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[May 09, 2015]  The Sports Xchange

05/09/2015 MLB Note - Atlanta Braves Freeman, Freddie

1B Freddie Freeman, who hit .475 in 10 games at Nationals Park last year, had two hits on Friday -- both doubles. Freeman now has eight hits in his last three games but needs to get more help around him. "We don't want him to beat us," said Washington manager Matt Williams.

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MLB Note - Atlanta Braves Gomes, Jonny

LF Jonny Gomes batted cleanup for the first time this season on Friday. The Braves used a different lineup for the 29th straight game to start the season. Gomes drove in a run in the first with a sacrifice fly and later added a single before he fanned twice. He is now hitting .200 on the year.

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MLB Note - Atlanta Braves Teheran, Julio

RHP Julio Teheran will start for the Braves on Saturday against the Nationals. He threw six scoreless innings in his last start, on Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds. Bryce Harper, who hit three homers Wednesday against the Miami Marlins and two on Friday against the Braves, has two homers in his career against Teheran with an average of .438. Washington's Jayson Werth (.150) and Ryan Zimmerman (.176) have struggled against the right-hander.

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MLB Note - Atlanta Braves Perez, Williams

RHP Williams Perez, who was called up from the minors on Wednesday, made his major league debut in the eighth inning Friday and gave up four runs, including a three-run homer to Bryce Harper. It was the second homer of the game by Harper. Perez recorded just one out and his ERA stands at 108.00 in the majors. He was 2-0 with an ERA of 1.33 in five starts at Triple-Gwinnett.

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MLB Note - Atlanta Braves Stults, Eric

LHP Eric Stults got the start on Friday in the first game of the series in Washington. He got his first win as a member of the Braves on April 27 at Turner Field as he beat the Nationals. Manager Fredi Gonzalez was pleased with the outing by his starter, though Stults gave up homers to Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper. Later in the game, Harper added his second homer against reliever Williams Perez.

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MLB Note - Cleveland Indians Marmol, Carlos

RHP Carlos Marmol has been signed to a minor league contract. Marmol, 32, was 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in 15 relief appearances for Miami last year. He will report to the Indians' extended spring program in Goodyear, Ariz.

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MLB Note - Cleveland Indians Walters, Zach

INF/OF Zach Walters has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus to replace INF Mike Aviles, who was placed on the Family Medical Emergency List. Walters, who hit .170 with seven home runs and 12 RBIs in 88 at bats for the Indians last season, was hitting .239 with one home run and nine RBIs in 46 at-bats at Columbus.

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MLB Note - Cleveland Indians Chen, Bruce

LHP Bruce Chen's contract will be purchased from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday and he will start against the Twins. Chen, 37, signed a minor league contract with the Indians and was a non-roster invitee to the major league spring training camp. In five starts at Columbus, he was 2-1 with a 1.74 ERA.

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MLB Note - Cleveland Indians Aviles, Mike

INF Mike Aviles has left the team and has been placed on the Family Medical Emergency List. Players on that list must remain there for three days, and teams are permitted to replace them on the roster for a maximum of seven days.


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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Hunter, Torii

OF Torii Hunter had a single, two doubles, a home run and four RBIs to lead the Twins to their win over the Indians. Hunter's home run was his 19th career home run at Progressive Field, the second most by an opposing player in the history of the ballpark, which opened in 1994. Miguel Cabrera has hit 23 at Progressive Field.

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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Mauer, Joe

1B Joe Mauer had an RBI single in the first inning Friday. Mauer has a career .335 batting average vs. the Indians, and in his last 17 games against Cleveland he is hitting .354.

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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Rosario, Eddie

OF Eddie Rosario had an RBI single in the second inning Friday. Rosario is the first Twins rookie to record an RBI in each of his first three career games since Bob Oldis did it in 1953, when the franchise was known as the Washington Senators.

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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Pelfrey, Mike

RHP Mike Pelfrey pitched seven strong innings to get the win Friday over Cleveland. Pelfrey gave up two runs on six hits. "It was good to see him go seven. That obviously helped our bullpen," said manager Paul Molitor.

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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Martin, Russell

C Russell Martin was 2-for-4 with a double in Friday's 7-0 win over the Boston Red Sox and extended his hitting streak to six games. He is batting 14-for-23 (.609) with four doubles and four homers in that span.

