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ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

NEW YORK -- Justin Turner cranked up Frank Franciscos new theme song, Project Pats "Chicken Head," as soon the New York Mets closer entered the clubhouse. After wriggling out of a ninth-inning jam Friday night with his arm, it was a lot easier for Francisco to laugh at a bit of headline-grabbing trouble he made with his mouth earlier in the week. Francisco closed out the Mets 6-4 victory over the Yankees a couple of days after calling their crosstown rivals "chickens." "Awesome," he said. Ike Davis received a bit of help from the Yankees on his three-run homer, Turner had a two-run single and the Mets scored five runs in the first inning with two outs. Andy Pettitte looked flat after waiting out a rainstorm that set back the start of the seasons second Subway Series by 53 minutes. Davis followed Turners hit with a fly to right that a leaping Nick Swisher got his glove on. But when he hit the wall, the ball was nudged off the top of the fence and over for a 5-0 lead. "I thought he was going to catch it the way he went back," Davis said. Still, the homer-happy Yankees rallied with three late drives to set up a chance to see Francisco. Alex Rodriguez hit his 641st homer and Andruw Jones also connected for the Yankees against Jonathon Niese. Robinson Cano added a two-run shot off Miguel Batista in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4 after David Wright had an RBI double in the seventh. Francisco made headlines in New York this week by saying "I cant wait to face those chickens" and expressing his desire to strike out the side against the Yankees. He explained Friday afternoon what he meant by his strange comment, saying he thinks the Yankees often complain about umpires calls, especially balls and strikes. "I didnt mean to hurt anybodys feelings," Francisco said after the win. "It was a simple comment." His teammates certainly had fun with it -- though Mets reliever Tim Byrdak might have taken ribbing Francisco to an extreme. He posted a close-up video on Twitter of a chicken bobbing around on the carpet in the Mets clubhouse. A tweet several minutes earlier says he bought it in "China Town." Yankees manager Joe Girardi didnt see getting an opportunity against Francisco as a shot at payback. "I dont really worry about what he said," Girardi said. "The way weve been finding ways to win games, you think that you have a chance there." In a heavy drizzle, Francisco made his first appearance against the Yankees for the Mets and -- you got it -- played chicken with a powerful lineup. Andres Torres made a stumbling catch in deep centre field for the first out. The right-hander walked pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez before Derek Jeter singled. Francisco then struck out Curtis Granderson and got Mark Teixeira to pop out for his 18th save in 21 opportunities. "They tried to give me a little bit of a hard time," Francisco said. "Lately, Ive been fighting a little bit with my command but I (found) myself out there and got out of the situation." The Yankees lost their third in a row following a 10-game winning streak that began against the Mets. They had not lost three in a row since May 19-21. The afternoon rain didnt deter a crowd of 40,191 from filling Citi Field. It did help alleviate the sizzling heat of the last few days that even inspired a Mets ticket offer. The team sold a limited number of choice seats for $94, the price set to the temperature at the start of Wednesday nights game against Baltimore. The Mets totalled seven runs when they were swept in three games in the Bronx in early June. In the finale at Yankee Stadium, Niese (5-3) carried a 3-0 lead into the seventh but he was betrayed by his defence and gave up two unearned runs. This time, he gave up the two homers and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings to help the Mets win their seventh straight interleague game. Pettitte (3-3) gave up five runs for the second time this season and for the first time in an inning since Sept. 4, 2001, against Toronto. Torres walked in the first and Ronny Cedeno, activated from the disabled list before the game, singled. Wright hit into a fielders choice and Lucas Duda flied out. But the Mets lead the majors in two-out runs (155), and they soon cashed in. Turner hit a two-run single to centre. Davis then hit his eighth homer of the year. Batting just .162 entering the game on June 10, Davis didnt even start with Pettitte on the mound. But the left-handed hitter had a pinch-hit double that tied the score in the ninth that day and has played well enough recently to earn a place in manager Terry Collins lineup Friday against the crafty lefty. "Ike is very determined to get out of this. Hes been fighting it, fighting it, fighting it," Collins said. "And now, all of a sudden, some of the balls hes swinging at, hes hitting them on the barrel of the bat instead of swinging and missing, and if he can do that, hes going to be dangerous." As has often been the case this season, the Yankees had trouble with runners on base. Leading the majors with 105 homers coming in but hitting only .218 with men in scoring position, the Yankees put two on in the first and second and had a runner on in the third, fourth and seventh without scoring. "We keep putting them on, eventually its going to change," Girardi said. "Thats all I can really tell you. We are who we are." Rodriguez homered with one out in the sixth, his drive landing in the container that holds the big apple in straightaway centre. Jones homered to left in the seventh. Cano hit a two-run shot in the eighth. NOTES: Mets LHP Johan Santana was given the key to the city by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in honour of his no-hitter June 1, the first in franchise history. ... To make room for Cedeno, the Mets sent reliever Elvin Ramirez to Triple-A Buffalo. ... Rodriguez was thrilled for the Miami Heat, NBA champions. He said he understood what LeBron James had gone through. Wholesale Jerseys From China . Then Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis ranged well to his left, made the stop and tossed to pitcher Vinnie Pestano covering first. "I was running like heck with my head down so I couldnt really tell," Avila said. