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Left-hander Jack Leathersich owns the Division II UMass Lowell single-season strikeout record. His gaudy K totals have continued as a pro, since getting drafted in the fifth round last June.

Leathersich, who made his high-A St. Lucie debut on Tuesday night, has now fanned 66 batters in 39 1/3 pro relief innings through stops with Brooklyn, Savannah and now in the Florida State League. He has surrendered only 18 hits. Not bad for a kid who threw 85 mph as a high school senior and described himself as "tiny" back then -- 5-foot-8, 150 pounds.

Leathersich's fastball now sits at 91-93 mph and tops out at 95-96 mph when he's aiming for a strikeout. He also throws a circle change as well as what he describes as a slurve -- "kind of in the middle … not really like a 12-to-6 (curveball), but not like a hard slider. It kind of comes in diagonal."

Said Leathersich: "I don’t really go out there trying to strike people out. I never really have. Getting ahead is the biggest thing for me. When I get ahead 0-1, 1-2, 0-2, I do try to put them away. I try to get them out of there. But I've been working actually a lot this year on not going so deep in the counts -- trying to get one-, two-pitch outs."

Leathersich burst onto the radar while competing in the prestigious Cape Cod League during college. He was one of only the three or four Division II players invited, by his count. That's where he picked up his nickname -- "Rocket." His Twitter handle remains @LeatherRocket.

"My buddy, Marcus Stroman -- he's going to be a top-10 pick this year, from Duke -- he just started calling me that," Leathersich said. "We were roommates. He pitched the ninth inning and I pitched the eighth normally. I don't know. It kind of just stuck."

Leathersich's best experience as a pro so far? That would have to be his Aug. 30 appearance for Brooklyn last season. The Lowell Spinners are in that league, and share a stadium with Leathersich's college program. Pitching as a pro on the field where he was a college standout, Leathersich tossed two scoreless innings, striking out the side in his first frame.

"That was crazy," Leathersich said. "That was definitely a pretty cool moment in my life. Everybody was there. I mean, everybody from my town (Beverly, Mass.), which is only a half-hour away. And everybody from Lowell, where I went to school. The place was pretty packed. It was a rush when I got called into the game."

In his Florida State League debut Tuesday, Leathersich surrendered his first professional homer. He was charged with two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.

"Anybody, I feel, who says that they don't have to work on anything is lying to you," Leathersich said. "I've definitely been working on my offspeed a lot -- changeup, curveball, throwing it in any count for a strike. That's what (Savannah pitching coach) Frank Viola and I were really working on when I was down there. He's helped me out tremendously with everything. … I'm just going to keep working on my offspeed pitches and holding runners, fielding my position and all of the stuff I had been working on in Savannah."

Organization leaders

Average: Bobby Scales, Buffalo, .339; T.J. Rivera, Savannah, .333; Jefry Marte, Binghamton, .321; Matt den Dekker, Binghamton, .310; Eric Campbell, Binghamton, .310; Wilmer Flores, St. Lucie, .310; Vinny Rottino, Buffalo, .307; Matt Tuiasosopo, Buffalo, .301; Juan Lagares, Binghamton, .293; Danny Muno, St. Lucie, .283.

Homers: Valentino Pascucci, Buffalo, 11; Travis Taijeron, Savannah, 8; Cory Vaughn, St. Lucie, 8; Wilmer Flores, St. Lucie, 7.

RBI: Valentino Pascucci, Buffalo, 34; Aderlin Rodriguez, Savannah, 29; Travis Taijeron, Savannah, 27; Wilmer Flores, St. Lucie, 25; Vinny Rottino, Buffalo, 25.

Steals: Luis Nieves, Savannah, 9; Cesar Puello, St. Lucie, 9; Wilfredo Tovar, St. Lucie, 9; Pedro Zapata, Binghamton, 8.

ERA: Zack Wheeler, Binghamton, 2.15; Collin McHugh, Binghamton, 2.15; Tyler Pill, Savannah, 2.29; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 2.37; Alex Panteliodis, Savannah, 2.63; Rafael Montero, Savannah, 2.64; Chase Huchingson, St. Lucie, 2.68; Jeremy Hefner, Buffalo, 2.72; Chris Schwinden, Buffalo, 2.72; Dylan Owen, Buffalo, 3.19.

Wins: Chase Huchingson, St. Lucie, 5.

Saves: Adrian Rosario, Binghamton, 12; Fernando Cabrera, Buffalo, 9; T.J. Chism, Savannah, 6; Adam Kolarek, St. Lucie, 4.

Strikeouts: Matt Harvey, Buffalo, 49; Garrett Olson, Buffalo, 49; Jeurys Familia, Buffalo, 45; Collin McHugh, Binghamton, 45; Zack Wheeler, Binghamton, 45.

Short hops

• Infielder Danny Muno, the Mets' eighth-round pick in 2011 out of Fresno State, was suspended 50 games for a positive test for a metabolite of Drostanolone, a performance-enhancing drug, Major League Baseball announced Friday. Muno, 23, had been hitting .283 with five homers and 23 RBIs while batting leadoff and manning second base for Class A St. Lucie. Robbie Shields, a third-round pick in 2009 from Florida Southern College, has taken over at second base for the Florida State League club. Alonzo Harris Jr. has assumed the vacated leadoff spot. Since Muno's suspension, Harris is hitting .391 (9-for-23) with five runs scored in five games. That has upped the Mississippi high school product's average 38 points, to .271.

• Left-hander Josh Edgin opened enough eyes in spring training that he formally was added to camp in March after initially not receiving an invite. Now, he has not allowed an earned run in his past six relief appearances with Triple-A Buffalo. Edgin touched 95 mph with his fastball Monday, then tossed a no-hit inning with two strikeouts Tuesday against Indianapolis.

• Right-hander Collin McHugh (4-3, 2.15 ERA in nine starts) has been a bright spot in a Double-A Binghamton rotation that largely has struggled of late. He had completed at least seven innings in each of his past three outings, until that streak ended Tuesday when McHugh served up a solo homer to open the seventh inning at New Britain that broke a scoreless tie, then hit a batter with the next pitch and was ejected. "My ejection from the game tonight was completely absurd!" McHugh tweeted afterward. "I did not throw at ANYONE, nor would I consider it in a 1 run game in the 7th."

McHugh, an 18th-round pick in 2008 out of Berry College, has allowed only six earned runs in 27 1/3 innings during his past four starts. McHugh made his Double-A debut on May 31, 2011. In what is now a full year in the Eastern League, the Atlanta native has compiled a 12-5 record and 2.62 ERA in 27 appearances (25 starts).

• Right-hander Elvin Ramirez, the former Rule 5 pick returned to the Mets after spending a season on the Nationals' 40-man roster with shoulder woes, has yet to allow a run in seven Triple-A appearances. In nine scoreless innings, he has limited opponents to three hits while striking out 10, walking none and hitting one batter. Opponents are hitting .100 (3-for-30) against him. Ramirez began the season with Binghamton.

• Josh Satin is 6-for-his-last-14 with eight walks during that stretch. He nearly exclusively has played first base with the Bisons.

• Jordany Valdespin delivered a pinch-hit homer Saturday for Buffalo, on the day he awoke in Toronto and then was demoted to clear a roster spot for Jeremy Hefner. In two subsequent games while starting at second base, though, Valdespin went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts. He committed two errors Sunday. Brad Emaus started at second base Tuesday, and Valdespin was retired as a pinch hitter.

• Fernando Cabrera is 9-for-9 in save opportunities with the Bisons.

• The Mets released 22-year-old right-hander Eduardo Aldama. He went 3-5 with a 5.37 ERA at Class A Brooklyn last season.

(Read full post)

R.A. Dickey struck out a career-high 11 batters before departing for a pinch hitter, Lucas Duda had a tiebreaking, two-out RBI single in the eighth and the Mets ultimately held on for a 3-2 win against the Pirates behind a three-up, three-down save from Frank Francisco on Tuesday night.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Dickey told Mike Puma in the Post that he would appreciate the front office already picking up his 2013 team option and talking about an extension beyond that. “I feel like the team is moving in the right direction, and I want to be a part of the solution," Dickey told Puma. "Now it’s up to them. If I’m in those plans, (addressing the contract) is one way to make it known." Dickey signed a two-year, $7.8 million deal during the 2010-11 offseason that includes a $5 million option for next year. The Mets signed Jon Niese on the eve of the season to a five-year, $25.5 million deal that includes two team options. Niese would not have been eligible for free agency until after the 2015 season.

• Terry Collins said it was not a comfortable decision to remove Dickey with the score tied at 1, but the Mets needed offense in the top of the eighth. Andres Torres ended up striking out as a pinch hitter to increase hit rut to 1-for-his-last-34, but the Mets scored two runs in the inning anyway. Dickey notched his MLB-leading sixth win, matching fellow National Leaguers Chris Capuano, Cole Hamels, Gio Gonzalez and Lance Lynn. Dickey did not record his sixth win until Aug. 29 last season. It's the earliest he ever has reached that mark. Read game recaps in the Star-Ledger, Times, Record, Newsday, Daily News and Journal.

• Ike Davis, who met with Collins before the series opener, described that chat to Puma in the Post as "the same (expletive) as I've been talking about for days." Davis went 0-for-4 Tuesday with two strikeouts as his average slipped to .156.

• Collins believes Torres, who did not start the game, is overswinging. Read more in Newsday, the Times, Record and Star-Ledger.

