Mets 4, A's 1: Reyes Leads The Way, Capuano Leaves With Injury

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Jose Reyes had two hits, two RBI and a run scored to back six scoreless innings by Chris Capuano to give New York a 4-1 victory over Oakland in the rubber match of a three-game interleague set from Citi Field.

Capuano (6-7) allowed five hits and did not issue a walk while striking out seven, but left the game due to a right oblique injury after the sixth inning.

Francisco Rodriguez tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn his 20th save of the year to give New York its third win in the last five games.

Mets vs. A's: Mets, Capuano Look To Take Series From Oakland

(Sports Network) – The Oakland Athletics lost in frustrating fashion to the New York Mets last night, watching their season-high six-game win streak go to waste on a hit batsmen with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning.

Oakland vies to bounce back and earn a series victory Thursday afternoon in the rubber match of this three-game interleague set from Citi Field.

Brad Ziegler was on the hill for the A’s in the 13th inning of last night’s contest and allowed a one-out single to Lucas Duda, who moved to second on Daniel Murphy’s ensuing base hit. Jose Reyes was then intentionally walked and Ziegler plunked Justin Turner to allow Duda to stroll home for a 3-2 New York win.

“I know the pitch was inside, it got away from me,” said Ziegler, who was pinned with the loss. “It’s just not how you want to end the game. If I’m going to lose, I’d rather be beaten with a base hit.”

Athletics starter Gio Gonzalez was brilliant through seven innings in a no- decision, as he yielded only one run and four hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. He also retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced. Oakland starters were 5-0 with a 1.16 ERA in six games before Gonzalez’s result.

Kurt Suzuki homered and Conor Jackson recorded two hits and an RBI for the Athletics, who will visit Philadelphia for three games on this road swing and sit 5 1/2 games behind Texas for the American League West lead.

Before their recent six-game winning streak, the A’s had lost 13 of 14 games, including 10 in a row from May 30-June 9.

Oakland is 4-4 in interleague play this season and 140-116 all-time versus the National League.

Graham Godfrey will make the third start of his career when he toes the rubber for the Athletics this afternoon. Godfrey tossed 4 1/3 innings and allowed five runs in a no-decision on the road against the Chicago White Sox in his big-league debut on June 10.

Godfrey then made his first start at the Coliseum in last Friday’s 5-2 victory over San Francisco and held the defending World Series champions to two runs — one of which was earned — on six hits in seven innings for his first career win.

“The thing I’ll remember the most will be a couple times on the mound when I could hear the A’s fans going, cheering, and then the Giants fans, and they’re just going back and forth,” Godfrey said. “Just hearing that was pretty neat. But definitely the first win means even more when it’s against a team like that.”

The righty is back on the road for his first career start against the Mets.

New York had dropped two straight and four of five games before Turner’s hit- by-pitch got the team back into the win column last night. It is 2-3 on a six- game homestand and received eight innings of one-run ball from starter R.A. Dickey, who did not record a decision and struck out nine batters to just one walk.

Bobby Parnell was credited with the win for pitching a scoreless top of the 13th inning for the Mets, who will visit Texas and Detroit for six games following today’s tilt with Oakland. Reyes recorded his MLB-leading 13th triple of the season and Ronny Paulino added three hits, while Turner posted a pair of runs batted in — none bigger than the one in the 13th.

“I don’t mind taking one, not in that situation,” Turner said. “I’ll stay in there and stand my ground. Unless it’s at my face or around my ankle, I’ll stay in there and take a bruise.”

The Mets are 16-12 at home after starting the season 1-8 at Citi Field. They still sit 10 1/2 games off the pace in the NL East, however, and own a 3-5 mark in interleague play this season.

Reyes, meanwhile, leads the majors with 36 multi-hit games.

Angel Pagan went 0-for-4 for New York last night after entering the game having hit safely in 16 of his 19 outings this month. He still has 11 RBI and nine runs scored in June.

Chris Capuano will try to get himself back into the win column when he takes the ball for New York today. He had won consecutive starts before losing to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in last Friday’s 4-3 defeat in Queens.

Capuano was hit for three runs, two of which were earned, and eight hits in six innings against Anaheim to fall to 5-7 to go along with a 4.29 earned run average in 15 games (13 starts) this season. The left-hander is 2-4 in seven home starts and has never faced Oakland in his career.

New York had won four straight over Oakland, including a three-game sweep at Shea Stadium in 2007, before losing Tuesday’s series opener.

Mets 3, A's 2 (F/13): Turner Wins Game On Hit By Pitch In 13th Inning

It only took 13 innings, 11 hits and 15 stranded runners, but the New York Mets won a game early Thursday morning on a play you'd think would have tormented them: a game-winning hit by pitch. After getting a quick out in the 13th inning, the Mets had two straight singles (Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy) then a Jose Reyes intentional walk after the count reached 3-0. Then on the first pitch from Oakland A's Brad Ziegler to Justin Turner, a slider didn't bite in and nailed turner in the left leg, giving the Mets a hard-fought 3-2 victory.

