New York pitching finally allowed the Giants to score, but the bats made up for it. Fernando Tatis put on a hitting show, providing two big hits in the game. With the Mets leading 1-0, Tatis hit a two-run double in the third. In the seventh, with the game tied at 3, Tatis hit a two-run homer to left that put the Mets back in front. more ›

• Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4: This one's on Billy Wagner, whose summation above says it all. Johan Santana pitched seven scoreless innings. Ramon Castro went deep and scored another run. David Wright had an RBI double. Joe Smith gave up two runs in the eighth, but Wagner entered the ninth with his team leading, 4-2. He loaded the bases with no one out and was fortunate to get out of the inning with the game still tied. The Mets threatened in the bottom of the ninth, but turning it over to Aaron Heilman in the 10th spelled doom. more ›

Johan Santana got traded to the Mets about two weeks before the start of spring training, but his face popped up more in the Mets offseason than anyone else's. This was a great way for the Mets to take the attention off the dreadful collapse they suffered at the close of the 2007 season. Before the Mets reported to camp, they had something positive to talk about rather than the evaporation of a seven-game lead with 17 to play. If Santana wasn't greeted as a savior, the treatment was close. more ›

That was because the best player on the floor took over the game. LeBron ended up with 50 points and 10 rebounds, scoring almost at will when he wanted to. It’s a good thing the Knicks don’t want a player like that. more ›

For a team used to making miracles, conjuring up a disaster had an especially bitter taste. With a sloppily played 8-1 loss to Florida and the Phillies' 6-1 win against the Nationals, the Mets' season ended about a month too early. The loss capped an agonizing stretch of two and a half weeks in which the Mets played some of the worst teams in the National League and still played their worst baseball of the season. more ›

Moises Alou shook off an injury and provided three hits and a RBI. David Wright had 3 RBI’s and Jorge Sosa pitched two solid innings of relief. The only down note was that Paul LoDuca got hit by a pitch and had to leave the game. His status is listed as day-to day. more ›

The game remained that way until the ninth when the Mets broke things open by scoring five runs. But, Pittsburgh wasn’t finished yet and loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth. After scoring three times to cut the game to 10-7, Willie Randolph brought in Billy Wagner to close things down. Pittsburgh got the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Xavier Nady struck out to end the game and give the Mets an exciting victory. more ›

• Mets 5 Pittsburgh 4: El Duque struck out eight, but he was also wild, walking five and allowing three runs over six innings. Moises Alou gave the Mets the lead with a two-run single in the eighth and Lastings Milledge made a great catch in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win. Billy Wagner worked a flawless ninth for his 27th save.
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• Yankees 5 Cleveland 3: New York has passed the first big test on their current schedule, sweeping Cleveland and improving to 15-games over .500. Sunday’s win was the toughest of the series as Andy Pettitte and Jake Westbrook locked into a pitcher’s duel for the first part of the game before the Yankees jumped out to a 4-0 lead. But, Cleveland made things interesting in the ninth. more ›

Luis Castillo tied things up in the seventh with a two-out single and Moises Alou put the Mets ahead with a home run on an 0-2 pitch in the eighth. So, the Mets turned to Billy Wagner, but the first three Atlanta batters reached base, leaving no margin for error. But, Wagner induced Jeff Francoeur to hit a ground ball which David Wright went home on for the first out. Then, Andruw Jones grounded into a double-play and the Mets had a victory and a 4-1/2 game lead in the division. more ›

• Yankees 16, Royals 8: It was bound to happen and it took a little while, but Alex Rodriguez became the 22nd player in Major League history to hit 500 career home runs and the youngest player to reach that mark. A-Rod got it done early in the game, hitting a three-run shot in the 1st inning of yesterday's win against the Royals, which is the same team he hit #499 off of on July 25th. For future trivia usage, A-Rod hit the first pitch he saw from Royals starter Kyle Davies into the left field stands and he becomes the 3rd player to reach the milestone in a Yankees uniform (Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle). Like the first inning, the rest of the game was a run-fest, with the two teams combining for 33 hits. The Yankees are now 10 games over .500 for the first time this season. Nationally, #500 for A-Rod is overshadowed by Barry Bonds tying Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 in San Diego, a mark that Rodriguez should break if he stays healthy and continues to play. Bonds had 180 fewer home runs when he was Rodriguez's age.
• Cubs 6, Mets 2: Perhaps John Maine didn't get enough work in his last outting when he pitched a rain-shortened 5-inning complete game. He didn't even last that long in yesterday's game. Maine was pulled after only 2 2/3 innings as he allowed 6 Cubs runs in the 3rd inning, all with two outs. That was all the Mets would give up, but it was also all the Cubs would need. In the inning, Maine hit one batter, walked three, and gave up four hits. It was his first loss in three starts. Ted Lilly held the Mets to only two runs, both on Moises Alou solo home runs, over 7 2/3 innings.
• Cyclones 7, Tigers 2: The Cyclones avenged an extra inning loss Friday night with an easy win Saturday. They broke open the tie game, scoring 5 total runs in the 5th and 6th innings.

