Dein erstes Forum » batting average to .381, compared to .23

WASHINGTON -- Marlon Byrd called his shots during batting practice, when he was chatting away with teammate Anthony Recker. "I told Reck I was feeling good in BP," Byrd said. "And I was joking around with him, I said, Hey, if I get some pitches tonight, Im going to hit two home runs." Sure enough, Byrd planted a pair beyond the left-field wall Wednesday night, maintaining his mastery of Dan Haren as the New York Mets snapped a four-game skid with a 10-1 rout of the Washington Nationals. "Thats teammates talking trash," Byrd said. "And that it happened is something crazy. It doesnt happen too much, Ill tell you that." The win put the Mets above .400 and the Nationals below .500 -- a succinct reflection of the mixed fortunes of both clubs -- and also dropped preseason favourite Washington to third place behind Philadelphia in the NL East. The Nationals trail division-leading Atlanta by eight games. For the Mets, it was their best run output since early April, a rare comfortable win in a challenging season. "We needed one very bad," manager Terry Collins said. "We have certainly been in our share of close games all year, on both ends of it. To have a game where we just take a deep breath and relax a little bit was certainly welcomed and needed." Byrd hit a two-run homer in the second and a solo shot in the third, making him 10 for 18 in his career against Haren (4-7). David Wright, in a 1-for-18 slump entering the game, also homered in the third inning and singled and scored in New Yorks two-run fifth. Recker doubled his season RBI total from three to six with a pair of hits, and rookie centre fielder Juan Lagares had his first three-hit game in the majors. Even pitcher Dillon Gee joined in the hitting fun. When he singled in the seventh, it meant that all nine Mets starters had at least one hit. On the mound, Gee (4-6) allowed one run over seven innings in his second consecutive solid start after his spot in the rotation had been put in doubt by a series of short outings. The run came in the first inning when Byrd misplayed a double by Denard Span, who then scored on a single by Ian Desmond. "I cant be satisfied," Gee said. "Ive got to continue to do it. It feels good to do it again, give the team a chance to win, but the guys did an awesome job, scored a bunch of runs." The Nationals felt buoyed by a ninth-inning comeback in the series opener Tuesday, the first time they had come from behind to win this season when trailing after the sixth inning. Manager Davey Johnson was clean-shaven Wednesday, ending a razor boycott he had said would last until his team started hitting. But Washingtons bats remained cold. The Nationals scored 11 runs while hitting .197 with 42 strikeouts over six games. They had men on second and third with one out in the fourth inning, but Span struck out swinging and Jayson Werth struck out looking. "Boy, its been difficult," Johnson said. "But it seems like they were swinging the bats a little bit better tonight. Just didnt hit with men on base. Its frustrating." The Nationals lost for the ninth time by six or more runs, passing last years total of eight with more than 100 games to go. Meanwhile, the starting rotation that has performed so well is showing some cracks. Stephen Strasburg, sidelined with a strained back muscle, joined Ross Detwiler on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday. And Haren? His ERA is now 5.45. "I feel bad for the guys, letting them down. I cant be this inconsistent," he said. "Im the same guy five days ago that went through one of the toughest lineups in baseball and kept us there. And then lay another egg tonight. Its just -- I gotta be better." NOTES: Black smoke was visible beyond the right-field bleachers throughout the game, the result of a fire at a hardware store about a mile away. The smoke wafted over the dome of the nearby U.S. Capitol nearby but did not drift over the ballpark and had no effect on the game. ... Nationals LHP Ian Krol made his major league debut by pitching a scoreless sixth, and Anthony Rendon made his first major league start at second base, taking over the position now that Danny Espinosa is on the DL. ... Mets LHP Jonathon Niese threw a bullpen session and said he feels on target to return to the rotation Saturday after missing one start with a sore shoulder. ... Collins said RHP Jeurys Familia might be done for the season after having surgery to remove bone spurs and loose bodies in the right elbow. "I dont think well have him this year," Collins said.Grant Fuhr Maple Leafs Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Auston Matthews Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. http://www.mapleleafsteamstoreonline.com/authentic-johnny-bower-maple-leafs-jersey/ .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Kasperi Kapanen Maple Leafs Jersey . JOHNS, N. Morgan Rielly Jersey . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Elliot Johnson has some fond memories of his years with the Rays. None might have been sweeter than his return to Tampa Bay with the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. Johnson had a three three-run homer for his second hit of an eight-run sixth inning, leading the surging Royals to a 10-1 victory over the Rays. "Its hard to describe the first time back," he said. "I wish everyone would get a chance to understand what its like and its really hard even to put into words." Traded to Kansas City by the Rays in February, Johnson led off the big inning with a single and chased Jeremy Hellickson (4-3) with his second homer of the season, both coming off Hellickson. Johnson got his third hit of the game in the eighth inning and is 6 for 11 with four RBIs against his former team while batting .202 with three RBIs against every other team. "When they came into our place, I had a good series there," Johnson said. "I wasnt really playing that well, and Ned (Yost) gave me some opportunities to play against them. I picked it up and today played well again. Its good to get them anyway you can, but it feels good to get them against them, of course. (Former Rays pitcher James) Shields said the same thing; he wishes he could pitch here." "He gets fired up playing against these guys and he really helped us out today," said Eric Hosmer, who homered off Jake Odorizzi in the seventh. Ervin Santana (5-5) gave up five hits and an unearned run in 7 2-3 innings. The Royals, who have won eight of nine, set a franchise record by holding an opponent to three runs or fewer in a 12th straight game. "Everything is going our way right now so we have to keep that up," Santana said. Hellickson lost for the first time since April 25, giving up eight runs on 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings. He retired 15 of the 16 Royals he faced in the first five innings. "He was locating his faastball and his changeup really kept us off stride," said Kansas City bench coach Chino Cadiha, who was acting manger while Yost attended his daughters wedding in Georgia.dddddddddddd "I guess we figured it out in the sixth, and here we go." Johnson led off the sixth inning of a scoreless game with his first hit. After Alcides Escobars double, Alex Gordon drove in the first run with Kansas Citys third straight hit. Three more singles and an RBI double by Miguel Tejada preceded Johnsons homer to give the Royals an 8-0 lead. In all the Royals sent 11 men to the plate in the inning. "I just fell behind to Elliot, the first batter of the inning, and just couldnt stop it after that," Hellickson said. "Im pretty frustrated. It wasnt a fun game. Eight runs, its unacceptable." It was the Royals biggest inning of the season, exceeding the seven runs they scored in the third inning at Los Angeles on May 15. Gordon had two hits in raising his road batting average to .381, compared to .231 at home. Matt Joyce had two hits for the Rays, who have lost four of five. NOTES: The Rays optioned Odorizzi to Triple-A Durham after the game and took pitcher Alex Cobb off the bereavement list. ... Tampa Bay LHP David Price (strained left triceps) threw 54 pitches over three innings in a simulated game. The AL Cy Young Award winner could rejoin the rotation in late June or early July. ... Rays 3B Evan Longoria got his second break from playing on the artificial turf in five games, getting the start as the DH. Kelly Johnson made his first start this season at third in place of Longoria. ... RHP Nate Adcock, designated for assignment by the Royals on June 6, was claimed on waivers by Arizona. He was optioned to Triple-A Reno. ... Tampa Bay LHP Matt Moore (8-2) looks to stop a two-game skid, in which he allowed 15 runs, in Friday nights game with the Royals. RHP Luis Mendoza (1-3) will start for Kansas City. ' ' '