It wasn't a very exciting game, but the reason it did have to go four extra innings was because of a Francisco Rodriguez blown save. The reason there was a 2-1 league to begin with? A Turner single to left field in the eighth inning that drove home catalyst Reyes, who went 2-for-6 in the game.

The scoring got started off in the second inning, when a Duda RBI single drove home Scott Hairston, who started in centerfield. R.A. Dickey was simply stellar on the mound, matching the flashier Gio Gonzalez pitch for pitch. Dickey lasted eight innings, allowing just a Kurt Suzuki home run in the fifth inning to cross home plate. He struckout nine. Gonzalez was just as good -- allowing one run on four hits with eight strikeouts on the day.

The Mets stranded 11 runners in scoring position, but relief efforts from four different relievers for our innings that allowed just four hits, kept them in the game. The Mets will look for the series win tomorrow afternoon with Chris Capuano on the mound.

New York Mets' Ike Davis May Be Done For The Year With Ankle Surgery

As a member -- and a fan -- of the New York Mets, you learn to be conditioned for disappointment and heartbreak. Just over the past year, this team has added a laundry list of items to their growing number of franchise distresses.

One of these has been a never-ending amount of injuries to nearly every player on the team, it seems at least. This season, David Wright went down with a back injury that was supposed to sideline him for 15 days, then turned into a stress fracture which has sidelined him for over a month already. Ike Davis collided with Wright trying to field an infield pop up back in early May and the injury looked like an innocent one. Low and behold, it has turned into a bone bruise in his ankle that's saddled him to the bench ever since. And the news continues to get worse.

An MRI taken Wednesday revealed that the bone bruise has not healed and that there may be cartilage damange in the joint as well. If Davis doesn't feel better in three weeks (which is the next time he will be reevaluated), he will undergo season-ending surgery, possibly microfracture surgery. General manager Sandy Alderson likened the injury to Beltran's bone bruise in his knee, which required him to get this type of surgery, according to MLB.com's Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo.

"It's about the same, which is not a good sign," Davis said as quoted by DiComo. "I haven't run, haven't done anything on my legs for six weeks now or five weeks. And there's not really any improvement, so that's disheartening."

Davis had been wearing a walking boot, which he has decided to scrap in order to improve the blood flow to his foot and thus hasten the healing process. Even with such discouraging news, Davis tried to be optimistic when interviewed Wednesday evening before the Mets-A's game.

"Obviously surgery is an athlete's nightmare, but I've had one surgery on my wrist and it worked out really well and it came back better than I was before," Davis said as quoted by ESPN's Adam Rubin. "If it's gonna get me on the field again obviously that's something we have to do. But, obviously, we're gonna get a second opinion and see if everything coincides with everything everyone says, and hopefully in three weeks I'm starting to run again."

Alderson is optimistic that within this three-week timeframe, Davis will progress to running, then ultimately getting on the field. Realistically, though, the situation sounds grim.

"We're hopeful that over the next three weeks he will progress to running," Alderson said. If that is not successful, then there may be some consideration about doing some surgery on the ankle. Right now I don't see him coming back anytime soon. ... Basically over the next three weeks he'll progress to hopefully running. And if he can't tolerate the running, then we go to Plan B."

Wright will be re-examined Thursday with hopes of getting cleared to ramp up the physical activities he can partake in. The Mets will certainly have their fingers crossed.

Mets Vs. A's: Dickey, Mets Look to Cool Of Surging A's

(Sports Network) – Starting pitching has been the key to Oakland’s current six-game winning streak and even a bout with the flu wasn’t able to slow down Gio Gonzalez over this run.

The Athletics have to be excited about the chance a healthy Gonzalez gives them tonight as they go for a series victory against the New York Mets in the middle portion of a three-game set at Citi Field.

Oakland’s starters are 5-0 with a 1.17 earned run average over the club’s current win streak, its longest since a seven-game run from Sept. 14-20, 2009. Josh Outman extended the burst last night, yielding just one earned run over six innings for the Athletics, whose winning streak follows a stretch where they lost 13 of 14 and fired manager Bob Geren and replaced him with Bob Melvin.

During Oakland’s 1-13 stretch, the starters went 0-11 with a 7.30 ERA.

Conversely, starter Dillon Gee contributed mightily to the Mets downfall last night. He walked a career-high six batters to suffer his first loss of the season (7-1) and become Oakland’s latest victim as it looks to get back into the race in the American League West.

“We think some things are going to start going our way and they have,” Outman said. “We’re getting some hits falling here and there we weren’t getting before. I think Gee threw a better game than he got credit for. It’s nice to come out and beat a guy who has had a great season thus far.”

Gee lasted just four innings and was charged with four runs on only three hits. He threw just 42 of his 87 pitches for strikes as the Mets lost for the fourth time in five games.

“That’s certainly not the guy we know,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “This is a game of adjustments. You have to adjust every day, every night, every inning, and I don’t think we made any adjustments tonight. The sinker wasn’t working, it was off the plate, whatever it was. You have to adjust. If that means you have to throw it down the middle, then you have to throw it down the middle.”