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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Saunders, Michael

OF Michael Saunders (sore left knee) will probably return to the lineup on Saturday. He has missed four straight games after having his left knee drained and having a cortisone shot on Monday. Manager John Gibbons said he probably could have played in Friday's 7-0 win over Boston but wanted to keep the hot bat of INF/OF Chris Colabello in the lineup. Colabello homered.

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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Valencia, Danny

INF/OF Danny Valencia returned to the lineup on Friday after suffering a sprained an ankle going down the stairs to the clubhouse after Monday's game. He was 2-for-3 with an RBI and left the game for OF Ezequiel Carrera in the sixth after he jammed the ankle slightly when he was thrown out at second base. Carrera was probably was going to replace him for defensive purposes anyway.

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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Bautista, Jose

RF Jose Bautista (strained right shoulder) is still limited to the designated hitter role because he is unable to throw. He is improving but could be as much as a week away from throwing.

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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Morton, Charlie

RHP Charlie Morton (right hip surgery) pitched seven scoreless innings Friday night in his first start for Double-A Altoona on a rehab assignment. Morton, who has been on the disabled list since the start of the season, allowed just two hits against Harrisburg in an Eastern League game while walking two, striking out five and throwing 84 pitches.

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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates McCutchen, Andrew

CF Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-5 with a double on Friday night in an 8-5 loss to St. Louis. McCutchen has gone 5-for-10 in his last two games, raising his batting average from .188 to .219.

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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Liriano, Francisco

LHP Francisco Liriano had a season-high 10 strikeouts but also gave up a season-high six runs -- five earned -- in taking the loss to fall to 1-2. Liriano was hurt by a pair of home runs, a solo shot by Cardinals SS Jhonny Peralta in the second inning and a three-run blast by LF Matt Holliday in the third that put St. Louis ahead for good, 4-1.

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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Worley, Vance

RHP Vance Worley will start Saturday night against St. Louis in the middle game of the three-game series. The Pirates have been shut out in both of Worley's losses. He is 0-0 with a 4.03 ERA against the Cardinals in four career starts.

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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Bourjos, Peter

OF Peter Bourjos played his way into a platoon role with OF Jon Jay in center field. He started against a left-hander for the second time in three days Friday night and went 2-for-5 with two doubles in an 8-5 win at Pittsburgh. He extended his hitting streak to five games, going 8-for-18 (.444) in that span.

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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Wacha, Michael

RHP Michael Wacha kept his record perfect at 5-0 by allowing three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in six innings. Three of Wacha's win have come against National League Central opponents. He allowed more than one run for just the second time in six starts this season.

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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Strasburg, Stephen

RHP Stephen Strasburg (shoulder blade irritation) will need to throw a bullpen session on May 9 if he is to make his scheduled start on May 11 in Arizona, according to manager Matt Williams. "He reported feeling good today," Williams said May 8. "We will look to see what is next for him."

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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Harper, Bryce

RF Bryce Harper, who hit three homers Wednesday, hit two more on Friday and drove in five runs for the second game in a row.

He became the first Nationals player in the 10-year history of the franchise to hit five homers in two games. Harper became the first player in the majors since Josh Reddick of the Oakland A's in 2013 to hit five homers in two games.

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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Gonzalez, Gio

LHP Gio Gonzalez started against the Braves in the first game of the series on Friday and beat Atlanta for the first-time ever at Nationals Park. He gave up just five hits and two runs with eight strikeouts and just one walk in seven innings. "The last couple of innings, he really turned it up with the fastball," said Washington manager Matt Williams. "He made pitches when he needed to."

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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Fister, Doug

RHP Doug Fister will start on Saturday against the Braves. He has made five starts this year and allowed 32 hits in 31 innings, with 14 strikeouts and nine walks. In his last start, against the Mets in New York, he pitched well. One hitter he will have to watch out for is Nick Markakis, who is hitting .364 in 22 at-bats against Fister. He is 9-2 with an ERA of 1.98 at home since joining the Nationals in time for the 2014 season.
 


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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Werth, Jayson

LF Jayson Werth returned to the starting lineup Friday after sitting out the previous two games to rest his right shoulder. Werth, who had shoulder surgery in January, hit his first homer of the season in the fourth and added a single in the eighth before RF Bryce Harper launched his second homer of the game. Werth upped his average to .192 and may start to get more pitches to hit if Harper remains hot.