• Ruben Tejada (quadriceps) batted in an extended spring training game Tuesday, suggesting a return from the disabled list as soon as this weekend is realistic.

• David Wright went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Tuesday. His average now stands at .403. Can he finish above that .400 threshold? Obviously it's not the likelihood, but Collins believes Wright has enough speed to get infield singles and complement his power that at least there's a shot. Read more in the Daily News.

• Collin McHugh took a scoreless effort into the seventh inning in another solid start for Double-A Binghamton before getting ejected and Double-A Binghamton lost to New Britain, 3-0. Read the full minor league recap here.

TRIVIA: What number pick do the Mets have in the first round of next month's amateur draft?

Tuesday's answer: Jose Reyes owns the Mets record for most runs scored with the organization, at 735. David Wright is closing in, though. Wright has 728.

INDIANAPOLIS 6, BUFFALO 3: Buffalo committed three costly errors in the finale and 12 in the four-game series. With Jeff Clement batting in the first inning, Chris Schwinden threw a wild pitch to score ex-Met Anderson Hernandez. In an attempt to throw out Hernandez, catcher Jean Luc Blaquiere's throw was offline to Schwinden at the plate, allowing Alex Presley also to score. With the Bisons behind 3-0 in the third, Starling Marte led off with a single. With Hernandez at the plate, Marte stole second and Blaquiere's throw sailed into center. The error would set up Hernandez to single home Marte and make it 4-0. "I'm hoping this off-day tomorrow will help us get it together mentally and physically," manager Wally Backman said. "A couple of our guys have been banged up so they need the rest." With the bases loaded an none out in the fourth, the Herd plated a pair with RBI groundouts by Omar Quintanilla and Blaquiere. With the bases loaded in the seventh, Matt Tuiasosopo hit an infield single to score Corey Wimberly and cut the Indians' lead to 4-3. But Brad Emaus grounded into a forceout to end the inning. Box

NEW BRITAIN 3, BINGHAMTON 0: The Rock Cats packed all of their offense into the seventh inning while handing Binghamton its sixth shutout loss. The starters -- Binghamton's Collin McHugh and Logan Darnell -- matched zeroes through the first six innings. McHugh's start took a turn for the worse in the seventh. The righty had his stretch of 13 straight scoreless innings snapped on his first pitch of the inning, when Rock Cats right fielder Evan Bigley ripped a homer. McHugh then hit Nate Hanson with his next pitch. Plate umpire Joey Amaral ejected McHugh and the B-Mets were forced to summon Brad Holt from the bullpen. The Rock Cats greeted Holt with two bunt singles to load the bases. Chris Herrmann extended New Britain's lead with a two-run double -- his fourth hit of the game and eighth of the series. The Rock Cats appeared to score their fourth run of the inning on sac fly by Deibinson Romero, but runner Estarlin De Los Santos was ruled out on appeal for leaving third early. Trailing 3-0, the B-Mets threatened in the eighth against reliever Luis Perdomo. Singles by Josh Rodriguez and Eric Campbell and a walk to Jefry Marte loaded the bases. The veteran righty escaped harm by inducing Raul Reyes to fly out to end the inning. Bobby Lanigan pitched the ninth and navigated around a one-out walk to collect his third save. McHugh (4-3) was saddled with the loss. The B-Mets (21-22) continue their series against the Rock Cats on Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. Zack Wheeler opposes right-hander David Bromberg. Box

DAYTONA 6, ST. LUCIE 5 (10 innings): John Church issued a leadoff walk to Matthew Szczur, who ultimately scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th on Richard Jones' single. Starter Cory Mazzoni allowed three runs in five innings. Left-hander Jack Leathersich was charged with two runs in 2 2/3 in his Florida State League debut. Richard Lucas had two RBIs. Box

SAVANNAH 5, CHARLESTON 3: Trailing 3-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth, T.J. Rivera and Aderlin Rodriguez drew walks, placing the tying and go-ahead runs on base. With two outs, Brian Harrison, who has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games, roped a single to drive in Rivera with the tying run. Charley Thurber followed by ripping a triple to score Rodriguez and Harrison for the decisive two-run margin. Thurber, who finished 2-for-3 with a double, triple and walk, also was responsible for the first Gnats run of the night. In the second, he doubled, advanced to third on center fielder Mason Williams' fielding error and scored on a wild pitch to put the Gnats in front 1-0. In the fourth, Rodriguez lined an RBI single to drive in Rivera for a 2-0 lead. The RiverDogs bounced back to take the lead with a three-run sixth against Savannah reliever Randy Fontanez. Savannah reliever Chasen Bradford worked scoreless seventh and eighth innings with two strikeouts for his first Savannah win. T.J. Chism set down the 'Dogs 1-2-3 in the ninth to earn his sixth save. Savannah starter Alex Panteliodis fought his way through four innings and allowed five hits and three walks, but no runs. Box

Compiled from team reports

BUFFALO 14, GWINNETT 7: Matt Tuiasosopo highlighted a 17-hit attack with a first-inning inside-the-park homer as the Bisons roughed up demoted Braves starter Jair Jurrjens. Jurrjens was charged with 11 runs (10 earned) in 4 2/3 innings. Tuaisosopo became the first Bison to produce the feat since Mike Jacobs on June 9, 2010, and the first to do it in Buffalo since Karim Garcia on June 6, 2001. In that inning, Vinny Rottino had a two-out infield single. Valentino Pascucci followed with a walk, which brought Tuiasosopo to the plate. He hit a fly ball to Braves right fielder Felix Pie that drifted out of his reach. As the ball skipped away, Tuiasosopo motored around the bases and slid headfirst into home. "I think it's my first inside-the-park home run in my career," Tuiasosopo said. After Tuiasosopo's feat, the Herd piled on. On the next pitch, Brad Emaus homered the conventional way for his first long ball as a Bison. The onslaught continued in the third, with Omar Quintanilla hitting a three-run triple for an 8-1 lead. The offense benefited Bisons starter Garrett Olson, who picked up his first 2012 win. The southpaw allowed three runs while striking out six in five innings. In his previous seven starts, three losses and four no-decisions, Olson received 17 total runs of support. Rottino (2-for-4) extended his hitting streak to 19 games. Box

BINGHAMTON 1, TRENTON 0: Jefry Marte ripped a bases-loaded single to right to give Binghamton a walk-off win. It was the B-Mets’ second walk-off win of the season and first 1-0 victory since they defeated New Hampshire in the second game of a doubleheader on July 14, 2011. Collin McHugh struck out six over seven scoreless innings, retiring the final nine Thunder he faced. Matt den Dekker set the table in the ninth by doubling against reliever Preston Claiborne to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, the longest for any B-Met in 2012. Josh Rodriguez followed by bunting up the third-base line. He reached safely when Claiborne failed to handle the tough bouncer. A walk to Reese Havens loaded the bases and set the stage for Marte. McHugh walked one and allowed six hits. It was his longest scoreless start since he tossed seven shutout frames as a Brooklyn Cyclone on Aug. 8, 2009. Brett Marshall was just as good for the Thunder. The 22-year-old matched McHugh with seven scoreless frames, retiring 14 straight B-Mets at one point. Brad Holt (1-0) entered in relief for Binghamton in the eighth and worked around a two-out walk to post a scoreless frame. He worked around another two-out walk in a scoreless ninth. Zack Wheeler pitches Thursday's rubber game opposite right-hander Cory Arbiso. Box

ST. LUCIE 6, BREVARD COUNTY 3
ST. LUCIE 4, BREVARD COUNTY 0: St. Lucie left fielder Rafael Fernandez hit two homers and drove in seven runs in a doubleheader sweep. The Mets used a three-run eighth inning to come away with a Game 1 victory. Blake Forsythe hit a go-ahead RBI triple. Fernandez then ripped a two-run homer. Chris Young pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. He received a no-decision for his second straight Florida State League start. Adrian Rosario pitched 1 1/3 innings and picked up the win in relief. He struck out the side in the seventh. Fernandez hit a two-run double in the fourth to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Wilmer Flores launched a solo blast in the second for his sixth homer. In Game 2, Erik Goeddel pitched six shutout innings. Fernandez had a sacrifice fly RBI in the first inning. The Mets then scored three runs in the third. Robbie Shields drilled a leadoff homer. Fernandez crushed a two-run homer to make it 4-0. Goeddel (2-1) allowed five hits and struck out two over six innings. Adam Kolarek pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts. Box 1, Box 2

CHARLESTON 14, SAVANNAH 5: Starter Alex Panteliodis was charged with eight runs in 3 1/3 innings. Relief Carlos Vazquez allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings. Aderlin Rodriguez had a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth to cap the scoring. Box

Compiled from team reports

BUFFALO 4, GWINNETT 1: Zach Lutz's two-out single plated two runs to cap the scoring in a three-run seventh that broke a 1-all tie. The Bisons have taken the first three of a four-game set with the G-Braves. Oswaldo Navarro and Jean Luc Blaquiere singled to start the decisive inning and advanced on a balk. The bases were loaded when Fred Lewis' single scored Blaquiere. Lutz followed with the exclamation point. Buffalo starter Jeurys Familia allowed one run in six innings, the lone damage coming courtesy of Stefan Gartrell's RBI single in the first inning. Familia (3-1, 4.41 ERA) allowed four hits and struck out six. For the G-Braves, starting pitcher Yohan Flande gave up eight hits but was able to avoid trouble until the seventh. Flande struck out six batters as well, and allowed three runs (two earned) in 6 1/3 innings. After the Bisons took the three-run lead in the top of the seventh, the bullpen stepped in to preserve the lead. Justin Hampson pitched a sound seventh but found some trouble in the eighth, allowing singles to Jose Constanza and Gartrell. But with runners on first and second and one out, Elvin Ramirez relieved Hampson and struck out consecutive batters to end the inning. Ramirez retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his first Triple-A save. Lewis went 3-for-5 with an RBI on the night. Box