Ryan Sweeney had four hits, including an RBI single, Conor Jackson drove in two runs and rookie Jemile Weeks scored three times. Weeks is hitting .362 through is first 13 big-league games and Oakland now has a decision to make with Mark Ellis expected to return from the disabled list today.

Ellis hasn’t played since June 6 due to a right hamstring strain and is hitting just .211 on the season, but is a nine-year veteran, all with Oakland.

“It’s a great problem to have because we have two really good players,” Melvin told Oakland’s website. “One’s an up-and-coming, high-profile prospect, and then there’s a guy that’s meant as much to this organization as anybody in the last 10 years. It will be nice to have them both on the team, but it will be a difficult proposition either way.”

One easy decision for Melvin is to start Gonzalez, who snapped a three-start slide with his first win since May 17 on Thursday despite pitching sick, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. After walking seven in his previous outing, the 25-year-old lefty also fanned 10 to reach double-digit strikeouts for the third time in his career over a gutsy performance.

“I wasn’t feeling too good. I was under the weather,” he admitted. “I was battling a lot, but with the help of all our position players, I did my best to keep us in the game as long as possible.”

Gonzalez, who faces the Mets for the first time, improved to 6-5 with a 2.69 ERA in 14 starts this season.

Getting the start for the Mets will be R.A. Dickey, who turned in a forgettable outing on Thursday in Atlanta. The right-handed knuckleballer was charged with six runs — four earned — on six hits and three walks, but was taken off the hook in a 9-8 loss in extra innings.

Dickey is 3-7 with a 4.00 ERA in 15 games this season, and just 1-5 with a 4.69 ERA in seven at home. The 36-year-old is 1-4 with a 6.49 ERA in his career when facing the A’s.

Dickey isn’t alone in his struggles at home as last night’s setback was New York’s 10th in its past 18 games at Citi Field, where it is just 16-20 this season.

With Jose Reyes failing to notch a hit for just the fourth time this month, Jason Bay keyed the offense with a homer, triple and two RBI.

New York had won four straight over Oakland, including a three-game sweep at Shea Stadium in 2007. The A’s picked up their first victory in Queens since Game 3 of the 1973 World Series at Shea Stadium.

A's 7, Mets 3: Dillon Gee Has Forgettable Outing

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Dillion Gee won his first seven decisions this season and allowed a total of one run over his last three starts. Six walks did in the rookie on Tuesday.

Conor Jackson knocked in two runs and Jemile Weeks scored three times, as the Athletics handed a wild Gee his first loss of the season in a 7-3 triumph over the New York Mets.

Cliff Pennington had an RBI and scored twice in Oakland's sixth straight victory, its longest winning streak since taking seven in a row, September 14-20, 2009. Ryan Sweeney had four hits, including an RBI single.

Gee (7-1) suffered his first defeat in 13 games (11 starts) in 2011 and lasted just four innings, allowing three hits and four runs. The right-hander's seven straight winning decisions equaled the club record for rookies, but he threw more than half of his pitches (45-of-87) for balls in New York's fourth loss in five games.

Josh Outman (3-1) gave up four hits and one earned run over six innings for the Athletics, whose winning streak follows a stretch where they lost 13 of 14.

Jason Bay homered, tripled and knocked in two runs for the Mets, who brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning but were shut down by Grant Balfour.

Mets Vs. A's: Mets Look To Get Back On Winning Track With Undefeated Gee On The Mound

The New York Mets losing two of three from the Los Angeles Angels was the first series they lost since the end of May when they were bested by the Philadelphia Phillies. Since reaching the .500 mark this past Wednesday against the Braves, the Mets have lost three of four, and currently have a 35-37 record.

Tuesday the Mets will begin a three-game set with the Oakland A's, another team with a very poor offense, but one that has won five straight games. Oakland currently ranks 25th in the major leagues in runs scored, 25th in batting average, 24th in on-base percentage and 28th in slugging percentage. Power is not at all their game -- and especially in a National League park because it's very likely Hideki Matsui doesn't get much playing time, if any at all, because he's such a defensive liability. The A's need to be aggressive on the basepaths to win -- similar to the Mets -- and one of their catalysts of their success lately has been rookie second baseman Jemile Weeks, Rickie Weeks' brother, who is more a gap hitter with speed than a power one like his brother.

Josh Outman takes the hill for the A's in this one, and Citi Field should be very friendly to him because he's largely a flyball pitcher, and not one who will strikeout many batters (12 in 28 2/3 innings). He's 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in his five game started this year. The 26-year-old is coming off his best start of the year against the Kansas City Royals when he gave up no runs in seven innings.

Outman will be opposed by Dillon Gee, who is 7-0 on the year with a 2.86 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. His streak of five straight wins was snapped in his last start against the Atlanta Braves (four innings, one hit, five strikeouts, no runs) because of a long rain delay, but the Mets have won all 10 games that he's started this year.