Mets 13, Nationals 10: After a game like this, the Mets can sit back and laugh. But during the contest, they could be forgiven for missing the humor. David Wright's two-run homer was one of his four hits and helped the Mets retake the lead after they blew a six-run advantage. Joe Smith got the win in relief for the second night in a row. Mike Pelfrey lasted five innings but allowed five runs and,......

Mets 10, Nationals 8: Oliver Perez pitched as he did in the first half of the season (poorly), and the Mets were in trouble. Manager Jerry Manuel had to turn to his relief corps with only one out in the fourth inning. So what happened? Nelson Figueroa allowed two inherited runners to score, but, after that, the relievers allowed only one run in 5 2/3 innings. Not too shabby. Joe Smith got the win with......

Twins 4, Yankees 0: As the season winds on, the Yankees are doing their best to make young opposing starters feel good about themselves. Last week, they gave some Texas arms a confidence boost. On Monday, Glen Perkins was the recipient of the Yanks' good will. He and Stony Brook product Joe Nathan combined to shut the Yankees out, and Sidney Ponson's latest middling effort -- 7 2/3 innings, four runs -- wasn't enough. The......

Left photograph of Jerry Manuel taking the ball away from relief pitcher Carlos Muniz (left) with catcher Brian Schneider watching by Alan Diaz/AP and right photograph of catcher Jose Molina talking to pitcher Mike Mussina by Bill Kostroun/AP Marlins 7, Mets 3: This game started by everyone hailing the continued resurrection of Fernando Tatis (who hit an RBI triple in the second). It ended with the Mets barely clinging to a half-game lead over......

Phillies 8, Mets 6: Johan Santana threw eight innings of two-run ball and then turned the game over to the bullpen with a 5-2 lead. No problem, right? Not quite. Duaner Sanchez, Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano gave up six runs -- the first five of which came before anyone got an out -- and the Mets choked away the opener of a three-game set that will decide first place, at least for the time......

Well, it's the ultimate accessory if you're Mets reliever Joe Smith. Because he missed out on rookie hazing last year, Smith must wear a pink Hello Kitty backpack every time he walks from the dugout to the bullpen. Mets closer Billy Wagner presented him with the bag on June 19 and proclaimed, "It's not Hello Kitty, it's Hello Smitty -- mee-oww!" And Smith has been living up to the demand: Recently, the bag has been......

Photograph of Carlos Beltran ducking his head away from blowing dirt and debris during the 7th inning (the game was briefly suspended shortly after) by Julie Jacobson/AP Diamondbacks 9, Mets 5: Despite starting off the game in nearly perfect fashion, the Mets still found a way to end it in an undesirable way. Carlos Delgado (two-run single) and David Wright (two-run homer) helped stake John Maine to a 5-1 lead after two innings. But......

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 1: Roger Clemens gave up a run in the first and didn't dazzle anyone with his brilliance during six innings, but that first-inning strike was all the Blue Jays would get. They would go on to rue their missed opportunities after Shaun Marcum controlled the Yankees for six innings before Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double to start a four-run eighth. What does this win -- the Yankees' fifth straight --......

Yankees 8, Twins 0: On a night where the Yankees shut out the Twins, perhaps the best news on the evening was that Alex Rodriguez played. A day after straining his hamstring against the Twins, A-Rod returned to the lineup and went 0-4, but also started a double play in the 4th inning to help keep the Twins off the scoreboard. Chien-Ming Wang didn't have his best stuff, but he was still good enough to......

Yankees 13 Pirates 6: It’s official, the Yankees are on fire. Sunday they completed their sweep of the Pirates, bludgeoning them behind two home runs from Alex Rodriguez and a 4-4 day from Bobby Abreu. The win was their sixth in a row and leaves them one game below .500 and 9 ½ back in the division. From the outset, the bats were cooking, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first, but the......

For the first time ever, the MLB First-Year Player Draft was televised. ESPN2 covered the first round and while they gave it the same treatment that the NFL and NBA drafts get, it is hard to get excited about a bunch of players from high school and college that you have never seen in your life. When all was said and done, 1,453 players were picked and can now all say they were drafted. The......

Mets 4 Giants 2: El Duque gave up two runs and two hits in the first and then proceeded to dominate San Francisco. Apart from a walk, he did not allow another base runner over seven innings as he outdueled Matt Cain. The Mets offense didn’t take long to get going with Jose Reyes leading off with a single and stealing second. He scored on an infield single by Carlos Beltran, which ended with a......

Nets 96, Cavaliers 85: "Kidd was obviously a monster." That's what Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown said about Jason Kidd, who had a triple-double to lead the Nets in a must-win game at home. The goods -- 23 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds -- helped the Nets stay alive in this series, which has one more game in the Meadowlands before going back to Cleveland. The media have been all too happy to declare series......