Results tagged “nelsonfigueroa”

• Yankees 8, Royals 2: The one thing missing from this Yankees season was a Ramiro Pena home run. The reserve shortstop hit his first career homer -- and got the traditional silent treatment from his teammates -- as the Yankees ran away from the Royals. The Yankees have 101 wins, their most since they had 103 in 2002. Robinson Cano, one of the few regulars to play, hit a grand slam, his 25th homer of the season. Chad Gaudin pitched well again for a lineup that included Pena, Shelley Duncan, Juan Miranda, Eric Hinske and Francisco Cervelli.

• Yankees 6, Angels 5: After a one-year absence, the Yankees will play in October again. They clinched a berth when Oakland defeated Texas. Then the Yankees bounced back to beat the Angels after blowing a 5-0 lead. Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the third -- as did Jorge Posada -- and then hit the tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the ninth. Chad Gaudin, a stealth candidate to be in the playoff rotation, started strong but couldn't finish the fifth inning. Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes combined to blow the lead, but Mariano Rivera held the one-run margin in the ninth. The Yankees didn't pop any Champagne or do anything crazy. They're saving that for a division title. The magic number for that is six. The Yankees are six up with 10 games left -- the Red Sox have 12. The teams play three times in the Bronx this weekend.
• Braves 3, Mets 1: Only 10 games left. That's right, only 10. Nelson Figueroa pitched seven innings of two-run ball but got zero help from the "bats" in the Mets' lineup. The No. 3-6 hitters went 1-for-15. Brian Schneider got two hits, doubling his total for the season. Luis Castillo put the Mets on the board first with an RBI single in the third, but Figueroa gave up both his runs in the top of the fourth. Mike Pelfrey faces Tim Hudson as the Mets close out their penultimate homestand on Wednesday night.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Back to the Playoffs"

A 7-3 loss to the Braves on Thursday followed the formula of many others. At least this one wasn't painful. The Mets hung around, even tying the game in the fourth inning, before eventually falling 21 games under .500. Nelson Figueroa allowed six runs in five innings before being relieved by Tobi Stoner, who pitched three innings of one-run ball. A homestand with last-place Washington should provide a weekend of unwatchable baseball.

• Mets 9, Cardinals 0: Yes, the Mets won, but they lost Jon Niese for the season. The starter suffered a "complete tear of the right upper hamstring" -- ouch! -- and will have surgery. Gary Sheffield also appeared to tweak his hamstring injury. Off the field, the Mets announced Jose Reyes has scar tissue behind his knee. Don't expect him back anytime soon. The good news came from Nelson Figueroa, who pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings and also tripled in two runs. The bad news -- the Mets are 51-56 and going nowhere.

How not to get back into a pennant race: Lose three of four to one of the worst teams in baseball. Monday's 6-5 loss to Arizona capped a dismal series for the Mets. Nelson Figueroa -- he of Brandeis fame -- didn't get out of the second inning, allowing all six Arizona runs. The Mets rallied for five unanswered of their own, but the hole was too deep. St. Louis returns to Citi Field for two games starting Tuesday before the Mets head for the West Coast and San Diego. When do the Jets play their first preseason game again?