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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mets win despite injuries


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

New York Mets' Daniel Murphy homered in the fifth in a 6-4 win against St. Louis.

PAUL J. BERESWILL | Associated Press

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NEW YORK — No matter how many All-Stars get injured, the New York Mets plan to stick around in the pennant race.

Tim Redding (1-2) pitched into the eighth inning for his first win with the Mets, and substitute setup man Brian Stokes got Albert Pujols to ground into a crucial double play, leading New York past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 last night.

Daniel Murphy homered and Omir Santos went 4 for 4 in an uplifting victory for the Mets, hours after they received another dose of disheartening news. All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran went on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise on his right knee, a huge blow to a team already decimated by key injuries.

"It's got to be huge to know we can compete after losing a huge player like Carlos," Stokes said.

Before the game, New York manager Jerry Manuel said he would keep a close eye on the spirit of his squad, also missing star shortstop Jose Reyes, slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado and three important pitchers.

In the eighth inning, Stokes came on to protect a 5-4 lead with one out and a runner on first. He threw a 2-2 slider to Pujols, who hit a comebacker that Stokes turned into an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play.

"He made a good pitch. I swung. That's all," Pujols said. "I'm human. What, am I supposed to hit everything out of the park?"

BRAVES 2, CUBS 0:

Javier Vazquez and three Atlanta relievers combined to shut out visiting Chicago.

In a makeup game caused by a June 4 rainout, the Braves won a series for the first time since completing a three-game sweep of Toronto on May 24. The Braves had gone 0-5-3 in their last eight series. Atlanta and Chicago split the first two games of the original series June 2-3.

Vazquez (5-6) gave up nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Chipper Jones' sacrifice fly in the seventh inning chased Ryan Dempster (4-5).

ROCKIES 11, ANGELS 1:

Brad Hawpe celebrated his 30th birthday with a three-run homer, Seth Smith also went deep, and Colorado beat host Los Angeles for its 17th victory in 18 games and club-record ninth straight on the road.

The Angels tied a club record with six wild pitches — all with Jeff Napoli behind the plate.

Aaron Cook (7-3) allowed a run and three hits over seven innings and struck out four, helping send 30-year-old rookie Matt Palmer (6-1) to his first loss of the season.

ATHLETICS 5, GIANTS 1:

Bobby Crosby drove in three runs, rookie Trevor Cahill (5-5) won his third straight decision, and host Oakland ended a five-game losing streak in the Bay Bridge Series by beating San Francisco.

Travis Ishikawa hit a solo home run in the second to put San Francisco ahead but that's all the offense the Giants could muster. Orlando Cabrera doubled in a run in the fourth for Oakland to tie the game at 1, then Ryan Sweeney's RBI groundout two batters later gave the A's the lead.

Crosby hit a two-run double in the sixth and had an eighth-inning RBI groundout in Oakland's third win in four games.

NOTES

Yankees: The New York Yankees filed an official protest with the commissioner's office after a disputed loss to the Florida Marlins. New York manager Joe Girardi protested Sunday's 6-5 defeat at Florida because of a Marlins substitution mix-up in the eighth inning. Courtney said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, will rule on the protest. A decision is expected this week.

Angels: Right-hander Ervin Santana was placed on the 15-day disabled list with pain in his right triceps and right-hander Sean O'Sullivan was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. O'Sullivan will start tonight against Colorado.

Reds: Shortstop Alex Gonzalez has had surgery to remove four bone chips in his right elbow. Gonzalez is expected to miss four to five weeks.

Phillies: First baseman Ryan Howard could return to the lineup today at Tampa Bay after being hospitalized over the weekend with flu symptoms.