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	<channel>		<title>RUWT? News</title>
		<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com</link>
		<description>RUWT? News for New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 7/2/2009</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
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		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:35:11 GMT</lastBuildDate>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:35:11 GMT</pubDate>
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			<item>
				<title><![CDATA[Mets rally from 5 down, beat Pirates 9-8 in 10]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH(AP) -- Fernando Tatis' body was laden with ice bags,
Francisco Rodriguez's right arm was wrapped with towels. The
weary New York Mets went through a lot to gain an improbable
victory in an unwanted game.

Two days after appearing to be in a freefall, the Mets pulled
off the kind of victory that can turn a season around. Ryan
Church singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, and the
Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-8 on Thursday after trailing
by five runs and wasting a ninth-inning lead.

"It was a roller coaster, especially the way the day started
down 5-0, but it just shows you we are resilient," Church said.

Adam LaRoche hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth against
Francisco Rodriguez before the Mets rebounded to win the makeup
of a June 3 rainout. No doubt they would have preferred their
first day off in 2 1/2 weeks to playing, but the Mets (39-39)
now head into a big weekend series at Philadelphia back at .500
with consecutive wins following a five-game losing streak.

"We could have just said, `Let's pack up and head to Philly,
it's a short flight, let's get this out of the way,' " said
manager Jerry Manuel, who held a lengthy team meeting Tuesday in
Milwaukee. "They chose to fight and I thought that was what was
most impressive. We overcame a lot of things that were
adversary."

Tatis hit a two-run homer among his three hits, was hit twice
with pitches - causing him to say afterward he was in pain from
head to toe - and scored four times as the Mets staged their
biggest comeback of the season to take an 8-6 lead.

They couldn't hold it as Rodriguez, 21 of 23 previously in save
chances, gave up his first tying homer in the ninth since Kevin
Millar went deep for Baltimore on July 25 last year.

"Too bad it wasn't a three-run (homer)," LaRoche said. "We
fought back, which we've done a lot, it just seems like on the
short end of it a lot."

Rodriguez (2-2), angry at himself, lobbied Manuel to stay in.

"He said, `If we score, I need to go back out for myself,"'
Manuel said. "When one of your players is like that, of that
stature and what he means to us, I knew if we came back and he
didn't go back out, he would carry that for a few days."

Rodriguez responded with a perfect 10th, needing a career
regular season-high 46 pitches to get through two innings. The
only other time he threw 46 pitches, during the 2002 World
Series against the Giants, his team also rallied from a five-run
deficit.

"I'm the kind of guy who (if he) makes a mess, cleans it up,"
said Rodriguez, whose previous regular-season high was 42
pitches according to ESPN.com. "I felt really frustrated because
I didn't get the job done."

Matt Capps (1-4), who had converted 12 consecutive save
opportunities since May 15, got the first two batters in the
10th until hitting Tatis with a pitch. Despite being in pain,
Tatis stole second, and Church - expecting a changeup but
getting a fastball - lined a single into center for the Mets'
15th hit.

"It was unbelievable," Tatis said of a day made even longer by
two rain delays that totaled 1 hour, 13 minutes.

Pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy began the comeback with a two-run
single off Paul Maholm in the fourth after the Pirates opened
the early lead against Tim Redding. Jeremy Reed, also
pinch-hitting, gave the Mets the lead for the first time with a
sacrifice fly that made it 6-5 and finished off a four-run fifth
inning.

Tatis added a two-run homer an inning later off Jeff Karstens,
but Garrett Jones cut the Pirates' deficit to 8-6 with a solo
homer in the seventh. Jones, called up from the minors two days
earlier, had three hits and was a single short of the cycle.

"I just wish we had pulled it out," Jones said.

Alex Cora and Nick Evans each had two hits for the Mets, who
scored only 13 runs in their previous six games.

Maholm was 3-1 with 1.96 ERA in six home starts before allowing
six runs and 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings.