NEW BRITAIN 5, BINGHAMTON 1: Jefry Marte’s fielding error in the eighth set the table for a four-run inning as the Rock Cats completed a two-game series sweep. With the game tied at 1, Marte booted Joe Benson’s groundball to third to start the eighth. The Rock Cats tagged reliever Erik Turgeon for four hits, including three doubles, and scored four unearned runs to take the lead for good. For the second straight game, the B-Mets grabbed the lead first. In the second, Binghamton collected three consecutive singles against starter Steve Hirschfeld to get on the board. Marte and Raul Reyes started the rally with hits and Juan Lagares gave Binghamton a 1-0 lead with a single. The disastrous eighth overshadowed another strong pitching performance from B-Mets starter Collin McHugh. The right-hander allowed one run on six hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out four. His only blemish was Wilkin Ramirez's solo homer in the seventh. Turgeon (1-3) took over for McHugh in the eighth when things came unglued. Deibinson Romero and Danny Lehmann supplied RBI doubles and James Beresford supplied a run-scoring single. After getting on the board in the second, the B-Mets offense went silent. Binghamton had three hits after the third inning. The B-Mets (14-17) now head to Manchester to start a four-game series against the Fisher Cats on Thursday. Zack Wheeler is due to return from the disabled list for a fingernail issue in the opener. Box

ST. LUCIE 4, BREVARD COUNTY 2: Jenrry Mejia pitched five solid innings in his first minor league start since before Tommy John surgery on May 16, 2011 and the Mets pushed across the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. Mejia allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and one strikeout. Mejia pitched five games with Triple-A Buffalo last season before the injury. Angel Cuan (3-1) tossed three scoreless innings in relief to pick up the victory. Cuan allowed one hit and struck out two. Adrian Rosario pitched a scoreless ninth inning and recorded a pair of strikeouts for his ninth save. The Mets took their first lead in the eighth. Wilfredo Tovar hit a leadoff double. Danny Muno reached on a bunt single and Robbie Shields followed with a walk to load the bases with no outs. Wilmer Flores grounded into a double play as Tovar scored the go-ahead run. In the ninth, Cesar Puello tripled and scored on an errant throw past third base. The Mets trailed 1-0 entering the third inning, before pushing across a run to even the score. Alonzo Harris singled and reached second on a balk. Tovar delivered an RBI double. In the fourth, Rafael Fernandez ripped his first homer of the season, a game-tying solo blast over the right-field fence. Chris Young is due to throw 75 pitches for St. Lucie at Brevard County on Thursday. Box

Compiled from team reports

BUFFALO 6, SYRACUSE 5: Buffalo (16-11) scored two runs in the sixth inning and two more in the eighth for its sixth win in the last seven games. Eleven of the Herd's wins have come in games in which it has trailed. On Thursday, Syracuse took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth before the Herd rallied. Rob Johnson homered to lead off the frame and pinch hitter Michael Fisher scored all the way from first on Dustin Martin's double to tie the score. In the eighth, Bisons manager Wally Backman went to the bench three times to scratch across a pair of runs. A single from Brad Emaus and a double from Johnson had the Herd set up at second and third with no outs. Pinch hitter No. 1 Valentino Pascucci struck out and pinch hitter No. 2 Bobby Scales was intentionally walked. Pinch hitter No. 3 Lucas May then beat out a potential inning-ending double play to allow a run to score. Vinny Rottino added much-needed insurance with an RBI single. It proved to be the game-deciding run. Rottino had two hits, extending his hitting streak to a Bisons season-high 14 games. The win for Buffalo went to reliever Jack Egbert, who got the Herd out of a jam in the seventh. Fernando Cabrera pitched the ninth for his sixth save. Jeurys Familia started for the Bisons and allowed three runs (two earned) in five innings. He also had an RBI double in the second inning -- the sixth RBI by a Bisons pitcher this season, matching last year's total. In two games since being activated from the DL, Johnson is 5-for-7 with double, triple, homer and two RBIs. Mets right-hander D.J. Carrasco joined the Bisons on his rehab assignment and allowed a sixth-inning homer to Carlos Maldonado. He also picked up a strikeout in one inning. Box

BINGHAMTON 7, AKRON 3: Collin McHugh tossed 7 1/3 strong innings and Raul Reyes ripped a three-run homer as the B-Mets avoided getting swept in the four-game series. Facing spot starter Mason Radeke, the B-Mets took advantage of a rare Akron error in the first. A two-out walk to Reese Havens started the rally and shortstop Juan Diaz’s fielding error on Jefry Marte’s groundball set the table for Reyes. It was Akron’s 14th error as team, fewest in the Eastern League. Reyes cashed in by ripping his first long ball of the season. Binghamton doubled its lead in the fourth against former B-Met Jose De La Torre. Juan Lagares greeted the reliever by doubling. Travis Ozga brought him home by banging a double. Juan Centeno pushed Ozga to third my dribbling a single to the pitcher’s mound. Matt den Dekker plated Ozga with a sac fly. Josh Rodriguez gave Binghamton a six-run edge my lacing a double. Pedro Zapata and den Dekker laced back-to-back doubles to tack on another run in the sixth. It was all McHugh needed to rack up his team-leading fourth win. After side-stepping trouble in the first two innings, the righty cruised from the third onward. He retired 18 of 19 Aeros before Michel Hernandez doubled in the eighth. McHugh’s night was done after allowing run-scoring hits to Tim Fedroff and Juan Diaz. McHugh’s 7 1/3 innings were the most by any B-Met starter this year. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out five while walking one. Erik Turgeon took over and allowed an RBI single to Jared Goedert before getting two outs to end the frame. Robert Carson tossed a perfect ninth to cap the victory. Box

JUPITER 6, ST. LUCIE 1: St. Lucie's seven-game winning streak was snapped despite Cory Vaughn delivering his team-leading seventh homer in the fourth inning. Vaughn drilled Matt Neil's offering over the left-center fence to cut the deficit to 3-1. Mets left-hander Angel Cuan (2-1) was dealt the loss, despite tossing six innings and allowing three runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Ryan Fraser allowed one run on three hits in two relief innings. John Church pitched the ninth and gave up two runs on one hit. Jupiter took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on home runs by Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto. The Hammerheads picked up a run in the fifth after a balk was issued to Cuan to allow Yeison Hernandez to score from third. Hernandez delivered an RBI single in the seventh off Fraser to extend the lead to 4-1. Jupiter loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. Third baseman Wilmer Flores' throw toward second base on a potential double-play chance sailed into right field. The error allowed two runs to score. Box

SAVANNAH 3, DELMARVA 1: Domingo Tapia was dominant over 7 1/3 innings, in the longest start this season by a Gnats pitcher. The Gnats (16-11) won their fourth straight. Tapia gave up a pair of singles in the first inning, but escaped trouble with the help of third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez, who threw out a runner at the plate for the inning’s second out. That began a stretch during which Tapia (2-1) set down 14 batters in a row through the end of the fifth. The Gnats opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Brandon Brown led off with a double and scored on DH Travis Taijeron’s single. Albert Cordero gave the Gnats a 2-0 advantage with a solo homer in the second. It was his first longball this season. Savannah made it 3-0 in the sixth. Taijeron reached on an infield single and scored on Charley Thurber’s triple. The Shorebirds (13-13) scored their only run in the eighth. After Tapia recorded the first out of the frame, a single and walk chased him. Reliever Estarlin Morel walked No. 9 hitter Mychal Givens to load the bases. He then gave up a sacrifice fly to Glynn Davis. With the tying run at first base, Gnats left fielder Gregory Pron made a diving catch to take a base hit away from the subsequent batter, Sammie Starr, to end the frame and preserve a two-run lead. Morel worked an uneventful ninth to wrap up his second save. The Gnats look for the sweep Friday when right-hander Tyler Pill (2-1, 2.11) opposes right-hander Tyler Wilson (3-1, 2.45). Box

Compiled from team reports

BUFFALO 4, ROCHESTER 3: Vinny Rottino's RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning drove home Omar Quintanilla with the winning run. Buffalo (13-10) has now won three straight and eight of its past 11 games. The Herd is a season-best three games over .500. Rottino brought a nine-game hitting streak into the contest, but was staring at an 0-for-4 day before getting his chance in the ninth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, he drove an offering from Rochester reliever Esmerling Vasquez back through the middle. Just as Quintanilla crossed the plate, the rest of the Bisons mobbed Rottino at first base. The Bisons loaded the bases for Rottino without hitting the ball out of the infield. Quintanilla was hit by Vasquez to lead off the inning and then sacrificed to second by Andres Torres. Rochester intentionally walked Bobby Scales and unintentionally issued a free pass to Valentino Pascucci to load the bases. Buffalo had built a 3-0 advantage through the first three innings. In his first game against his former team, Dustin Martin hit a solo homer to deep left-center in the second inning. Martin, who signed with the Mets on Wednesday, played 392 games over the past three seasons with Rochester. The Bisons added two runs in the third inning. Red Wings third baseman Ray Chang hit Torres in the back on an attempted force play at home. Matt Tuiasosopo followed with a sacrifice fly. Rochester scored two in the fifth, on Joe Benson's homer, and once in the sixth on Brian Dozier's RBI single. Jeremy Hefner started for Buffalo and worked a Bisons season-best 7 2/3 innings. The righty did not issue a walk and struck out five in his first game since being optioned back from the Mets. Pascucci singled in the seventh inning to increase his hitting streak to 12 games. The stretch is the second-longest active streak in the International League. Torres went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in his second game with the Herd. He is expected to travel to Houston on Sunday and be activated from the DL for Monday's series opener. Box

