Good morning. Steve here taking your Morning Coffee weekend. Ironically, I'm not even New York to do it the first time in my tenure here. My family and I are in the lovely suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland to take in the second game of the Mets-Orioles series at scenic Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The whole thing is kind of strange, as the regional sports network here (MASN, and in an annoying turn, the announcers enunciate it as "Massin") doesn't bow before the awesome power of the two New York sports teams. Maybe they should, considering there were more Mets fans at last night's game than O's supporters.
↵Anyway, on with the real stuff. There was a ballgame played between those two teams, and the Mets won the battle of the ball clubs bold enough to don orange on their uniforms by a score of 5-1. Chris Carter marked the night with a three-run homer in the fourth that would end up being all the offense the Metropolitans needed. Carter's homer was the first of his career, and gave R.A. Dickey proficient run support. Dickey was adept at pitching out of jams again tonight, as he gave up seven hits, but struck out eight Birds in seven innings, giving up only one run. The Mets managed to hit only 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, but Baltimore - in what was likely the stat of the night - went 3-for-17. Complete coverage at Amazin' Avenue.
↵In the Bronx, a lot of Pinstripes proponents care to forget the three-year sabbatical Andy Pettite took away from the Bombers to pitch with the Houston Astros. Pettitte, however, came back and has continued to have success as Yankee. That was celebrated tonight as Pettitte got his 200th career Major League victory, as the Yanks beat Houston 4-3. Andy went seven and a third innings, giving up two earned runs and four hits. Mariano Rivera entered sandman in the ninth and put the 'Stros to sleep.
↵On the offense side, it was a case of little ball as the Yankees walked in a run and got a two-run single from Francisco Cervelli in the top of the first, while Mark Teixeira's RBI single in the bottom of the fifth scored the New York winning run. For more, hit up Pinstripe Alley.
↵In other news:
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- Yesterday was a forgettable anniversary for the Yankees. ↵
- Yesterday was a forgettable public relations day for the Mets. ↵
- There's good news coming, however, as Bud Selig will announce next week that Kansas City gets the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, but Citi Field is in line for 2013. ↵
- The Devils are expected to be players in the bidding for Toronto d-man Tomas Kaberle. ↵
- The World Cup opened with two draws: host South Africa split 1-1 with Mexico, and France was nil-nil against Uruguay. Today is, of course, the big match between the United States and England. ↵
- The Big Ten continues to play it coy on the whole "Lure of the Rutgers" front. ↵
- The Liberty took down Atlanta 91-79. The Sun broke the Fever 86-77. ↵