NL East Wrap: Mets blank Nationals; Fish fall

Tuesday, May 18, 2011
Posted: 11:58 p.m.
The Associated Press
Mets 3, Nationals 0

BOX SCORE

NEW YORK -- Soaked through to his skin on a muddy mound, Jonathon Niese found himself trying in vain to dry off those water-logged baseballs in the seventh inning.

Somehow, the New York Mets' left-hander managed to shake off the heavy rain and deliver his best performance of the season.

Niese pitched seven sharp innings and Justin Turner added to his surprising tear with a two-run double that sent New York to a 3-0 victory over the light-hitting Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.

"I've never played in anything like that," Niese said. "It's the wettest I've ever been pitching. ... Every ball the umpire gave me was wet. I had to do my best to rub them dry in my hands."

With maybe a few thousand hardy souls in the stands on another soggy night at Citi Field, the Mets' depleted lineup scratched out enough offense to help Niese (3-4) win his second consecutive start.

Playing without injured regulars David Wright, Ike Davis and Angel Pagan, New York won for the eighth time in 12 games and tied Washington for fourth place in the NL East.

Jason Bay had a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Turner cracked a two-out double in the sixth to chase Tom Gorzelanny (2-3) after 116 pitches. Jose Reyes singled three times, drew an intentional walk and scored twice from his leadoff spot.

"Everybody's not thinking about who isn't here, they're thinking about making the most of their opportunities," Niese said.

With deep puddles forming on the infield, Jason Isringhausen worked a one-hit eighth and Francisco Rodriguez got three outs for his 13th save in 14 chances. K-Rod blew his first opportunity of the season, but has tossed 17 straight shutout innings dating to April 17.

With two on, he retired pinch-hitter Laynce Nix and then Roger Bernadina on consecutive flyouts to left.

New York allowed eight hits in its first shutout this year. Washington was blanked for the sixth time.

Cubs 7, Marlins 5
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MIAMI -- Small ball was a big part of the Chicago Cubs' offense Wednesday night. A couple of home runs helped, too.

Pinch-hitter Reed Johnson tied the game with a two-run homer in the sixth, and Marlon Byrd put the Cubs ahead to stay with a leadoff homer in the eighth as they broke a three-game losing streak by beating the Florida Marlins 7-5.

The Cubs came into the game with 30 homers, more than only three NL teams.

"We've been doing small ball," Byrd said. "At the same time we need to put up some power numbers. You need to get pitchers worried about the long ball, not just singles. When we start adding that to our game, it's going to make us a better hitting team."

The Cubs scratched out runs, too. Darwin Barney had an RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly. Tony Campana, playing in his second big-league game, pinch-ran in the eighth and scored from third on a grounder to third, barely beating the throw home with a headfirst slide.

"It seems like when a team executes, it tends to take a little of the pressure off," said backup catcher Koyie Hill, who went 3 for 3 and scored three times.

The Cubs totaled 13 hits and overcame a 5-3 deficit to bounce back from a two-game sweep at Cincinnati.

"There have been tons of games throughout the whole year we felt like we've just given away," Johnson said. "If we can clean things up, we could go on a pretty good run."

Johnson hit his third career pinch-hit home run to make the score 5-all. The Cubs took the lead when Byrd hit a changeup for his second homer against Edward Mujica (4-2).

Chicago's Ryan Dempster gave up five runs in five innings, increasing his ERA to 6.91, but three relievers shut out Florida over the final four innings. Jeff Samardzija (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings, and Carlos Marmol worked 1 1-3 innings for his ninth save in 11 chances.

Diamondbacks 5, Braves 4 (11 Innings)

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PHOENIX -- Ryan Roberts scored from third base on Justin Upton's grounder with a drawn-in infield to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.

Roberts beat second baseman Dan Uggla's throw home on the play, the second display of hustle Roberts put forth on a night when it made a big difference. Arizona trailed 4-3 after pinch-hitter Diory Hernandez hit a two-out single to drive in Uggla in the top of the 11th.

With one out in the bottom of the 11th, Russell Branyan singled and went to third on Roberts' single that glanced off pitcher Craig Kimbrel (1-2). Kelly Johnson drove in the tying run with a single and Upton won it.

Aaron Heilman (2-0) pitched an inning for the victory.

With the Braves trailing 2-1 in the seventh, Brooks Conrad delivered a game-tying RBI double. He then scored on Martin Prado's sacrifice fly. The Diamondbacks tied it in the bottom half of the inning, Roberts scoring from second base on a wild pitch by reliever Scott Proctor.

Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders pitched six innings and allowed a run on seven hits. He is winless in nine starts this season.

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