ERIE 3, BINGHAMTON 2: The B-Mets left nine men on base, including the potential tying run at second in the ninth. B-Mets starter Collin McHugh battled low temperatures and command issues in the first two innings, walking four and reaching a full count against five batters. In spite of the difficulties, he managed to escape unharmed with two scoreless innings. After working quick innings in the third and fourth, McHugh ran into a roadblock in the fifth. He allowed his first hit with one out, on an infield single to short by Niuman Romero. After Brandon Douglas sneaked a bunt single to third, both runners moved up an additional base when Jefry Marte uncorked a wild throw to first. Rob Brantly gave Erie the lead by lacing a two-run, opposite-field double. The hit ended McHugh’s day after 4 1/3 innings. He walked a season-high four and struck out four. Kevin Mulvey entered and surrendered an RBI single to Ben Guez, giving the SeaWolves a three-run edge. Binghamton finally plated a run without the benefit of a hit in the seventh. After cruising through six frames, Avery pitched himself out of the game by walking Travis Ozga and Rafael Fernandez. Reliever Michael Morrison replaced him and walked Kai Gronauer and uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Ozga to score Binghamton’s first run. Pedro Zapata flied out to end the inning. The walks continued in the eighth. Morrison was pulled after putting the first three on base, all via base on balls. Marte greeted reliever Kenny Faulk with a bloop single, scoring Matt den Dekker. The single by Marte was Binghamton’s first hit with a runner in scoring position in more than 29 innings. Faulk retired the next three he faced to preserve the one-run lead. Binghamton pushed the tying run to second in the ninth against Faulk, but failed to come through with the big hit. Zapata reached on an infield single and swiped second base with two outs. He was stranded when Oswaldo Navarro struck out. McHugh (3-2) had his three-game winning streak snapped. Zack Wheeler opposes right-hander Mark Sorensen on Sunday. Box

ST. LUCIE 4, FORT MYERS 0: Cory Mazzoni tossed five scoreless innings and combined with relievers Ryan Fraser, Taylor Whitenton and Adam Kolarek on the shutout. Cory Vaughn produced his fourth homer, a solo shot in the fourth inning that opened the scoring. Alonzo Harris went 3-for-4 with a double and scored twice. Box

LEXINGTON 5, SAVANNAH 4 (11 innings): T.J. Chism surrendered a walk-off homer to Drew Muren to lead off the bottom of the 11th. T.J. Rivera belted a three-run homer and drove in all four runs in the loss. Box

Compiled from team reports

Double-A Binghamton pitcher Collin McHugh, an 18th-round pick in 2008 who hails from Atlanta, chronicles his life as a Mets minor leaguer on his personal blog, "A Day Older, A Day Wiser." He will periodically have those entries carried on ESPNNewYork.com as well.

It should have been just another day. Nothing was particularly special about it. For the last five years I have been throwing bullpens (defined as a session of throwing from the mound to a catcher in between starts) regularly. By regularly I mean once every five days during the season and about 10-12 during the offseason. Let's say 40 per year, for five years ... that's a total of roughly 200 bullpens. It should be easy by now, right? Wrong.

I warmed up like I always do. Playing catch out to about 100 feet and working my way back in, throwing changeups and sinkers as I work the ball down to my partner's knees. Once my arm felt warm (a term that is very relative in the Binghamton cold) I headed to the bullpen mound. There are always a couple relievers that like to throw a few pitches off the mound every day, so I let them go first. Sitting behind them and watching intently just in case I can pick up, I felt good. There was absolutely nothing special about this particular side session. It was now my turn to throw. I toed the rubber and began.

With the catcher up in front of home plate I threw a few fastballs away to get the feel of the decline. It's a different sensation than throwing on flat ground and at times it can be tough to get your timing correct when you add the slope. I didn't skip any up there nor throw any to the backstop, but I also didn't hit the mitt once. I motioned for the catcher to head back behind the dish. As always, he did as he was told. Now the week before, I was having trouble with throwing the ball to my glove side (in to a lefty, away from a righty), so my pitching coach decided a little visual tool might help my concentration and execution. He told the catcher to set up a tiny cone on the outside corner of the plate. The catcher, again, did as he was told. My goal was to throw the ball right above that cone and repeat the feel of doing it consistently. My first three or four pitches were close, but not quite where I wanted. I'm a perfectionist. I demand more of myself than most. The next couple pitches were even further off target. I pulled a fastball way outside and then left one right over the heart of the plate.

The pendulum of adjustments were swinging to both extremes. I could feel my blood pressure begin to rise. I stepped off the rubber, took a deep breath and tried my best to regain concentration. Deciding that throwing glove side wasn't working, I moved the catcher to the other side of the plate. He did as he was told. I threw a good sinker. It had depth. It was firm. It felt right. All I had to do was repeat that same pitch and build some muscle memory. I bounced the next one 55 feet. It hit the catcher in the chest and shot some dirt into his mask. He wiped down his face, looked at the ball to see if it had any scuffs and threw it back. Why was this so hard today?

I figured at the very least I could throw a few offspeed pitches to get a feel for the ball, then I would go back to the fastball. Changeup ... ball. Cutter ... backstop. Curve ... bounced. The catcher stood up and took his mask off. He motioned to me to calm down a bit. Tossing me the ball, I speared it with my glove in disgust. There were five more pitches in my bullpen. I knew that with just five good strikes I could right my world and feel completely prepared for my next outing. It was time to concentrate. Time for the focus that got my where I am today. For goodness sake, I'm a professional athlete. This shouldn't be so hard.

As any reader could probably guess, the next five pitches were progressively worse. The last pitch skipped up to the already worn out catcher. He snagged it and tossed it back, thankful that the monstrosity of a bullpen was over. Fuming and ready to make a scene, I caught the ball and proceeded to hurl it about 100 feet over the fence. I shook my catcher's hand and walked away without a word. No one said anything. The other pitchers who were watching just stared, wide-eyed. I was usually the calm one. The one that doesn't get rattled. The "professor." Not so that day. I did my running and my workout and hoped that the memory of that side would quickly fade. It didn't.

I stewed over it for the next hour. Beating myself up over the lack of focus and poor execution. I would define it as sulking, but that would be an understatement. My pitching coach, the witness to the day's tragedy, saw me by my locker and came by for a word.

"We all have days like this, Mac. Don't beat yourself up about it. Gotta have short memory. Real Short."

Good advice from a man with years of experience with anxiety-ridden pitchers like myself. I took it to heart and acted as if it literally never happened. Easier said than done, but I was determined to leave it where I left it ... 100 feet over the fence.

Silver lining: I threw six innings two days later. I was sharp. The bad bullpen was far behind me and the road ahead was clear. For such a heady game, baseball is a sport where a short memory is an undervalued asset. Some days you learn from mistakes, take in a lesson and build on it for the next time around. Some days, however, you just need to throw out. They aren't you and they aren't productive. You just have to throw them out and start fresh the next day.

The lesson for the day is to categorize which ones to learn from and which ones to toss over the fence.

Click here to visit Collin McHugh's blog

BUFFALO 6, SYRACUSE 1
SYRACUSE 1, BUFFALO 0: Two of the International League's closest rivals split a twinbill as Buffalo took the first game on the strength of a three-hit performance from Omar Quintanilla, then Corey Brown's fourth-inning homer accounted for the only scoring in the nightcap. In both games, the Bisons got solid starting pitching. Jeurys Familia (2-1) earned his second Triple-A win with eight strikeouts in five innings in the opener. In Game 2, Chris Schwinden (2-2) was the hard-luck loser with the team's first complete game of the season. Schwinden allowed one run on three hits and no walks. In the opener, Zach Lutz hit a no-doubt two-run homer to give the Herd a second-inning lead. Josh Satin singled home Jordany Valdespin in the third for a 3-1 advantage. Quintanilla's third hit of the game was a bases-loaded double in the sixth. The lone damage against Familia came on Bryce Harper's first Triple-A homer. Jack Egbert was also solid on the mound, pitching two scoreless innings in relief of Familia. The Bisons had just three hits in Game 2, two by Matt Tuiasosopo, but had their chances to score. Buffalo put the first two men on base in the fifth inning, but Vinny Rottino was thrown out at third on a double steal. Raul Reyes walked to lead off the sixth and reached third base with one out. Chiefs starter Tanner Roark then retired Satin and Lutz to escape that jam. In the seventh, Rottino walked and Tuiasosopo singled to lead off the frame. But a failed bunt attempt by Lucas May and a double play off the bat of Quintanilla ended the contest. Still, combined with the Bisons' win on Friday night, the club picked up its first series win of 2012. Now at 9-9, the Herd will travel to Lehigh Valley for Monday's start to a three-game series. Game 1, Game 2

