Padres-Mets Preview

The New York Mets' chances to reach the postseason may be dim, but they're not giving up.

A collective effort against one of the best staffs in baseball may have provided some momentum.

After rallying for a stunning victory in the opener of this four-game set, the Mets look to continue overcoming

some key absences when they face the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.

New York (57-57) is nine games back of wild card-leading Atlanta and is missing Jose Reyes(hamstring), Daniel Murphy (knee) and Ike Davis (ankle). Murphy and Davis are out for the season, and Reyes landed on the disabled list for the second time this year Monday.

"We're not conceding anything," said David Wright, batting .368 with 18 RBIs in 16 games since missing two months with a back problem. "There are a lot of games left. Crazier things have happened."

That was certainly the case Monday, with rookie Lucas Duda hitting a two-run walkoff single as New York erased a four-run deficit in the final two innings to beat San Diego 9-8. New York has won two of three after a five-game slide.

"I'm proud of the way they have endured this whole thing," manager Terry Collins said. "We're not done yet. ... If they think for one second that this is over, they're mistaken."

Jason Bay appears to have heeded Collins' message, enjoying perhaps his best stretch since joining the Mets prior to last season. He's hitting .447 with three homers and nine RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak.

"It really is going to take everybody," said Bay, one of three Mets to homer Monday.

Duda, Wright and rookie Justin Turner accounted for seven hits and five RBIs for New York, which scored three runs off Heath Bell and handed the Padres closer just his third blown save.

Wright owns a .351 average with three homers and 10 RBIs in his last nine meetings with the Padres (51-65), who are among baseball's best with a 3.33 ERA - 2.89 from the bullpen.

The Mets turn to Chris Capuano (9-10, 4.44 ERA), who is 1-3 with a 5.23 ERA in his last five starts after winning five of his previous six with a 2.57 ERA.

The left-hander was in position for a victory last Tuesday, leaving after six innings with a one-run lead only to have Jason Isringhausen give up two runs in the ninth in a 4-3 loss to Florida.

Capuano is 4-2 with a 3.29 ERA in seven games - six starts - against San Diego.

Like the Mets, the Padres are dealing with a slew of injuries, having added third baseman Chase Headley (finger) and reliever Ernesto Frieri (back) to the 15-day DL on Monday.

They've recalled Wade LeBlanc (0-2, 4.98) to make another start in place of Dustin Moseley, recently lost for the season with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.

In his last outing July 31, LeBlanc allowed three runs and nine hits with six strikeouts in six innings while not getting a decision in an 8-3 win over Colorado. He was demoted to Triple-A Tucson the following day and hasn't pitched since.

"They said kind of hold tight and see what happens," LeBlanc told the team's official website. "They said they may need someone or they may not."

LeBlanc was charged with a 4-2 defeat in his only meeting with the Mets on June 1, 2010, yielding two runs and four walks in 5 1-3 innings.

Wright is 3 for 3 with a homer off LeBlanc.

Wright returns to lift Mets over Marlins

For the second time this week the New York Mets got a key component of their team back, and for the second time that translated into a win.

Third baseman David Wright returned to play for the first time in over two months and went 2-for-5 with two

RBI and two runs scored as the Mets took a 7-6 win over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three-game series. 

Wright had been on the disabled list since May 16 with a stress fracture in his lower back. 

"I've missed everything about being out there," said Wright. The camaraderie, the guys in the dugout, being up by one in the ninth inning and sweating it out. I had fun out there tonight and it's good to be out there." 

Tuesday saw shortstop Jose Reyes return to the team after a stint on the DL with a strained left hamstring and he guided the team to a win over St. Louis. 

Daniel Murphy went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored for New York, which has won three of its last four to move a game over .500. Bobby Parnell (3-1) got the win as he worked 1 1/3 innings and gave up an unearned run. 

Emilio Bonifacio went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored and extended his hitting streak to 21 games. Gaby Sanchez and Mike Stanton each hit solo home runs for the Marlins, who have lost four straight. Edward Mujica (8-3) was handed the loss as he gave up two runs over 1 1/3 innings. 

"We did a bunch of things out there, stealing bases, move runners, hit-and- run, took some chances and it paid off," said Florida manager Jack McKeon. "But, once again, it came down to pitching and we weren't able to hold them." 

Neither starter factored into the final decision as Mike Pelfrey lasted six innings for New York and gave up four runs on five hits with four walks and Chris Volstad was touched for four runs -- three earned -- on eight hits with three walks over five innings for Florida. 

The Mets held four separate leads in this game, but kept allowing the Marlins to get back into the contest. 

With the score tied at 5-5 to start the eighth, Turner worked a walk off of Mujica and, after Carlos Beltran flied out, Wright ripped a double to the corner in right. Murphy followed with an RBI double for a 7-5 lead. 

