MLB

Mets in April

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Game 1: Mets 7, Marlins 1 It was a beautiful Opening Day for the Mets. Johan Santana held the Marlins to one run over six innings, David Wright homered in his first at-bat, and the Mets pulled away from the Marlins with a four-run sixth inning. Francisco Rodriguez (right) celebrates with first base coach Razor Shines after closing the game.

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Game 2: Marlins 7, Mets 6 The Mets scored two in the seventh and three in the eighth to even the game after falling in a 6-1 hole. But Ronny Paulino’s 10th-inning single drove got Wes Helms home just in front of Rod Barajas’ tag to give the Marlins a 7-6 win.

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Game 3: Marlins 3, Mets 1 Rod Barajas slams his bat after popping out in the ninth. It was a frustrating night all around for Mets batters, who were shut down by Nate Robinson and the Marlins bullpen.

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Game 4: Mets 8, Nationals 2 Jeff Francoeur (pictured) and Rod Barajas each homered twice, and the Mets dropped the Nationals 8-2 in the series opener. Mike Pelfrey went six innings, allowing two runs for the win.

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Game 5: Nationals 4, Mets 3 In his first game of the season, Jose Reyes (thyroid) led off the ninth inning with a single. But the Mets' rally fell short when Nationals left fielder Willie Harris made a diving catch on a Rod Barajas liner with the bases loaded and two outs.

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Game 6: Nationals 5, Mets 2 Johan Santana gave up a first-inning grand slam to Josh Willingham and former Mets pitcher Livan Hernandez threw seven shutout innings for Washington.

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Game 7: Rockies 11, Mets 3 The Rockies battered John Maine for eight runs over three innings as the Mets opened their road season in sad fashion.

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Game 8: Rockies 6, Mets 5 Chris Iannetta gets mobbed by his Rockies teammates after drilling a game-winning home run off of Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia in the 10th inning.

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Game 9: Mets 5, Rockies 0 Mike Pelfrey helped the Mets prevent a sweep by throwing seven shutout innings in Colorado.

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Game 10: Cardinals 4, Mets 3 The Mets got an impressive start from Oliver Perez, but it went for naught thanks to the bullpen. Perez was replaced with one out and one on in the seventh inning, and watched from the dugout as the Mets bullpen imploded. Raul Valdes (pictured) gave up a grand slam to Felipe Lopez, and that’s all the runs the Cardinals would need.

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Game 11: Mets 2, Cardinals 1 It only took 20 innings and 6 hours and 53 minutes, but the Mets got a big road win in St. Louis. Jose Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Angel Pagan, and Mike Pelfrey got the final three outs to finish off the marathon victory.

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Game 12: Cardinals 5, Mets 3 The Mets jumped out 3-0, but John Maine and the tired bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Adam Wainwright went the distance for St. Louis, and Ryan Ludwick broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer in the eighth inning.

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Game 13: Mets 6, Cubs 1 Top prospect Ike Davis had two hits in his debut and the Mets scored five runs in the seventh inning to break open a 1-1 game.

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Game 14: Mets 4, Cubs 0 Mike Pelfrey had another stellar outing — throwing seven shutout innings — and Jose Reyes tripled home two runs that allowed the Mets to win back-to-back games for the first time all season.

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Game 15: Cubs 9, Mets 3 Former Yankee Alfonso Soriano helped put the game away for the Cubs with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Oliver Perez lasted five innings and got the loss.

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Game 16: Mets 5, Cubs 2 Johan Santana was solid, Francisco Rodriguez earned his first five-out save since 2005, and the Mets won their first series of the season. After a pitchers duel between Santana and Tom Gorzelanny, the Mets opened the scoring with four runs in the sixth inning.

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Game 17: Mets 5, Braves 2 Ike Davis hit his first major-league home run and Ken Takahashi got his first major-league win in relief as the Mets topped their NL East rivals.

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Game 18: Mets 3, Braves 1 Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur (pictured) hit RBI doubles in the sixth and seventh innings to put the Mets up 2-1, a lead they would hold on to thanks to 3 2/3 shutout innings from the bullpen.

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Game 19: Mets 1, Braves 0 Mike Pelfrey got the win and give the save to Mother Nature. The Mets topped the Braves 1-0 in five innings after the skies opened up and ended the game after five innings. Jose Reyes scored the game’s lone run in the first on an infield single by Jason Bay and a throwing error by the Braves’ Chipper Jones.

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Game 20: Mets 4, Dodgers 0 Jason Bay hit his first Mets home run in support of Johan Santana, who pitched six shutout innings in the first of two at Citi Field.

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Game 21: Mets 10, Dodgers 5 David Wright and Ike Davis drove in seven runs as the Mets completed a doubleheader sweep of Joe Torre’s Dodgers. The pair of victories by the Mets combined with a loss by the Phillies in San Francisco moved the Amazin’s to first place in the NL East.

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Game 22: Mets 7, Dodgers 3 John Maine had his best start of the season, striking out nine Dodgers over six innings in route to his first win.

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Game 23: Mets 9, Phillies 1 Jon Niese congratulates Rod Barajas on one of his two home runs in the Mets' rout of the Phillies. Niese got the win, limiting Philadelphia’s potent offense to one run and four hits over seven innings, and the Mets belted four homers.