- Mets 11, Braves 1: Coming into the season, nobody questioned the Mets offense, and so far, their bats have certainly been lively. The big questions surrounded their pitching, which has also been superb to start the season. While they have scored an insane 31 runs in four games, the Mets have also held their opponents to a measly three runs with impressive pitching from their starters. Last night, Oliver Perez was the latest starter to dazzle, pitching 7 innings of 5-hit ball and allowing only a 4th inning home run by Jeff Francoeur. Each Met player that started, including Perez, got a hit last night and Jose Reyes was 3-6 (including two triples) with 4 RBI. The Mets and Braves both entered the game 3-0 (The Times points out that hasn't happened in the NL since 1894), but the Mets prevailed with some great pitching and their potent bats.
- Orioles 6, Yankees 4: Perhaps it was a case of too much rest for Mike Mussina? Mussina had 7 days of rest before his start last night and he might have been a bit rusty, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings of work. Also of note, Derek Jeter was removed in the 8th inning after hobbling through most of the game with a sore toe. Jeter fouled a pitch off his toe in the first inning. X-rays were negative and Jeter is day to day. And it's early yet, but no Yankee starter has pitched more than 5 innings.
- Timberwolves 99, Knicks 94: Despite being outscored by the T-Wolves by 18 points in the first half last night, the Knicks managed to make of it in the second half of last night's loss. The comeback happened without Stephon Marbury, who left the game early in the 2nd quarter with "turf toe". Surely there's a better term for it considering the Knicks don't play on turf. The Knicks missed an opportunity to tie the game when, down by 3, they couldn't rebound a Minnesota free throw with 13 seconds left in the game.
- Bulls 105, Nets 74: The Bulls don't even need Ben Wallace. At least when they play the Nets. Wallace and three other Bulls with various ailments, but that didn't matter last night. Despite the loss, the Nets are still a game ahead of Orlando for the 7th spot in the Playoffs. If the post-season started today, the Nets would face...the Bulls.