The extra run would prove fortunate as Greg Dobbs singled home Mike Stanton in the bottom of the eighth. Florida, though, stranded men at the corners as Bonifacio looked at strike three. 

Jason Isringhausen came on for the ninth and worked a 1-2-3 inning, getting DeWayne Wise to fly out to deep left for his second save of the season. 

The Mets got three runs in the first for the early lead. With one out, Turner singled and Beltran followed with a walk. Wright then hit an opposite-field double in his first at-bat back in the lineup and Murphy followed with an RBI single. Angel Pagan's sacrifice fly capped the scoring in the frame. 

Bonifacio wasted no time extending his hitting streak as he led off the bottom of the first with a single. He then stole second and moved to third on an Omar Infante fly out before scoring on a Logan Morrison single. 

The second inning saw Stanton work a full count before ripping an opposite field home run to make it a 3-2 game. 

In the third, the legs of Bonifacio tied the game with Florida. After he led off the inning with a walk, Infante singled to the hole between short and third and Bonifacio raced to third. He made a hard turn around the bag and spotted a lackadasical throw from Lucas Duda back to the infield. Bonifacio took advantage and raced home before the throw to the plate. 

The fourth inning saw the Mets take the lead back as Reyes led off with a single and moved to second when Turner reached base as Bonifacio bobbled his grounder. Beltran then hit a sharp grounder to first that skipped over the head of Gaby Sanchez and Reyes came around to score for a 4-3 lead. 

Sanchez tied the game in the sixth with his 14th home run of the year then the teams exchanged runs in the seventh on sacrifice flys from Ronny Paulino and Morrison. 

Game Notes 

The Mets announced on Friday that the August 20 game at Milwaukee has been moved from 4:10 p.m. (et) to 7:10 p.m. (et)...Also on Friday, the Mets claimed outfielder Mike Baxter off waivers from San Diego and designated first baseman Nick Evans for assignment...Bonifacio is batting .380 (30-for-79) during his streak...Beltran has reached base safely in 28 straight games...Each team has won three times during the season series. 

Mets’ Loss on Balk in the 10th Evokes Another Bad Ending

ATLANTA — Chipper Jones had seen something like it before, almost a dozen years earlier. On that occasion he was streaming out of the dugout to join a wild celebration. 

This time he was in the trainer’s room getting a shot to relieve a strained muscle in his leg. But when a game between the Mets and the Braves at Turner Field is decided in extra innings with a Braves player jogging home as teammates race out of the dugout to mob him, it evokes memories of one the

most famous moments in this rivalry. It was the 11th inning of Game 6 of the 1999 National League Championship Series here when the Mets’ Kenny Rogers walked Andruw Jones on a bases-loaded, 3-2 pitch and Gerald Williams trotted home with the pennant-winning run. This time, it was Diory Hernandez trotting home from third base in the 10th inning after D. J. Carrasco balked, giving the Braves a 9-8 victory. The difference between October and June is obvious, but the scene was striking. “Yeah, I could see that,” Jones said. “A walk and a balk. The difference is that one ended a season.” Twelve years ago, Jones batted third in that playoff game, just as he did on Thursday, and even at 39 he is dangerous. He swatted a three-run homer — his 47th against the Mets — and matched his career high with five runs batted in before he was removed with a strained adductor muscle in his upper right leg. With Jones out, Brooks Conrad hit a game-tying two-run, pinch-hit home run off Francisco Rodriguez with one out in the ninth, breaking Rodriguez’s streak of 19 consecutive save opportunities converted. In the 10th, Carrasco, who had not committed a balk since he became a full-time reliever in 2008, gave up a two-out double to Hernandez, who went to third on Jordan Schafer’s ground ball. Second baseman Ruben Tejada was in position to get the ball, but overzealous first baseman Lucas Duda ran in front of him and booted it. With runners at first and third, Carrasco looked in for a sign from the catcher against Jason Heyward. He came to a set position, but didn’t like what he saw. Instead of stepping off the mound, he hesitated, then went to look in again for another sign. 

The home plate umpire, James Hoye, immediately called the balk, and it was so blatant that no one argued. “Not too many things get to me,” Carrasco said, “but to lose a game like that, that’s hard to swallow.” As Jones said, it’s always a little strange to win a game on a play like that, no matter what month it is. “You almost feel like you took something you didn’t deserve,” he said. “You’d rather get a hit, but you take it. It got us to the World Series once.” 

INSIDE PITCH 

 Jose Reyes had three hits, including his major-league-leading 12th triple. He has 101 hits in 66 games, six games fewer than it took Lance Johnson to set the previous Mets record in 1996 for fewest games needed to reach 100 hits ... 

Scott Hairston hit a three-run homer in the fifth to help wipe out a 6-2 deficit.