BINGHAMTON 7, PORTLAND 2: Rylan Sandoval had four RBIs and Collin McHugh fired six strong innings as Binghamton swept the four-game series. It marked the third time in the series and fifth time in the last eight games the B-Mets have collected 10 or more hits. Juan Lagares started the onslaught in the second with a single off Portland starter Brock Huntzinger. Juan Centeno added a single and Joe Bonfe walked to load the bases. Sandoval then doubled off the right-center fence. The hit cleared the bases and gave Binghamton a 3-0 lead. Matt den Dekker doubled Sandoval home. From there, McHugh cruised to his third straight victory, tying him for the Eastern League lead. He racked up six strikeouts for the third straight game and allowed one unearned run on two hits. After putting up four scoreless innings, Portland finally scratched out a run in the fifth. Ronald Bermudez reached on a throwing error by Oswaldo Navarro at third. He moved to second on a wild pitch and scored two batters later when Jeremy Hazelbaker dumped a ball into left field. McHugh escaped the inning with no further damage and posted a perfect sixth to cap his day. The B-Mets added to their lead in the fourth. Pedro Zapata bunted his way aboard and stole second. After gaining third on a wild pitch, he scored when Sandoval tripled -- his second three-bagger as a B-Met. Den Dekker made it 6-1 with a sacrifice fly. Huntzinger was pulled after surrendering a single to Josh Rodriguez. Binghamton plated its final run on an RBI single by Rodriguez in the sixth. He became the first B-Met to collect four hits in a game since Brahiam Maldonado in August 2011. Armando Rodriguez took the mound and worked around a leadoff single to post a scoreless seventh. He then needed 12 pitches to work a perfect eighth. Edgar Ramirez surrendered a run in the ninth before retiring Hazelbaker on a groundout to first to end the game. The B-Mets (9-7) enjoy an off day on Monday before kicking off a three-game series against New Hampshire on Tuesday at NYSEG Stadium. Zack Wheeler takes the ball for Binghamton. Box

ST. LUCIE 9, FORT MYERS 8: Danny Muno's double scored Wilfredo Tovar in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off win. St. Lucie overcame a 6-0 deficit. Muno had a two-run homer in a five-run fifth that pulled the Mets within a run. Robbie Shields and Muno had three hits apiece, while Tovar scored three times. Box

HICKORY 1, SAVANNAH 0 (5 innings): Hickory won in a game that was called after five innings due to wet grounds at Historic Grayson Stadium. The Crawdads (12-5) swept the four-game series from the Gnats (10-8). Savannah is off on Monday. It begins a seven-game road trip in Charleston, W.Va., Tuesday. The Crawdads scored the game’s only run in the third. With one out, Chris Grayson doubled. Ensuing batter Hanser Alberto lined a ball up the middle. Gnats pitcher Michael Fulmer snared the liner on a fly and threw to second base to attempt to complete a double play. However, second base was unoccupied, and the throw went into center field. Grayson headed to third, and scored when center fielder Tillman Pugh’s throw to third bounced away from Savannah third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez and went out of play. Fulmer worked one 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, but took his second loss of 2012 despite allowing only the unearned run. Box

Compiled from team reports

BUFFALO 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 1: Chris Schwinden induced 12 fly-ball outs over seven innings of one-run ball as the Herd snapped Lehigh Valley's six-game winning streak. Schwinden faced five more than the minimum through his seven innings. He struck out only one batter, but also only issued a one walk. The righty kept the outfielders busy with four fly-ball outs to left field, five to center and three more to right. Schwinden didn't allow more than one baserunner in any inning. The duo of Jack Egbert and Fernando Cabrera then kept the lead intact. Egbert increased his scoreless-innings streak to begin the season to eight with a 1-2-3 eighth. Cabrera worked the ninth for his third save. Trailing 1-0, the Bisons took the lead with two runs in the fifth inning against ex-Met Pat Misch. Lucas May hit Buffalo's first triple of the year to score Vinny Rottino from first base. Omar Quintanilla then gave the Herd the lead with a run-scoring groundout. Bobby Scales added insurance with a solo homer in the sixth. Scales also singled in the eighth to continue his streak of reaching base twice in all 10 games he has started this season. Buffalo plated a fourth run in the ninth inning when Domonic Brown dropped a deep fly ball off the bat of Josh Satin. Jordany Valdespin finished the game 0-for-4 and saw an end to his seven-game hitting streak. Zach Lutz went 2-for-3 to raise his average to .364. It was Lutz's fourth multi-hit game this homestand. Before May, the last Bisons catcher to triple was Josh Thole, on May 9, 2010 in Indianapolis. Misch (1-2) was charged with three runs and five hits while striking out two in 5 2/3 innings. Box

BINGHAMTON 10, NEW HAMPSHIRE 6: The B-Mets sent 10 men to the plate and scored six runs in the third inning. Binghamton started the scoring early against New Hampshire starter Chad Jenkins. Sean Kazmar led off the game by walking and Oswaldo Navarro followed with a single. Matt den Dekker gave the B-Mets the lead and extended his hitting streak to nine games by ripping an RBI single past Mike McDade at first base. Navarro scored one batter later when Eric Campbell bounced into a double play. Binghamton truly turned up the heat in the third. The B-Mets set a season high for runs in an inning by crossing home six times on seven hits. Navarro, den Dekker, Campbell and Juan Lagares pounded out consecutive hits against Jenkins. Following a flyout by Travis Ozga, the B-Mets chased Jenkins with three straight hits, capped by Rylan Sandoval’s two-run triple. It was Sandoval’s first hit as a B-Met. Matt Wright entered in relief and doused the flames by inducing Kazmar to ground out. Wright struck out the side in order in the fourth, but hit a speed bump with two outs in the fifth. Josh Rodriguez started the rally by producing his first homer of the season. Juan Centeno followed with a double. He scored two batters later on Kazmar’s single. B-Mets starter Collin McHugh earned his second win of the trip. For the second straight start, McHugh racked up six strikeouts. He capped his night by fanning Brian Van Kirk to end the fifth. The righty allowed one run on four hits and walked two. His only blemish was a solo homer by Mark Sobolewski in the second. Up 10-1, Kevin Mulvey allowed the first three to reach to start the seventh, in his second inning. Ryan Goins cleared the bases with a triple. He scored one batter later on Van Kirk’s sacrifice fly. After a double and a walk, Robert Carson relieved Mulvey and ended the threat. The southpaw allowed the first two to reach in the eighth, but retired the next three Fisher Cats to post 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Josh Edgin took over in the ninth. Brad Glenn blasted a one-out solo homer. A.J. Jimenez followed by flying out and Sobolewski struck out to end the game. The B-Mets (5-6) complete their first trip of the season Wednesday night. It will be a matchup of top prospects as right-hander Zack Wheeler opposes right-hander Deck McGuire. Box

ST. LUCIE 6, CHARLOTTE 1: Gonzalez Germen limited Charlotte to one run on two hits and three walks while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings. Relievers John Church, Adam Kolarek and Adrian Rosario combined to blank the Stone Crabs, surrendering only one hit and one walk, the rest of the way. Wilmer Flores went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a walk and two RBIs. Cesar Puello and Wilfredo Tovar also had two hits apiece. Box

SAVANNAH 2, ROME 1 (suspended): The game was halted in the top of the fifth inning because of a power failure. Before the stoppage, Aderlin Rodriguez contributed an RBI triple and scored on Dustin Lawley's sacrifice fly in the third. The game will resume Wednesday. Box

Compiled from team reports

David Wright visited a hand specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery on Thursday, who reiterated that Wright could test his broken pinkie swinging Friday and play if pain tolerance allows. Wright suffered the fracture Monday, diving back into first base on a pickoff throw from Washington's Edwin Jackson.

If Wright remains unavailable, Ronny Cedeno could start at third base in tonight's series opener in Philadelphia, which features R.A. Dickey against Cliff Lee. If Terry Collins thought Wright would miss any length of time -- which the manager now does not -- Daniel Murphy would shift to third base. Read the series preview here.

Friday's news reports:

• Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger retells the story of why rookie center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis picked playing baseball at Azusa Pacific University rather than football at the University of Colorado. On a recruiting trip to Boulder, Nieuwenhuis spotted an intimidatingly sized player working out. It turned out to be the kicker, Mason Crosby, now of the Green Bay Packers. “I was like, ‘If this guy’s the kicker, what am I getting myself into?’" Nieuwenhuis told McCullough. Nieuwenhuis also was recruited by Colorado State and Air Force for football.

• Tyler Kepner in the Times notes the Phillies, despite a 3-3 record, are having difficulty scoring runs. In fact, minus Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, the Phillies have scored 18 runs through six games -- with seven of those coming in one game. Yet Philadelphia is stocked at pitching with Roy Halladay, Lee and Cole Hamels atop its rotation, and able to compensate. “Runs are down, they continue to be down, and it’s going to get worse, probably, as far as offense is concerned, because pitching is the most important part of the game," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro tells Kepner about baseball's current landscape."I believe in it.” Adds Kepner:

As the Phillies’ general manager, Amaro has built teams that increasingly reflect that belief. As the team has collected aces, the offense has slipped by comparison. The 2009 Phillies scored the most runs in the National League and allowed the sixth fewest. The 2010 team was fairly balanced, and by 2011, the rankings had virtually flipped. The Phillies ranked only seventh in runs scored but allowed the fewest runs in the league. When their pitchers were not at their sharpest in the playoffs against St. Louis, a feeble offense doomed them to defeat. Now the disparity seems to be growing.

• Wright is under the Mets' control through 2013, including a team option. And Andy Martino in the Daily News notes the Mets are holding off conducting extension talks now. The reason: It makes sense to see if Wright will be the player who can produce like he was in the season's first four games, or whether as a player who turns 30 in December he is at a stage where his production may irreversibly slip. Read more on Wright's pinkie/status in Newsday, the Record, Post and Times.