• Yankees 8, Orioles 7: Way back on June 28th, the game between the Yankees and Orioles was suspended in the 8th inning with New York up 8-6. Last night, the two teams continued the June game with Mariano Rivera allowing one Baltimore run to make things exciting in the 9th before picking up what is officially his 10th save of the season.
• Orioles 4, Yankees 2: In the regularly scheduled game last night, the Yankees were unable to drive in the key runs to beat the Orioles. The Yankees had 5 runners at 3rd base over the course of the game, but were unable to plate any of them. Andy Pettitte had a solid game that consisted of one bad inning, which was all Baltimore needed. Pettitte allowed three runs in the 3rd inning when he allowed three hits and two walks. On the positive side, he did retire the last 12 batters he faced.
• Nationals 6, Mets 2: It's the games against the bad teams that the Mets need to win if they want to keep their minuscule lead in the NL East. Unfortunately, they couldn't muster up much offense last night against Washington. Moises Alou went 1-4 including a double and a run scored in his return to the team, but that wasn't nearly enough to bail out Jorge Sosa. Sosa allowed 5 runs over 6 innings and had the Mets in a hole from the 2nd inning. The Mets and Nationals play a day-night doubleheader Saturday with Mike Pelfrey pitching in one game and Orlando Hernandez in the other.

With the Mets outfield still affected by injuries, Beltran needs to step up. His problem is his banged-quad, an ailment that is clearly affecting him at the plate. Who knows when Moises Alou will return? Shawn Green will likely see a decline after his hot start. Carlos Gomez has been all but useless. Why not try Ricky Ledee instead? The journeyman outfielder hit a home run to help his cause Monday. On Tuesday, the Mets face American Leauge Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana. Good luck with that. more ›

Windows of opportunity in baseball often come in small sizes. After coming within a run of the National League pennant last season, the Mets hope their chance hasn't run out yet. Make no mistake, the Mets remain a force to be reckoned with and could end up finishing with a better result than they did last season. But they shouldn't expect the regular-season cakewalk they had last season, and they can't hope to be the prohibitive favorites to win the pennant. This year's edition is a talented but flawed team. more ›

- Rockets 97, Knicks 90: The state of the Knicks is so sad that their former coach has more wins at Madson Square Garden with his new team than the Knicks' current head coach does. Jeff Van Gundy is 7-1 against the Knicks with four consecutive wins at MSG and Isiah Thomas is 1-5 at home. Yao Ming led all scorers with 26 points and Tracy McGrady added 24. Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 25 points off the bench while Stephon Marbury had a measly three points in less than 20 minutes of play. In unbelievable news, Nate Robinson (5'9") blocked one of Yao's (7'6") shots. Despite pulling out all the stops for the Chinese basketball fans in the area (BD Wong sang the National Anthem), The Garden was not full. more ›

Nobody, including Gothamist, thought the Mets wouldn't come back to Earth a little after their hot start. Yet the Mets probably hope they could have gotten off to a better start on this West Coast trip. They've lost three of five including last night's 6-2 loss at San Francisco. Tom Glavine pitched well in the middle innings but gave up a three-run homer to Moises Alou in the first inning and three more in the seventh. The Mets' offense didn't have a baserunner until Kaz Matsui singled in the sixth. more ›

On Sunday, Al Leiter faced Cubs ace Kerry Wood with Leiter getting some help from the offense early. The Mets picked up three runs in the first inning off Wood, who was less than steady. Leiter pitched six strong innings of two hit ball, giving up two runs in the fourth inning, which could have been worse. With bases loaded, Leiter got a called third strike against Moises Alou that ended the inning, allowing the Mets to go on and win, 3-2 (box score). more ›

Last night, Reyes injured his ankle in the 3rd when he attempted to turn a single into a double. He turned his ankle near second and then made an awkward slide into the bag. He got up and played on. Things would only get worse. The next inning, he played in the field and came to bat again in the 5th. During his at-bat in the 5th, he fouled a ball off his injured right ankle and then hit a shot off the wall but could only make it to first. Reyes was finally taken out of the game two innings after sustaining the initial injury. more ›

Slate, the online magazine published by Microsoft, is a daily stop in our web surfing and one thing that Ask Gothamist likes on the site is its regular Explainer column. Whenever we have a question about something in the news, Explainer is there to help us. But did we really need this week's explanation? more ›

Chicago Cubs, you squander your 3 run lead in the eighth inning and let the Marlins score 8. And an assumed Cubs fan may have interfered with a play! This, of course, reminds New Yorkers of little 12 year-old Jeff Maier (ranked number 4 on The Sporting News' list of the top 25 Unusual and Unforgettable Baseball moments) who turned a possible fly ball into a home run for Derek Jeter, helping the Yankees win Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS. However, the Chicago last night correctly ruled no fan interference, but that doesn't mean Moises Alou ain't pissed. If it all hangs on that moment, then maybe next year? And while watching the local Chicago Fox station's post-game coverage, the sports reporter claimed that the kid who caught the ball was escorted out of the park by security with his sweater over his head. NBC 5 reported that a firefight sitting next to Chicago public enemy number one said the ball looked to be coming at the fan and if in fact the fan had interfered, the firefight would have shoved him out of the way. Brilliant. more ›