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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Janssen, Casey

RHP Casey Janssen (shoulder inflammation) said May 8 he felt fine after throwing one inning in his first minor league rehab game on May 7 at high Class A Potomac. He is slated to pitch again on May 10 in a minor league rehab assignment. He needed just nine pitches - all strikes - to get three outs, with one by strikeout, in the rehab outing.

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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Johnson, Reed

OF Reed Johnson (left calf strain) was on crutches in the Washington clubhouse before the May 8 game.

He joked that he has been tired of being at home around his young children so he had to get out of the house. He went on the disabled list April 29.

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MLB Note - Washington Nationals Stammen, Craig

RHP Craig Stammen (right forearm strain) said May 8 he can begin some light arm exercises six weeks after his surgery, which was April 19.

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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Peralta, Jhonny

SS Jhonny Peralta extended his hitting streak to six games by hitting a long home run to center field to lead off the second inning, his fourth of the season. That was Peralta's only hit in five at-bats.

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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Martinez, Carlos E.

RHP Carlos Martinez (3-0, 3.64) will start Saturday night at Pittsburgh in the middle game of the three-game series. Martinez has a 1.29 ERA in his two road starts this season while holding opponents to a .167 batting average. He is 0-1 with a 4.41 ERA against the Pirates in 10 career games, only one of which has been a start.

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MLB Note - Texas Rangers Gallardo, Yovani

RHP Yovani Gallardo lost four straight starts, matching the longest such streak of his MLB career. He got a total of two runs in support during those four starts, so his ERA remains a reasonable 4.19 but his record drops to 2-5.

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MLB Note - Texas Rangers Rosales, Adam

2B Adam Rosales had a solo home run in the eighth inning to break out of a 1-for-16 slump. The home run was his second of the season, and that one hit still raised his season batting average to .171. It's just his fourth RBI of the year.

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MLB Note - Texas Rangers Corporan, Carlos

C Carlos Corporan struggled Friday, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to drop his season average to .184. With two on and one out as the team tried to rally in the eighth, he popped out to the catcher for the inning's second out.

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MLB Note - Texas Rangers DeShields Jr., Delino

CF Delino DeShields Jr. continues to tear up the basepaths -- after getting three steals in Thursday's win, he picked up another steal, his seventh of the season in the seventh inning.

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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Guyer, Brandon

OF Brandon Guyer continues to make a case for an everyday role, going 2-for-2 with a three-run home run off the bench in Friday's 8-2 win against the Rangers. He's hitting .283 with 10 RBIs on the season in just 60 at-bats. He'll continue to split time with Kevin Kiermaier and David DeJesus in a deep outfield.

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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Longoria, Evan

3B Evan Longoria missed Thursday's game, ending baseball's longest consecutive games streak, but he bounced back nicely as a DH Friday, getting two hits and scoring twice in the Rays' win. His sixth-inning opposite-field single chased Rangers starter Yovanni Gallardo from the game.

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RHP Nathan Karns had his best start of the season, pitching into the eighth with just four hits and two earned runs. He struck out a season-high nine batters while walking only two, lowering his ERA to 3.79. With Alex Cobb done for the year, he'll be counted on as a starter the rest of the season.

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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays DeJesus, David

OF David DeJesus raised his season average from .241 to .300 during a five-game hitting streak, including a solo home run Friday that represented the Rays' only hit in the first five innings. He's batting fifth in the Rays' order and hitting well, with 11 RBIs to tie for third on the team.

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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Cobb, Alex

RHP Alex Cobb will have season-ending Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow and won't pitch again until late 2016 at the earliest. The team moved him to the 60-day DL, a major blow to a pitching staff hoping to get him back from injury.
 

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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Smyly, Drew

LHP Drew Smyly is back on the disabled list with. He had pitched well in three starts with a 2.70 ERA.

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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Odorizzi, Jake

RHP Jake Odorizzi was bumped back a day from his scheduled start Saturday due to flu-like symptoms, with RHP Matt Andriese called up to take his place Saturday. Officially, the Rays' Sunday starter against Texas is TBA.

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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Ramirez, Hanley

LF Hanley Ramirez (left shoulder sprain) didn't play May 5-8. He took swings off the tee May 8 and was set to take batting practice May 9.

