Ramirez ejects himself, dejects Mets

[July 08, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Fans at Citi Field booed the free-falling New York Mets even more loudly than they jeered Manny Ramirez -- before he got ejected.

Ramirez drove in three runs with two singles, then was ejected following his second called strikeout, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat what's left of the Mets 8-0 Tuesday night.

Clayton Kershaw (6-5) combined with three relievers on a four-hitter, pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt hit a seventh-inning homer off the front of the second deck in left field and Los Angeles twice scored with bases-loaded walks.

New York has lost nine of 11 and gone scoreless in 22 consecutive innings, getting just 10 hits - all singles. Mets pitchers walked seven against the Dodgers, and New York batters twice grounded into double plays.

While losing four straight, which includes a weekend sweep in Philadelphia, the Mets have hit .183, been outscored 21-3 and struck out 28 times. David Wright went 0 for 3 with a walk and is hitless in his last 16 at-bats as the Mets have dropped 4 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Phillies.

But the focus Tuesday night was on Ramirez.

In his fourth game back following a 50-game drug suspension, he argued with plate umpire John Hirschbeck after he was called out in the first, then spread his hands about a foot apart before - perhaps indicating his displeasure -- before his two-out, two-run single in the second. He added an RBI single in the fourth, then was called out in the fifth, dropped his bat and threw his helmet and protective gear. Ramirez, tossed while walking to the outfield, is batting .273 (3 for 11) with one homer and four RBIs since his return.

He received mild boos as fans saved louder ones for the Mets.

There's no end in sight to the tailspin, which has dropped the Mets to 39-43. Before the game, general manager Omar Minaya said center fielder Carlos Beltran and shortstop Jose Reyes won't be able to return from leg injuries next week after the All-Star break, and first baseman Carlos Delgado likely won't be back from hip surgery until mid-August.

By the time the Mets have all of their top sluggers on the field, it might be too late for New York to salvage its first season at Citi Field.

New York's offense has largely disappeared since Beltran last played on June 21. The Mets have gone 5-10 with a .229 average and scored one run or fewer seven times, including four shutouts.

Mike Pelfrey (6-4) fell to 2-4 in his last 11 starts, allowing five runs - four earned -- eight hits and three walks in three-plus innings. He walked Orlando Hudson with the bases loaded in the second after getting ahead in the count 1-2, then allowed a broken-bat single to Ramirez.

Kershaw allowed three hits in six innings and struck out seven before James McDonald, Claudio Vargas and Guillermo Mota finished.

After second baseman Luis Castillo bobbled and threw wildly for an error on Rafael Furcal's leadoff grounder in the fourth, Castillo's sixth error of the season, Orlando Hudson hit an RBI double over left fielder Nick Evans, who backpedaled rather than turning and sprinting. Ramirez then chased Pelfrey with a run-scoring single that made it 5-0.

NOTES: Mets OF Fernando Martinez took anti-inflammatories for his sore right knee. ... New York must make a move Wednesday to clear a roster spot for LHP Oliver Perez, who will be activated to start against Los Angeles. ... Dodgers rookie reliever Ronald Belisario, who leads the team with 43 appearances, is going back to Los Angeles for tests on his painful right elbow.

[Associated Press; By RONALD BLUM]

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