Dodgers 5, Mets 1: He performed better than he did against Pittsburgh in his last start, but Oliver Perez was still underwhelming in the Mets' loss in Chavez Ravine. Four days after walking five and retiring five batters in 1 2/3 innings, the lefty allowed three home runs -- no easy task at pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium -- in the series opener. He only walked two and didn't seem to be affected by a Jeff Kent......

Pirates 13, Mets 1: Oliver Perez didn't get help from his defense, but he didn't help himself. The inconsistent lefty was hurt by a Luis Castillo error and Jose Reyes' failure to cover second base in a rundown in the second, but he was probably hurt more by issuing as many walks -- five -- as he got outs. Perez allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings as his Mets split a rain-shortened two-game series......

Washington 10 Mets 5: It seemed like it would be a good night for the Mets. Halfway through the game, the Mets had a 3-0 lead and Oliver Perez was cruising. Unfortunately, they play nine innings in baseball and the Nationals took advantage of the latter ones. Perez gave up three runs in the fifth, but he turned a first and second no-out jam into a first and second two-out situation in the sixth before......

Devils 4 Rangers 3 (OT) : Sometimes the puck just bounces the right way for you and that is exactly what happened for the Devils Sunday. New Jersey got the win they had to have thanks to a very lucky bounce. John Madden made a smart play, throwing the puck at the crease and it deflected off of Marc Staal’s skate and into the net. It was the second good bounce for New Jersey, who......

Photograph of Johan Santana giving the ball to manager Willie Randolph by Ed Betz/AP Brewers 5, Mets 3: Mets fans that had waited two months -- or even longer -- to see Johan Santana make his Mets Shea Stadium debut left disappointed. Santana gave up five runs (four earned) and took his second loss of the year in three starts. Three home runs proved to be his undoing Saturday. He didn't get much help......

Phillies 5, Mets 2: In a game that was a microcosm of last season, the Mets held a lead against the Phillies before surrendering it in inglorious fashion. Entrusted with a 2-0 advantage in the seventh inning, Scott Schoeneweis -- who was booed during introductions -- allowed three runs and only recorded one out. Of course, he didn't get help from Carlos Delgado, who hit Chase Utley in the back on what may have......

Mets 13 Marlins 0: The game is the good news as the Mets pounded out 17 hits against Florida in an easy win. Ryan Church got it started with a home run in the second and David Wright also added his first shot of the year. Oliver Perez looked very good, striking out eight over six innings. The bad news came from Pedro Martinez who is out 4-to-6 weeks with what is being described as......

Photo of Carlos Beltran rounding third after a two-run home run against the White Sox in the Civil Rights Game by AP/Bill Waugh Few players can catapult a team from worriers to prohibitive favorites, but Johan Santana can put his name on that list. Before the Mets got him, they and their fans were looking over their shoulders to the Phillies and Braves. Now the team is almost overloaded with optimism. That hope --......

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......

A few months ago, a more unlikely scenario could not be imagined. The Yankees are barreling into the playoffs after recovering from one of the team's worst season starts in franchise history. The Mets, on the other hand, are staggering towards the end of the season having lost five straight and 11 of their last 15 games. A seemingly insurmountable lead in their division has been whittled to second place behind the Phillies, and the......

Marlins 7, Mets 4: Who thought this bad dream would last this long? Needing a quality start from Oliver Perez to stop their bleeding, the Mets instead got a vintage -- as in 2005 -- effort in their fifth straight loss. Not even Byung-Hyun Kim could play the platelet to the Mets' open wound. The Marlins righty kept the Mets in check, and Oliver Perez lost control at the most critical points. Even David Wright,......

Yankees 12 Blue Jays 11 (10 innings): What could have been one of the more painful losses of the season turned into a very satisfying win. Down 3-1, the Yankees rallied to a 6-3 lead, only to fall behind 8-6. Once again, the bats responded, putting New York ahead 9-8, but Toronto jumped ahead again 11-9 in the eighth. The Yankees had another rally in them and tied things up in the bottom of the......

Mets 3 Braves 2: The Mets have chosen an opportune time to get hot. Not only are they bounding closer to their second-consecutive division crown (a first for the franchise) they are putting an end to the Braves’ playoff hopes. Oliver Perez improved to 4-1 against Atlanta this season, throwing seven strong innings allowing only two runs and striking out seven. David Wright continued his quest to become a 30-30 player with his 28th home......

Yankees 12, Mariners 3: Chien-Ming Wang doesn't deserve the American League Cy Young award, but he should get some lower votes. In a game the Yankees needed to win to keep their wild-card lead, Wang pitched 7 1/3 innings and kept the Mariners under wraps. That came as a welcome development after the Yankees learned that Roger Clemens will need a cortisone shot in his pitching elbow. Why was he out there Monday anyway? Horacio......

Mets 5 Dodgers 2: Omar has to be smiling about the Oliver Perez trade. Yes, Xavier Nady is a nice outfielder, but Perez is developing into something special. He showed this ability before, in 2004, but after that he was bad enough to get traded away by Pittsburgh. Now, he is averaging almost a strikeout an inning and is second on the Mets with 12 wins. Friday night, Perez pitched seven shutout innings and out-pitched......