• Collin McHugh limited Portland to one run in 6 2/3 innings and Jefry Marte had three RBIs in Binghamton's 5-1 win. Read the full minor league report here.

• After Justin Turner shoved a shaving-cream pie in Murphy's face following Monday's walk-off win, rather than the preferred whipped-cream pie, Brian Costa in the Journal investigated the origins of the pie-to-the-face tradition. Writes Costa:

There are newspaper references to players being doused with shaving cream after wins as early as the 1960s. But pieing is a more recent phenomenon. Ron Darling, who pitched for the Mets from 1983 to 1991, said it was unheard of when he played. "If somebody had thrown a pie in my face, I would've hit them," Darling said. Dave Racaniello, the Mets' longtime bullpen catcher, recalled former closer John Franco lobbing a few pies in the early 2000s, but only occasionally.

• Ken Belson in the Times profiles Ralph Kiner, who turns 90 on Oct. 27. Writes Belson:

Ralph Kiner’s 50-year career as a Mets announcer started with a bang in 1962. During his first postgame show, Kiner’s guest was Casey Stengel, the omnipresent manager of the fledgling Mets who could fill an entire show with tales tall and small. They sat in a makeshift studio beneath the stands at the Polo Grounds. The interview went smoothly until Kiner thanked Stengel, who got up to leave even though they were still on air. Stengel also forgot to take off the microphone around his neck and, in his haste, pulled down the entire set as he exited.

Belson also recalled Kiner charmingly once saying on air: “It’s Father’s Day today at Shea, so to all you fathers out there, happy birthday.” Gary Cohen told Belson: “He is as comfortable in his skin as anyone I know. While he never played for the Mets or another New York team, he embodies the history of the Mets.”

TRIVIA: Cole Hamels lost consecutive 1-0 starts to the Mets in August 2010. Which starting pitchers did he face in those two games?

Thursday's answer: A.J. Burnett is the current major leaguer who had the most career starts against the Mets before finally picking up a win. Burnett was 0-5 with six no-decisions in his first 11 starts against the Mets before finally notching a victory as a Marlin on Sept. 7, 2004.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 7, BUFFALO 2: In a game that included 18 walks, Ray Kruml and Brandon Laird each had two-run doubles to power the Yankees. Three of the 10 free passes issued by Bisons pitching came around to score. Starter Chris Schwinden (1-1) issued five of the walks, in four innings. Walks to Laird and Colin Curtis in the second helped Scranton/Wilkes-Barre load the bases with one out. Ramiro Pena singled home the first Yankee run to cut into an early 2-0 Bisons advantage. Kruml followed with a double to give the Yanks a 3-2 edge. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre increased its lead with Steven Pearce's solo homer off reliever Daniel Herrera in the fifth. The Yankees scored three more times, on three hits and three walks, in the seventh. One of those hits was Laird's two-run double. While the 10 walks issued by the Bisons fell four shy of the modern-era record, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Curtis got himself in the books as only the second opponent to be issued five walks. The only other player to walk five times against the Herd was New Orlean Zephyr Todd Haney on Aug. 5, 1997. Curtis finished the game without an official at-bat. The Bisons had a chance to break the game open early but left the bases loaded in the first and second innings. Zach Lutz singled home one of the team's two runs to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Valentino Pascucci and Josh Satin each walked twice for the Bisons. Vinny Rottino drove in the Bisons' first run with a sacrifice fly. The Bisons bullpen gave up four runs after allowing five total in the first seven games. Box

BINGHAMTON 5, PORTLAND 1: The B-Mets packed five runs and five hits into their first three innings and Collin McHugh struck out a season-high six to earn his first win. Binghamton struck first against Portland starter Brock Huntzinger. Huntzinger allowed a pair of two-out walks and single to Allan Dykstra. Jefry Marte made the righty pay by lining a two-run single to left field. The two-run lead did not last. Juan Carlos Linares launched the first pitch he saw from McHugh over the center-field fence to lead off the first inning for Portland. The Sea Dogs then loaded the bases on three singles, but failed to score again. The B-Mets struck back in the third. After a pair of singles and a walk, Marte bounced into a fielder’s choice to plate Binghamton’s third run. Josh Rodriguez followed by crushing a two-run double that one-hopped the fence, giving the B-Mets a 5-1 lead. McHugh settled in after his rocky first inning. He did not face more than four batters in any of his remaining six innings. At one point, McHugh retired 10 straight Sea Dogs. He nearly completed seven innings, but a throwing error by shortstop Sean Kazmar extended the frame. A hard-hit single by Linares chased McHugh and prompted B-Mets manager Pedro Lopez to summon Elvin Ramirez. He entered and struck out Derrik Gibson to end the threat. Ramirez struck out the side in order in the eighth. Josh Edgin worked around two singles to post a scoreless. McHugh (1-1) allowed one run on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. He did not issue any walks and racked up six strikeouts. The B-Mets (3-3) continue their four-game series against the Sea Dogs on Friday night with Zack Wheeler opposing Portland left-hander Chris Hernandez. Box

PALM BEACH 3, ST. LUCIE 1: Danny Muno led off the game with a homer, but that was the lone run St. Lucie produced as its five-game winning streak ended. Robbie Shields had two of the Mets' six hits to lift his average to .471. Starter Gonzalez Germen limited Palm Beach to one run in five innings. Cesar Puello, who has been sidelined since fouling a ball off his foot in the season's second game, is expected to return to the lineup Friday. Fellow outfielder Darrell Ceciliani suffered a right-hamstring strain running to first base on his walk-off homer Monday and remains sidelined. Box

AUGUSTA 4, SAVANNAH 0: Estarlin Morel tossed three scoreless relief innings in the loss. Travis Taijeron went 1-for-2 with two walks. Box

Compiled from team reports

With his father, former major league outfielder Greg Vaughn, watching from the stands in Salisbury, Md., last summer, Cory Vaughn homered in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

Then, once fellow center fielder Matt den Dekker moved from high-A St. Lucie to Double-A Binghamton -- and once Vaughn’s low-A Savannah team clinched its first-half division title -- Vaughn was promoted to St. Lucie.

He had a subpar transition to the higher level.

Vaughn hit a modest .219 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 210 at-bats, along with two steals in five attempts in the Florida State League.

Now, though, Vaughn is repeating at that level. And with last year’s acclimation period behind him, the 22-year-old outfielder figures he should enjoy a solid first half and use that as a springboard to move onto Binghamton.

Vaughn, a fourth-round pick in 2010 out of San Diego State, where he played for Tony Gwynn, is hitting .333 with three doubles, a homer and four RBIs through five games this season with St. Lucie.

“It was a little bit of everything,” Vaughn said about last season’s adjustment period to high-A. “I wasn’t really as comfortable. I was the new guy there, different coaches. And the pitchers had a better idea of how to attack you. You had to change the game plan a little bit, and you couldn’t just go out there and try to wing it. You really had to come with an approach. It just took me a little bit to get used to that.”

Vaughn’s background is far deeper than growing up in a major league household. His father played 15 major league seasons, primarily for Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and San Diego.

Vaughn was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at 11 years old and continues to have to closely monitor his blood sugar levels, even during games. He keeps a test kit on the bench and carries a pump in his back pocket while in the outfield.

“It’s just part of it,” Vaughn said. “Basically, I just have to test my blood sugar six to seven times a day -- sometimes more during the game, because I want to make sure I’m on top of it. I have to count carbs. I go to an endocrinologist every three to six months just to make sure my hemoglobin A1c is all right, which is basically just a calculation of your blood sugar the past six months. It’s really not that bad besides just counting carbs and trying to lay off sweets here and there.

“I’m pretty used to it right now.”

Vaughn, by the way, said he is not the most successful of his siblings athletically. His 17-year-old sister Genay is an accomplished equestrian rider. Vaughn believes she may represent the United States in the Olympics in London this summer.

“She has a really good shot,” Vaughn said. “She’s 17, but she’s riding against people who are 30 and stuff.”

As for the outfield, Vaughn primarily has played right field as a professional. But this season in St. Lucie, so far he only has played left field.

“They told me they wanted me to start working into left field, because they said they want me to be able to play all the positions, which I guess helps me out in the long run,” Vaughn said. “I’ve just been taking balls in left, right, center -- a little bit here and there -- and just getting used to all the different spots.”

Organization leaders

Average: Darrell Ceciliani, St. Lucie, .444; Dustin Lawley, Savannah, .400; Jefry Marte, Binghamton, .375; T.J. Rivera, Savannah, .348; Luis Nieves, Savannah, .333; Vinny Rottino, Buffalo, .333; Cory Vaughn, St. Lucie, .333; Zach Lutz, Buffalo, .300; Richard Lucas, St. Lucie, .294; Allan Dykstra, Binghamton, .267.

Homers: Valentino Pascucci, Buffalo, 3; Aderlin Rodriguez, Savannah, 2.

RBI: Aderlin Rodriguez, Savannah, 9.

Steals: Danny Muno, St. Lucie, 4.

ERA: Daniel Herrera, Buffalo, 0.00; Darin Gorski, Binghamton, 0.00; Kevin Mulvey, Binghamton, 0.00; Greg Peavey, Binghamton, 0.00; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 0.00; Chase Huchingson, St. Lucie, 0.00; Cory Mazzoni, St. Lucie, 0.00; Marcos Camarena, Savannah, 0.00; Jack Leathersich, Savannah, 0.00; Alex Panteliodis, Savannah, 0.00; Tyler Pill, Savannah, 0.00; Logan Verrett, Savannah, 0.00; Jared West, Savannah, 0.00.