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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Victorino, Shane

OF Shane Victorino (strained right hamstring) started his minor-league rehabilitation assignment on Friday by going 0-for-3 with Double-A Portland. He left the April 22 game against the Tampa Bay Rays with the injury and was put on the disabled list April 25.

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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Miley, Wade

LHP Wade Miley lost his third straight decision on Friday, allowing four runs in six innings in a 7-0 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. He has pitched six or more innings in a start twice this season. "Probably one of the better outings he's had for us this year," manager John Farrell said. "He used the full assortment of pitches, he had a good feel for his breaking pitches as well as his changeup. He threw his fastball to both sides of the plate. Wade kept us in the ball game."

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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Ortiz, David

DH David Ortiz lost his appeal of a one-game suspension and served it in Friday's series opener against Toronto.

Ortiz was suspended for bumping an umpire in a game against the Baltimore Orioles on April. 1B Mike Napoli was DH in Friday's 7-0 loss to the Blue Jays and INF Travis Shaw was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket and made his major-league debut in Friday's 7-0 loss at first base.

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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Shaw, Travis

INF Travis Shaw was promoted from Triple-A Pawtucket for Friday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays after RHP Edward Mujica was designated for assignment. Shaw was batting .189 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 24 games with Pawtucket. He had six RBIs over his past three games at Triple-A while going 4-for-13. He had a home run and eight RBIs over his past seven games. He led all Red Sox minor-leaguers with 56 home runs from 2012-14. Shaw made his major-league debut Friday against the Blue Jays, playing first base and batting ninth. 1B Mike Napoli moved to designated hitter to take the place of suspended DH David Ortiz, who is out for one game after losing his appeal. When Ortiz returns, Shaw likely will be returned to Pawtucket with RHP Matt Barnes being called up. Shaw was 0-for-2 with a walk on Friday in a 7-0 loss to Toronto.

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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Kelly, Joe

RHP Joe Kelly will make his sixth start of the season Saturday in the middle game of a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. He suffered his first loss of the season last Sunday when he allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk in a season-low 4 2/3 innings in a game won 8-5 by the New York Yankees. His previous outing against the Blue Jays this season was April 27 at Fenway Park, when he allowed five hits, three walks and five runs in six innings and did not figure in the decision in a 6-5 win. He is 0-0 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts against Toronto.

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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Mujica, Edward

RHP Edward Mujica was designated for assignment Friday after going 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA in 11 relief outings. INF Travis Shaw was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to take his spot on the 25-man roster. The Red Sox signed Mujica to a two-year, $9.5 million contract, before the 2014 season. It was hoped that he would provide closer insurance for RHP Koji Uehara but he struggled in late-inning situations and was being used earlier in games. He allowed 15 hits, including three home runs, three walks and seven runs while striking out eight in 13 2/3 innings.
 


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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Reyes, Jose

SS Jose Reyes (cracked left rib) resumed baseball activities on Friday after an MRI performed Thursday showed that his injury, which included some strained muscles in the left side, was well as the cracked rib was healing. "It was good news," manager John Gibbons said. The injury prevented Reyes from batting left-handed and he tried batting only right-handed before going on the disabled list. He might require a rehabilitation assignment before returning to the lineup late next week. INF Ryan Goins has played excellent defensively during Reyes' absence.

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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Jenkins, Chad

RHP Chad Jenkins was returned to Triple-A Buffalo on option Friday after RHP Ryan Tepera was called up. Jenkins made his only appearance for Toronto this season when he allowed two hits and one run in two innings against the New York Yankees last Tuesday. The 27-year-old is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in four starts at Buffalo.

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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Hutchison, Drew

RHP Drew Hutchison will make his seventh start of the season Saturday in the middle game of a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. He is coming off a start last Sunday in Cleveland in which he allowed eight hits, one walk and six runs and did not factor in the decision of a 10-7 loss. His previous start was against Boston on April 29, when he allowed nine hits, five walks and six runs and was not involved in the decision as the Blue Jays won 11-8. In five career starts against Boston, he is 2-1 with a 6.04 ERA.

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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Tepera, Ryan

RHP Ryan Tepera was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo for the game Friday against the Red Sox and RHP Chad Jenkins was returned on option to the Bisons. He was 1-1 with a 0.57 ERA in eight relief appearances with Buffalo, allowing six hits in 15 2/3 innings while walking five and striking out 17. This will be his first major-league experience after 175 career minor-league games, mostly as a starter. He has developed a splitter that helps him against left-handed hitters, and was converted to the bullpen, which led to an increase in the velocity of his fastball. "He's a guy we like. ... He's been rolling down there. ... Get 'em while they're hot," manager John Gibbons said.
 