Yankees 9 Blue Jays 2: Tempers flared in Toronto as the Blue Jays decided to retaliate for a second day against Alex Rodriguez for his infamous “HA!”. Josh Towers plunked Alex and the benches emptied twice before play resumed. Things cruised along from there until Robinson Cano got hit, although it looked unintentional, in the seventh. But, that was enough for Roger Clemens who started the bottom of the seventh with a fastball away before......

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 8, White Sox 1: Jorge Posada predicted Tuesday after the Yankees went deep eight times that Alex Rodriguez would hit two homers Wednesday. Rodriguez didn't come through -- he went 0-for-4 -- but Posada did. The underappreciated Yankees catcher hit two of five Yankees blasts as the Yankees won their third straight game. Rodriguez, on the other hand, can't seem to join the party. He's gone 0 for his last 21 to tie the......

Royals 7 Yankees 0: Kei Igawa should buy a plane ticket back to Japan. Today’s ledger of 5.2 innings, seven hits and 2 walks while allowing five runs just reinforced the fact that Igawa is nothing more than a batting practice pitcher. The Yankees could have won seven-straight, but they didn’t, at least we know that Igawa is junk and Phil Hughes will be back in the rotation soon. Pirates 8 Mets 4: Oliver Perez......

Devil Rays 14, Yankees 4: Pitchers can go from cruising to losing in a matter of batters. Mike Mussina's propensity to allow home runs makes him especially prone to such reversals of fortunes. He looked good for two innings on Friday but couldn't finish the fifth. Four games at home against the Devil Rays might look like a well-wrapped Christmas present, but with Matt DeSalvo and Kei Igawa scheduled to start both ends of......

Mets 5 Reds 2: Oliver Perez made a triumphant return from the disabled list pitching six innings and striking out six while leading the Mets to victory. Perez’s start was just part of the excellent pitching by the Mets as Feliciano, Heilman and Wagner combined for the final three innings while only allowing one baserunner. Jose Reyes was 2-for-3 with a home run and Ramon Castro continued to show what a great backup he is......

Phillies 5, Mets 3: Mike Pelfrey's appearance as a last-minute replacement for Oliver Perez didn't come out as planned, costing the Mets their sweep of the rival Phillies. Carlos Delgado continued his revival by hitting another home run. On the negative side, Aaron Heilman allowed two runs in another shaky relief outing. The Mets lead the Phillies by five and the Braves by four in the National League East. A's 11, Yankees 5: Scott Proctor's......

Rockies 6, Yankees 1: Teams that headed to Denver used to be able to look forward to three games of productive offense. The Yankees have instead gotten two runs and two losses in two games. Maybe it's the humidor at work. Maybe it's the top-heavy offense not getting help from the bottom part of the order. Whatever the reason, the Yankees dropped two games to the Red Sox in the past two days and will......

Mets 2, Yankees 0: Poof! Just like that, the Mets' five-game losing streak and the Yankees' nine-game winning streak have been snapped. Oliver Perez shut down the Yankees for the second time this season, and Roger Clemens was good but not good enough in the loss. Jose Reyes and Carlos Gomez -- the two Mets speedsters and fans of untucking their jerseys within seconds of the final out -- supplied the two Mets runs.......

If you're a believer in the Sports Illustrated cover curse, things could get ugly for the Mets pretty soon (or better if you think the team's recent play is due to the cover). General Manager Omar Minaya is featured in a cover story this week about his journey from the Dominican Republic, to becoming the first Hispanic G.M. in the Majors (with the Expos), to his success with the Mets. The feel-good story details Minaya's......

Yankees 7 Arizona 1: It’s funny how baseball works. When the Yankees and Mets met in the first round of the Subway Series, the Mets were on a roll and the Yankees in disarray. When they resume the series tonight, the Yankees will be the favorites. The Yankees won their ninth in a row Thursday afternoon, beating the Diamondbacks with a great start by Andy Pettitte and another big day at the bat from Alex......

Yankees 9, PIrates 3: A little more than a month after his dramatic announcement, and despite a short delay, Roger Clemens returned to the Yankees with a win yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemens threw for 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 7. It was The Rocket's first win with the team since 2003 and his 349th career victory. The 44 year-old Clemens threw 108 pitches, 69 of them for......

Yankees 6, Red Sox 5: Alex Rodriguez really makes himself the center of attention, doesn't he? The Yankees third baseman hit a go-ahead home run off Jonathan Papelbon in the top of the ninth to give the Yankees a comeback win in Boston. The Yankees blew a 4-0 lead and trailed, 5-4, entering the eighth, but they managed to win the game and the series in Boston. They're still 12 1/2 games out of first......

Yankees 8, Red Sox 3: A loss would have dropped the Yankees 11 1/2 games back. Although they wouldn't have admitted it, losing two of three to Boston would have forced some early wild-card thoughts. Instead, the Yankees are within 9 1/2 games and have some life. For the second time this season, Andy Pettitte outperformed Curt Schilling, but Wednesday's game ended up better for the Yankees than did the one April 22, when the......

Mets 3 Yankees 2: Willie Randolph deserves the game ball in this one as he allowed Endy Chavez to swing away on a 1-0 count and Chavez hit the game-winning home run. No one in the stadium thought Chavez was going to do anything but bunt with a runner on first, and when Andy Pettitte grooved one, Chavez responded. Chavez’s home run wiped out a 2-1 Yankee lead, which they had taken on a......