Wins: Jeremy Hefner, Buffalo, 1; Dylan Owen, Buffalo, 1; Chris Schwinden, Buffalo, 1; Darin Gorski, Binghamton, 1; Greg Peavey, Binghamton, 1; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 1; Gonzalez Germen, St. Lucie, 1; Chase Huchingson, St. Lucie, 1; Jeffrey Kaplan, St. Lucie, 1; Alex Panteliodis, Savannah, 1; Carlos Vazquez, Savannah, 1; Jared West, Savannah, 1.

Saves: Fernando Cabrera, Buffalo, 2; Josh Edgin, Binghamton, 1; Daniel Herrera, Buffalo, 1.

Strikeouts: Jack Leathersich, Savannah, 9; Marcos Camarena, Savannah, 8; Darin Gorski, Binhgamton, 7; Matt Harvey, Buffalo, 7; Tyler Pill, Savannah, 7.

Short hops

• 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey’s first two Triple-A starts had mixed results. On Opening Day for the Bisons in Pawtucket, Harvey allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks while also uncorking two wild pitches in a 95-pitch effort that lasted only 4 1/3 innings. Harvey was erratic up in the zone. That prompted a between-starts bullpen session with pitching coach Mark Brewer in which they worked to get full extension and a downward plane; Harvey had been opening up his front shoulder and the ball was coming out flat. In Triple-A start No. 2 on Tuesday night, Harvey allowed two runs, seven hits and a walk while striking out four Rochester batters in a 92-pitch effort that lasted five innings.

• Buffalo’s other highly regarded pitching prospect, Jeurys Familia, limited Pawtucket to one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four in a 95-pitch effort over 4 2/3 innings in his Triple-A debut Friday. Amped up early, Familia faced runners in scoring position in four of his five innings. Familia draws Yankees prospect Dellin Betances in the Bisons’ home opener Wednesday.

• Middle infielder Jordany Valdespin would appear a consideration for second-base duty at the major league level if David Wright lands on the DL with a fractured pinkie and Daniel Murphy shifts to third base. For now, though, Valdespin has continued to get a crash course in center field. Since Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ promotion to the majors to fill Andres Torres’ roster spot, Valdespin has now started four straight games in center field for Buffalo. He has tracked down the routine balls and has not yet been challenged. Assuming major league needs with Wright’s injury do not alter the plan, the goal is to expose Valdespin to center field four to five games a week, with his other starts primarily at second base.

• Outfielder Sean Ratliff, who was struck in the right eye with a foul ball in a Triple-A game late in spring training in 2011, may be nearing the resumption of his stalled career. Ratliff, who remained behind in Port St. Lucie when Double-A Binghamton broke camp, has been working out with the St. Lucie Mets, testing his vision wearing contact lenses while tracking fly balls under the lights at night. He may get into a Florida State League game soon. Ratliff, a fourth-round pick in 2008 out of Stanford, hit a combined .298 with 21 homers and 80 RBIs in 503 at-bats between St. Lucie and Binghamton in 2010. He has undergone four eye surgeries since the spring-training accident.

• 2011 fifth-round pick Jack Leathersich, the left-handed reliever who struck out 26 in 12 1/3 innings with Brooklyn last season after the draft, continues to accumulate Ks. The UMass-Lowell product leads the organization with nine strikeouts, which have come in five innings over two relief appearances with Savannah.

(Read full post)

PAWTUCKET 4, BUFFALO 2: In hit Triple-A debut, 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey (0-1) allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings . He threw 54 of his 95 pitches for strikes, walking four, striking out three and tossing two wild pitches. Both Bisons homers came in the fourth inning, as Josh Satin and Valentino Pascucci drove shots out to left field. While the Bisons left the yard, the Red Sox didn't need to leave the infield to deal the Herd their its loss of the season. Pawtucket collected five infield hits and benefited from a pair of Bisons errors to hand Buffalo a 4-2 Opening Night defeat from McCoy Stadium. All three times Pawtucket dented the scoreboard they benefited by a play in the infield. Pawtucket second baseman Pedro Ciriaco blooped a soft liner over the mound in the third inning and scored on Mauro Gomez's RBI single to give the PawSox a 1-0 lead. After the Bisons took a 2-1 lead in the fourth, the PawSox put two on in bottom of the inning and escaped a potential inning-ending double play, when Jordany Valdespin couldn't handle Alex Hassan's grounder. Ciriaco took advantage with a single to center field to plate two more runs. An insurance run for the PawSox came in the fifth after a pair of walks drove Harvey from the game. Infield singles from Will Middlebrooks and Jason Repko off reliever Jeff Stevens produced a fourth Pawtucket run. Justin Germano (1-0) was credited with the win for Pawtucket, allowing two runs in five innings. This is the fourth consecutive year the Bisons have begun the season with a loss. Their last Opening Day victory was a 9-4 win in Norfolk on April 3, 2008. Pascucci's home run was his 39th as a Bison. Buffalo went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position while Pawtucket was 4-for-16 in the same situation. Box

AKRON 4, BINGHAMTON 0: The B-Mets could only muster three hits, all singles, against four Akron Aeros pitchers in their season opener, at NYSEG Stadium. Binghamton only pushed one runner to second base and failed to reach third during the game. The Binghamton lineup was held hitless over the final four innings. Binghamton bounced into two double plays and had a pair of runners gunned down on steal attempts by Akron catcher Roberto Perez. Collin McHugh, last year’s B-Mets Pitcher of the Year, made the start and tossed two scoreless innings before running into trouble in the third. Leadoff hitter Ben Copeland walked on four pitches and scored two batters later on Tim Fedroff’s double to right-center. After a Juan Diaz single, Jared Goedert ripped an RBI single to left to give the Aeros a 2-0 lead. Akron starter Paolo Espino fired two scoreless innings before running into trouble of his own in the third. After allowing a leadoff single to Juan Centeno and working the count to 1-1 against Sean Kazmar, the Panamanian left the game with an injury. He was replaced by Kyle Landis, who induced Kazmar to bounce into a double play on his first pitch. Landis then struck out Pedro Zapata to end the inning. Landis’ frame started the bullpen dominance by the Aeros. Landis tossed a scoreless fourth and handed off to Jose De La Torre. A former B-Met, De La Torre worked around a two-out single to put up a scoreless fifth. McHugh’s night ended after five innings. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four while walking three. Kevin Mulvey, in his return to the organization entered in the sixth and allowed a leadoff double to Ryan Rohlinger. With two runners aboard following a Chun Chen walk, Nick Weglarz bounced a potential double-play ball to second baseman Josh Rodriguez. The new B-Met flipped to second, but shortstop Kazmar at shortstop muffed the throw, allowing Rohlinger to score. Owning a 3-0 lead, De La Torre cruised through the sixth and worked around a one-out walk to toss a scoreless seventh. Matt Langwell took over in the eighth and struck out the side in order. The Aeros tacked on an run against Armando Rodriguez in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Juan Diaz. The B-Mets went in order in the ninth against Langwell, who secured his first save of the season. De La Torre earned the win, while McHugh was saddled with the loss. The Aeros bullpen combined for seven shutout innings. The B-Mets (0-1) continue their series against the Akron Aeros on Friday night at 7:05. Right-hander Zack Wheeler makes his Double-A debut for Binghamton against left-hander T.J. McFarland. Box

BRADENTON 3, ST. LUCIE 2 (11 innings): After allowing a leadoff single in the 11th and sacrifice bunt, Ryan Fraser walked two and had a throwing error to load the bases. Fraser then hit former Mets farmhand Stefan Welch with a pitch to force in the winning run. 2011 second-round pick Cory Mazzoni allowed two unearned runs in five innings in his first St. Lucie start. Hamilton Bennett, Adrian Rosario and Jeffrey Kaplan combined for five scoreless relief innings. Box

SAVANNAH 3, AUGUSTA 2: Charley Thurber's bases-loaded single scored Luis Nieves for the walk-off win. Starter Logan Verrett limited Augusta to one unearned run in five innings. Carlos Vazquez had 2 1/3 scoreless, no-hit relief innings with five strikeouts. Box

Compiled from team reports

Johan Santana pitches in a major league game for the first time since Sept. 2, 2010 as the Mets open the regular season at Citi Field at 1:10 p.m. against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets will honor Gary Carter, who died Feb. 16 after a 10-month battle with brain cancer, during pregame ceremonies. Carter's widow Sandy and children D.J., Kimmy and Christy will participate in the remembrance.

The Mets are 32-18 all time on Opening Day, a .640 winning percentage that is the best in the majors. The Yankees are second at 65-46 (.586), followed by Baltimore at 63-47 (.573) and Seattle at 20-15 (.571), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Read the Mets-Braves series preview here.

Before the first pitch, join me for a noon ET chat here.

Thursday's news reports:

• Team doctor David Altchek, who performed Santana's surgery, believes the southpaw is out of the woods as he returns from Sept. 14, 2010 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder.