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MLB Note - Philadelphia Phillies Harang, Aaron

RHP Aaron Harang, Saturday's starter, beat Atlanta his last time out, going six innings and allowing one run on five hits, while striking out two and walking one. He lost his only start against the Mets this season, despite giving up one run on four hits over six innings, and is 6-6 with a 4.06 ERA in 14 career appearances against them.

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MLB Note - Philadelphia Phillies Hamels, Cole

LHP Cole Hamels went seven innings to beat the Mets on Friday night, giving up four hits and one run while striking out eight, walking two and hitting a batter. He also threw two wild pitches to equal a career high. While he is only 9-14 against the Mets in his career, he has gone at least seven innings and surrendered one earned run or fewer in his last five starts against New York. "I don't tip my pitches anymore," he said. "That was kind of a big deal when you have guys like (Carlos) Beltran and (Jose) Reyes and Carlos Delgado -- some big-time veteran guys I had to face for quite a few years. I knew I was tipping. I just had to figure out how not to let them know. I think I've been able to figure it out since then. ... When guys don't know what's coming, it's a little easier to get them out." He is, however, just 2-0 against New York in that span, as run support has been an ongoing issue. Since the beginning of the 2014 season he has received an average of just 3.09 runs of support per nine innings pitched, the fourth-lowest norm for any qualified major league starter. He is 9-0 in that span when the Phillies score at least three while he is in the game.

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MLB Note - Philadelphia Phillies Howard, Ryan

1B Ryan Howard went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBIs Friday night against the Mets. He began the night just 1-for-10 with seven strikeouts in his career against Mets ace Matt Harvey, but contributed a run-scoring single in the first. His homer came on Harvey's first pitch of the fourth inning, a 95 mph fastball, and gave the Phils the lead for good at 2-1. The homer was Howard's sixth of the season, all of which have come in the last 15 games. "He's really starting to look good and have good swings," said manager Ryne Sandberg, who noted that one of the keys to Howard's resurgence is his patience. "He's laying off some pitches and taking some walks," the manager said.

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MLB Note - Philadelphia Phillies Galvis, Freddy

SS Freddy Galvis went 3-for-3 with a walk and two steals Friday against the Mets, and is batting .374 over his last 26 games. Galvis, whose 27 hits in April were a career high for a calendar month, is also hitting .333 over his last 10 games.

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MLB Note - Philadelphia Phillies Utley, Chase

2B Chase Utley went 0-for-4 Friday against the Mets and is hitless in his last 19 at-bats. Manager Ryne Sandberg had given the .099-hitting Utley two days off at the end of a 10-game road trip in an attempt to get him going, and was asked after Friday's game if he has entertained any thoughts of dropping him out of the No. 3 spot in the batting order. "I just take it a day at a time with him," Sandberg said. "I've been thinking about a lot of things with Chase."

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MLB Note - New York Mets Niese, Jon

LHP Jonathon Niese, Saturday's starter, lost a 1-0 game to Washington in his last start, giving up one run on nine hits over seven innings. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of his last nine starts, dating back to Sept. 8, 2014. He is 9-6 with a 2.92 ERA in 20 career starts against Philadelphia.

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MLB Note - New York Mets Harvey, Matt

RHP Matt Harvey was tagged with his first loss in six starts this season Friday in Philadelphia, going six innings and allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out a season-low four and walked one. Harvey was seeking to become the fourth Met to win his first six starts of a season, and the first since Frank Viola in 1990. While manager Terry Collins didn't think Harvey pitched poorly, Harvey knew he needed to be better, especially given the strong outing by Phillies starter Cole Hamels. "We needed zeroes," Harvey said, "and I didn't do that." He also declined to blame any problems he might have had on the fact that he was making his first start in a week, since the team had two off days. "It's different, but we've all been going through it," he said. "You just have to deal with it."

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MLB Note - New York Mets Gee, Dillon

RHP Dillon Gee was placed on the disabled list with a mild groin strain. Gee, 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA this season, will be replaced in the rotation Sunday by RHP Bartolo Colon.

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