Fenway Park this weekend. A four-run sixth, including a three-run double by Jorge Posada, didn't hurt. Wakefield has been great against the American League this season but not against the Yankees, against......

Mets 6 Marlins 4: It is the best of times for the Mets. 32-17, best record in the National League and fresh off a sweep of the Marlins. Sunday’s win was a balanced effort with Jorge Sosa giving a solid start, the bullpen doing its job and the offense taking advantage of seven walks. Damion Easley showed his versatility, starting in left field and contributing 2 hits. Five different Mets had a RBI and the......

Mets 7, Marlins 2: Reports of Carlos Delgado's demise have been greatly exaggerated. At least for now. He hit two home runs as the Mets romped past the Marlins and moved 3 1/2 games in front of the Braves in the National League East. Delgado's poor play -- he has fewer homers than Damion Easley, after all -- had been a source of concern for the Mets. But his two-homer game backed John Maine,......

Mets 6, Cubs 5: Manager Willie Randolph appeared to give up on this game before it started. With Jason Vargas fresh up from Triple-A to take the mound and the Mets coming off a game that ended past 1 a.m. Thursday morning, the Mets rested Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Damion Easley. Paul LoDuca also rode the pine, but that was an expected move for a catcher and a day game following a......

Nets 83, Cavaliers 72: No one's going to give the Nets style points, but New Jersey will take Game 6 nonetheless. Jason Kidd's crew won this game on defense and tenacity. How else can a team win a game in which it scores six points in the fourth quarter? Mikki Moore did the job yet again. He's scored in double figures in every game this series and his development is a credit to Lawrence Frank's......

Mets 9 Milwaukee 1: The Mets made their case for the being the NL favorites with a decisive victory over the Brewers and a series win. Oliver Perez was masterful, taking a shutout into the ninth and Damion Easley had 4 RBI’s to pace New York. The Mets had more subs than regulars in the lineup, but still managed 14 hits. Seattle 2 Yankees 1: Where do you start with the questions? How about why......

Mets 5, Brewers 4: Too bad the Mets couldn't hit like this off Jeff Suppan in last year's playoffs. They got three home runs -- from David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Damion Easley -- and beat the pitcher who shut them down while with the Cardinals last October. They have to feel happy that Wright and Delgado hit their third homers of the year, but who would have guessed that Easley, whose homer was......

Mariners 3, Yankees 2: Matt DeSalvo -- he who reads Camus and writes unpublished novels in his spare time -- threw seven innings of one-run ball for the Yankees before turning it over to the bullpen with a one-run lead. Second base umpire Gerry Davis blew a call and hurt the Yankees in the eighth. With two out, pinch runner Willie Bloomquist appeared to be caught stealing second. Davis called him safe, and Kenji Johjima......

Yankees 4, Rangers 3: The storms have passed in Texas, and the Rangers and Yankees played two. In game 1 of the doubleheader, everything was normal as Andy Pettitte pitched for six strong innings. While he left the game with the lead, Luis Vizcaino was unable to hold the 3-2 lead as the Rangers tied the game in the 7th. Derek Jeter singled in the 8th inning to extend his hitting streak to 19 games......

Raptors 89, Nets 83: All the pressure in Game 2 was on the Raptors, but they came back and evened this series at one game apiece. This game had a painfully low-scoring first half, but things picked up down the stretch as Toronto's Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker overcame the efforts of Jason Kidd and Vince Carter for the Nets. Richard Jefferson's absence in the first half -- he didn't score and ended up with......

Mets 7 Braves 2: Jose Reyes missed hitting for the cycle because he didn’t get a single, while Carlos Beltran missed because he didn’t hit a home run. No matter, because the Mets pounded the Braves behind the two of them. Beltran and Reyes went 7-for-10 with a home run and 3 RBI’s. Ramon Castro and Damion Easley both went deep and Oliver Perez struck out nine in six innings. Boston 7 Yankees 5: New......