• Brian Costa in the Journal speaks with Santana about his signature changeup, while Michael Salfino also in the Journal notes pitchers who missed a season often struggle upon their return. Writes Salfino:

Pitchers who started the season for a team after sitting through a layoff of more than a season have combined to allow 4.22 runs per game while averaging just 137.8 innings. Excluding pitchers who missed time due to military service, Santana's absence from big league action that began on Sept. 2, 2010 will be the sixth longest since 1921, according to Stats LLC. The hurler with the longest gap between appearing in the majors and pitching on opening day, former Pirate and later Brooklyn Dodger Preacher Roe, pitched the best of this group. But Roe didn't miss all that time due to injury: He toiled in the minors for five years after pitching a couple innings in 1938.

• Read ESPNNewYork.com's breakdown of Mets pitchers here, including scout comment. There's a breakdown of the team's hitters here.

• Jon Niese has agreed to a five-year, $25.5 million contract, which can be worth as much as $46 million if the Mets exercise options for 2017 and 2018. The deal will not become official until Niese undergoes a physical. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Times, Newsday and Post.

• Ike Davis belted a three-run homer off Freddy Garcia, but the Yankees rallied to beat the Mets, 8-3, at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The Mets completed the Grapefruit League with a 9-20-2 record, one shy of matching the franchise's most losses in a spring training. Read more in Newsday.

• Bill Madden in the Daily News writes that Sandy Alderson apologized to Mets personnel for taking a detour and having to play in Tampa against the Yankees on the eve of the season. Madden faulted a profit motivation by the owners, who needed to send the team to George M. Steinbrenner Field in order to have the Yankees visit Port St. Lucie, which resulted Tuesday in the largest crowd ever at the Mets' complex for a spring-training game. Writes Madden:

According to MLB sources, when the Mets’ higher-ups learned the Yankees were scheduled to make a rare trip to the east coast of Florida at the end of spring training to open up the new Miami ballpark, they asked if they would consider extending their Sun Coast stay an extra day to play a game in Port St. Lucie. Sure, the Yankees said, as long as the Mets agreed to make it a home-and-home situation so that both teams could benefit from one additional spring training sellout.

It apparently mattered not to the Mets that the only available date left on their schedule was the last one. After all, what’s a little inconvenience to Terry Collins and his players compared to an extra million dollars in spring training revenue, derived from hiking the ticket prices for the Yankees game -- which, despite the fact the Yankees sent only three regulars, Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones, still drew a record crowd of 7,644? And weren’t the Yankees doing them an extra favor by moving up the start of Wednesday’s game to noon?

As a result of Wednesday's game in Tampa, the Mets could not have a workout at Citi Field. So their outfielders will go into the first game with revised dimensions without a rehearsal at their stadium.

• Needing to clear 40-man roster spots for Mike Baxter and Miguel Batista, the Mets placed right-handers Josh Stinson and Armando Rodriguez on outright waivers. Stinson was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers and assigned to Double-A Huntsville. Rodriguez cleared waivers and will remain with the organization as a non-40-man roster player.

• Andrew Keh in the Times profiles right fielder Lucas Duda. Writes Keh:

Duda’s four home runs in exhibition games and a batting average that hovered around .300 provided some additional reassurance for the Mets’ front office. “Obviously, he’s got that power, that raw power, which scares pitchers out of the strike zone,” said Dave Hudgens, the team’s hitting coach. “He reminds me a ton of Jason Giambi -- that strength, the plate discipline, he can use the whole field, make adjustments.” When told of Hudgens’s comment, Duda said: “It’s nice to be compared to good players. But I’m myself. I can’t really try to be Jason Giambi. I know that sounds bland and vanilla.”

• The Mets' minor league affiliates open their seasons as well today, with Matt Harvey on the mound for Triple-A Buffalo and Collin McHugh starting for Double-A Binghamton.

Lynn Worthy in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin speaks with top prospect Zack Wheeler, who will pitch for the B-Mets on Friday. "My mom and dad always said me and my brothers, we get our arms from our mom, because she was always breaking people's fingers and stuff when she was throwing the softball," Wheeler told Worthy. "Everyone was always scared to play catch with her."

Mike Harrington's Triple-A Bisons preview in the Buffalo News looks at manager Wally Backman and the uncertain future of the affiliation agreement with the Mets, which expires after this season. Writes Harrington:

The teams' Player Development Contract is up after this season and there will be plenty of pressure on the Bisons to look elsewhere if the 2012 Herd, which opens its season tonight in Pawtucket, flames out again. The Bisons, who have not made the playoffs since 2005, have big expectations for the 25th anniversary season of Coca-Cola Field and they're not unfounded. The Mets have done a good job stocking the club with veteran free agents -- including the return of 2011 Buffalo MVP Valentino Pascucci -- and have put their two close-to-the-majors pitching prospects (6-foot-4 right-handers Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia) at the top of the Bisons' rotation. And to top it off, they've shuffled manager Wally Backman from Double-A Binghamton to Buffalo. Backman, the beloved second baseman from New York's 1986 World Series champions, is the rising star of the organization.

• Newsday's season preview package includes a look at the rotation, explanation of the difficult task of replacing Jose Reyes, a look at stadium grass maintenance, review of Citi Field dimension changes and a position-by-position look at the Mets.

• Andy Martino in the Daily News discusses Davis' left ankle (a nonissue, the first baseman says) as well as the suspected case of valley fever. Davis will get a follow-up exam of his lungs now that the team has arrived in New York. Writes Martino:

Although the ankle, which killed Davis’ sophomore year while he was batting .302, with seven home runs in 129 at-bats, has apparently healed (“The ankle is good,” Davis says. “I haven’t had a problem. Hopefully it never flares up.”), the Valley Fever lingers, and Davis cannot promise that it won’t be a problem. “I don’t know,” he said. “It could be, it couldn’t be. Obviously, it could have an effect. I feel tired, but so does everyone here.” The Mets, who issued a statement saying that Davis “likely” had Valley Fever, never went further than that, but Davis is operating under the assumption that he is indeed suffering from the desert-bred malady. “Oh yeah,” he says. “There is definitely something in there. The x-ray isn’t making stuff up.”

With spring training now over, it is difficult to say how much the condition affected Davis. He said this week that he “felt great,” ascribing his general weariness to the Grapefruit League’s unyielding schedule at the ballpark by 8 a.m., on the field for stretching and workouts by 9:30, play under sizzling sun at 1.

• The Marlins opened their season last night with Reyes at shortstop. And columnist Joel Sherman in the Post calls them the "IT" team. Writes Sherman:

There is glitz around the organization that begins with the vibrant colors and garish touches of this $634 million, retractable-roof facility, which could just as easily double as the largest disco in the world. They have a Jets-ian brash feel about them from the verbal jousts of manager Ozzie Guillen, the confident strut of owner Jeffrey Loria, the orange-dyed hair of Reyes and Hanley Ramirez, and the moon-shot abilities of Giancarlo Stanton. They will be the stars of the major leagues’ “Hard Knocks” ripoff, “The Franchise” on Showtime, and undoubtedly will end their six-year run of ranking last in NL attendance.

Jets coach Rex Ryan would look right amid the soap-opera potential and the unrestrained goal to win -- and win now. Look, it all could be ephemeral. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the stadium financing. There are questions if there is enough local passion to retain fans once the novelty of the stadium fades. But, for now, the Marlins are an “It” team.

• The Daily News has scouting reports on Mets players, while Mike Puma in the Post and Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger have general previews. Mike Kerwick in the Record says Mets players, despite the doubters, believe. "I understand the expectations," Mike Pelfrey told Kerwick. "We lost … I don't know how many games we lost. Eighty-five? We lost the National League batting champion. I understand. But we're going to be OK."

• Also read about Citi Field dimension changes in the Record and Journal.

• Bobby Valentine will do a weekly Boston Red Sox radio spot with Michael Kay on ESPN 1050 right here in New York. Read more in the Daily News.

• Columnist Mike Vaccaro says in the Post that 2012 might seem bleak, but it's been far worse. Writes Vaccaro:

If we can agree that the 1962 Mets were the gold standard (or the zinc standard, perhaps) for ineptitude, there are several candidates for which one comes next. The 103-loss Worst Team Money Could Buy team of 1993 makes a strong case, thanks to their bleach spraying and firecracker slinging. The 2003-04 versions, brightened by Art Howe’s personality lighting up the room, demand a spot in the team photo. As do just about any team from 1963-67, though ’63’s 111-loss team which finished 48 games out of first place (and 15th out of ninth) merits special consideration.

Still, as a representative of the franchise’s darkest, gloomiest period, it’s impossible to overlook 1979, when the team lost 99 games (and had to go on a heroic six-game winning streak to close the season), finished 35 games behind the first-place Pirates (and 17 behind the fifth-place Cubs) and drew 788,905 customers to Shea Stadium, including a nine-game homestand to close the home schedule that attracted a total of 48,960 die-hards -- 27,033 of whom came for Fan Appreciation Day.

• Jason Bay did not have an RBI during Grapefruit League play. Writes McCullough in the Star-Ledger:

He is sick of this conversation. Jason Bay has had some variation of it for more than two years now, with friends, family, teammates, coaches and reporters. He has fielded questions about his mechanics, his inconsistency and his disappointing résumé as a Met. His answers are never satisfactory because his performance has never satisfied. “But I understand,” Bay said yesterday inside the visitors clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field for the Mets spring training finale. “Until you do something about it, that’s part of it.”

TRIVIA: Who was the winning pitcher in the Mets' first Opening Day victory as a franchise?

Wednesday's answer: Alex Cora is the only player to bat leadoff for the Mets other than Reyes since 2005. Cora started at shortstop and the No. 1 slot in the order two years ago, while Reyes was working back from a thyroid issue and opened the season on the disabled list.