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . Baldwin, 29, returns to Winnipeg for his fifth season after finishing his post-secondary education at West Virginia State. http://pavansukhdev.org/wholesalejerseys.html . The Raptors lost Johnson when he was ejected with 5:01 left in the third quarter after getting involved in a tug-of-war for the basketball with referee David Jones. SEATTLE -- The longest Red Sox skid in more than a decade lasted only a week. It felt much longer to those involved in Bostons downward spiral that finally came to an end on Tuesday night. "It feels good to shake hands. Its been a while. It seems like a really long time," Boston outfielder Cody Ross said. Ross hit a tying three-run homer in the sixth inning, Ryan Lavarnway connected two batters later and the Red Sox snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox were looking at an eighth straight setback with another lacklustre effort on this miserable road trip before pulling even thanks to a rally that took just six pitches. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury opened the sixth with singles off Seattle starter Blake Beavan (9-9) before Ross hit his 20th homer of the season. After recovering to get two outs, Beavan left a pitch up in the zone to Lavarnway and he lined his first homer off the out of town scoreboard beyond the left field bullpens. "Our guys looked happy after the game," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. "Its great to see them with smiles and coming from behind ... it was a good win. Maybe it will get something started." The Red Sox appeared ready for the losing to end, with most leaping to the dugout railing to see Ross homer sail over the head of left fielder Trayvon Robinson. Boston had previously missed scoring chances in the first, second and fifth innings with runners in scoring position. The quick turn of fortunes for Boston made a winner out of Jon Lester (9-11), who gave up consecutive homers to Franklin Gutierrez and Kyle Seager in the third, but otherwise avoided damage. Eric Thames hit a two-out, two-strike triple in the ninth for Seattle off Andrew Bailey to keep the Mariners hopes alive. But Bailey got Seager to fly out to right to end it for his second save in three chances. Bostons seven-game slide started with the opening of a West Coast swing through Los Angeles, Oakland and Seattle. According to the Red Sox, from information provided by the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time Boston had dropped the first seven games of a road trip since 1960. The losing streak wwas the longest since a nine-game skid during the 2001 season.dddddddddddd The losing streak seemed to be the cap to a miserable last few months for the Red Sox, who have tumbled to fourth place in the AL East. Speculation about Valentines future hit a peak here when general manager Ben Cherington and owner John Henry joined the team. But Ross and others are trying to make clear that even though the Red Sox are out of the playoff race there is still something worth playing for during the final month. "Theres a lot at stake right now," Ross said. "Even though were not in the hunt theres jobs at stake, guys have to stay hungry and go out and battle and win a spot for next year, whether youre a young kid or a free agent or whatever." Pedroias single to start the inning extended his hitting streak to a season-high 15 games. Following Ross homer, Beavan recovered to get James Loney and Jared Saltalamacchia on fly outs before Lavarnway came through with his first home run for the Red Sox since a two-homer game Sept. 27, 2011, against Baltimore. Lester needed 111 pitches to get through six innings, but worked out of jams in the first and second innings leaving runners stranded at third base. Jesus Montero had three hits off Lester, including a two-out RBI single in the first. Gutierrez homered to deep centre field on the first pitch of the third inning and, two pitches later, Seager hit his 16th of the season into the right field seats. Lester gave up nine hits for the second straight start, but struck out four and won for the fourth time in his last five outings. "It wasnt easy, a bit of a grind, but its big for us to score those runs in that inning and have the bullpen come in there and do a good job after that," Lester said. NOTES: Seattle ace Felix Hernandez was named the AL pitcher of the month for August. Hernandez was 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA in five starts, including the 23rd perfect game in baseball history. ... Boston recalled RHP Clay Mortensen from Double-A Portland before Tuesdays game. It was the sixth time this season hes been called up from the minors this season. ... Seattle hit back-to-back homers for the third time this season and first since July 2 versus Baltimore. ' ' ' 

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