Redding, who may be bumped from the rotation after Oliver Perez
makes a rehabilitation start on Friday at Triple-A Buffalo, gave
up five runs and six hits in 2 1-3 innings to raise his ERA to
6.99.

NOTES: Batters were hitting .088 against Rodriguez with runners
on base until LaRoche hit his 12th homer. ... The home team won
the previous six games, three in each city, in the now-completed
season series. ... The Mets are 2-0 in July after going 9-18 in
June. ... New York's previous best rally was from four runs down
while beating the Giants 8-6 on May 15.]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[mlb]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105190-Mets-rally-from-5-down-beat-Pirates-9-8-in-10</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105190-Mets-rally-from-5-down-beat-Pirates-9-8-in-10</guid>
				<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:51:43 GMT</pubDate>
			</item>
		
			<item>
				<title><![CDATA[Mets-Pirates Preview]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By BRETT HUSTON
STATS Writer

New York (37-39) at Pittsburgh (36-41), 12:35 p.m. EDT

The Mets and the Pirates are the two most power-starved teams in
the major leagues, but failure to hit home runs wasn't the only
problem New York had in Pittsburgh earlier this season.

The Pirates look to complete a rare four-game home sweep of the
Mets on Thursday as the teams make up a game that was postponed
June 3 by rain.

The Mets (38-39) are tied with Pittsburgh (36-42) for last in
the majors with 49 homers. Gary Sheffield leads New York with 10
while Adam LaRoche has a team-high 11 for the Pirates.

New York, which hasn't been swept in a four-game set at
Pittsburgh since Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 1989 when both clubs were in
the NL East, has gone deep 16 time since June 1, and has greatly
been affected by injuries to sluggers Carlos Delgado (hip) and
Carlos Beltran (knee) among others.

The Mets' lineup averaged 2.4 runs in losing five straight to
close out last month, and had just five hits Thursday in
Milwaukee. That, however, proved to be good enough as Mike
Pelfrey's 7 2-3 shutout innings helped carry New York to a 1-0
win.

"If the starting pitcher goes out there and works fast, throws
strikes and keeps the ball on the ground, it keeps everybody
involved, and that's what (Pelfrey) did today," manager Jerry
Manuel told the Mets' official Web site. "That's a big effort
from him."

Ryan Church drove in the only run, and he batted .583 (7 for 12)
in the series with Milwaukee. He missed all three games last
month in Pittsburgh with a strained right hamstring.

The Pirates dropped their series finale against the Cubs on
Wednesday, mustering six hits in the 4-1 loss. It was the major
league-high 20th time Pittsburgh scored one run or fewer, and
they've yet to win any of them.

"They say hitting is contagious. I guess not hitting is
contagious, too," shortstop Jack Wilson told the Pirates'
official Web site. "We fall into these ruts where we get our
chances and don't capitalize."

Pittsburgh is 4-18 this season when limited to six hits or less.

Tim Redding (1-3, 6.35 ERA) will get the ball for New York, and
he's struggled since entering the rotation in mid-May. The
right-hander gave up five runs and six hits - including two
homers - in 5 1-3 innings Saturday while the Mets managed only
one hit in a 5-0 loss to the New York Yankees.

Redding is 0-1 with a 6.38 ERA in five outings in Pittsburgh and
Wilson is hitting .385 (10 for 26) versus him.

The Pirates counter with Paul Maholm (5-4, 4.35), who faced the
Mets on May 9 in New York, yielding seven runs and 10 hits over
five innings in a 10-1 loss. He's 3-2 with a 3.65 ERA in six
career starts versus the Mets.

Maholm is 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA in six home starts this season,
and he looked solid there against Kansas City on Friday. The
left-hander gave up two runs and five hits over seven innings in
a 6-2 win.

"He really settled in and gave us a quality outing," manager
John Russell said. "He threw a very good game for us."]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[mlb]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105097-Mets-Pirates-Preview</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/mlb/news/105097-Mets-Pirates-Preview</guid>
				<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:18:46 GMT</pubDate>
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