Betts 3 homers powers Red Sox past O's

 Mookie Betts celebrates with Chris Young after hitting a three run homer in the second inning. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Mookie Betts hit three home runs and the Boston Red Sox routed the Baltimore Orioles for the second day in a row, this time 6-2

Betts smashed his first home run over the centerfield wall on the second pitch of the game. Dustin Pedroia homered to left-center for back to back home runs for the Sox, going up early 2-0. Betts hit his second home run the following inning into the left field seats, a two run shot. Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman allowed all of the runs as the home team was down 5-0.

The Orioles finally got on the board in the third with an RBI double by Nolan Reimold into centerfield. In the fifth Adam Jones singled home Paul Janish to cut the deficit to 5-2.

That was the closest Baltimore would get. Betts hit his third home run of the night into right field in the seventh to give the Red Sox a 6-2 win.

The Orioles look to get out of this slump tonight in game three at 7:05.

"I think it's pretty obvious that we're kind of struggling right now, but hopefully we can just kind of turn it around and even this series up. They are the best team in baseball right now, so you have to be on your game and if you're not, it's tough against this team, against this lineup, against their bullpen," said Gausman.

White Sox end seven game skid

Michael Conforto watches the ball land into the seats as Tyler Saladino hit a two run homer in the eighth inning. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

The New York Mets had a 4-0 lead but couldn't hold on as the Chicago White Sox rallied to a 6-4 win. The White Sox ended their seven game losing streak.

The Mets jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a sacrifice fly by Yoenis Cespedes to left field that scored Curtis Granderson. Granderson hit a sac-fly of his own in the second that scored Wilmer Flores.

In the third, with Michael Conforto on, Neil Walker belted his 13th home run of the season. With the Mets up 4-0 they looked well on their way to another win, and handing the White Sox their eighth loss in a row.

Mets rookie starting pitcher Steven Matz went 5.2 innings with three strikeouts while allowing three runs. Todd Frazier hit a two run homer in the sixth and Dioner Navarro got an RBI single to make ait a 4-3 deficit.

One of the biggest story lines of the night was Noah Syndergaard coming out of the bullpen. He got ejected very early in his start on Saturday night for throwing behind Chase Utley. Mets manager Terry Collins said he hoped to use Syndergaard from the bullpen on Tuesday night. He came in during the seventh inning and struck out two batters while allowing no runs. The rest of the Mets pen, could not hold off the White Sox and protect the Mets 4-3 lead. Hansel Robles took the loss as he allowed the decisive three runs in the eighth inning.

"It was frustrating. I was trying to do my job and go out and throw zeros across the board, but that occured," said Robles.

Tyler Saladino hit a two run homer and Brett Lawrie added an RBI single as the White Sox held off the Mets to win 6-4.

"It's obvious, command of his fastball. He's getting in deep counts, getting to where he pretty much has to throw his fastball and he's not making a pitch with it," said manager Terry Collins.

The third and final game takes place today at 1:10 as Jacob deGrom (3-1, 2.81 ERA) goes up against Miguel Gonzalez (0-1, 4.50 ERA).

The Dark Knight rises, Harvey dominates

Matt Harvey exits the field after his best start of the season (Al Bello/Getty Images)

In his last seven games, Matt Harvey has gone 3-4. Prior to Monday he dropped his last three starts allowing a total of 19 runs.  Two of those starts came against their NL East rivals, the Nationals. In his last Citi Field start, he was booed as he was pulled out of the game after allowing 19 runs. There were rumors he would get moved to the bullpen or sent down to the minors. He needed redemption and he got it on Memorial Day as he looked like his old self and won the fans over in a 1-0 win.

Harvey went seven innings allowing two hits, one walk and six strikeouts and the Mets got a big 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

"There's a lot of emotion. It's been a while... The idea is to do everything you can to help the team, and I felt like I wasn't doing that very well," said Harvey. "Today, to be able to go out in a one-run ballgame like that and be able to put up zeros was very exciting."

The only scary moment for Harvey came in the seventh. After giving up a walk and a base hit, he retired the next three batters to get out of the jam.

"When you're mentally strong, you don't worry about the other stuff, you fight through it. That's the Matt Harvey we always knew. He can give up a home run and retire 16 in a row after that. It never bothered him," said Mets manager Terry Collins.

The Mets lone run came in the seventh with a home run by Neil Walker to left-center field, his 12th long ball of the season.

"It's probably the most (homers) I've had to this point in the year in my career. I guess it's uncharted territory for me, but more than that, I'm happy to be stringing together good at-bats," Walker said. "Days like today when I'm able to give them a lead late in the game feels pretty good."

It was an afternoon of redemption for closer Jeurys Familia as well. After he gave up six runs in two innings over the weekend facing the Dodgers, Familia closed out the White Sox in the ninth for his 17th save on the year.

The Mets will turn to Steven Matz (7-1) while the White Sox will counter with Mat Latos (6-1) at 7:10.

O's fall to Red Sox on Memorial Day

A sellout crowd enjoying a beautiful afternoon at Camden Yards. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Memorial Day featured several great MLB matchups on the calendar. One of these included a battle between first and second place rivals from the American League East: the Baltimore Orioles against the Boston Red Sox from a packed Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Sox dominated and won 7-2.

Boston jumped out to a 2-0 lead with RBIs by Xander Bogaerts. The first one came on a fielder's choice in the first inning. Then in the third Bogarets doubled to left field to score Mookie Betts.  

Baltimore struck back in the fifth. Nolan Reimold led off with a triple. Ryan Flaherty followed with a double on a sharp ground ball into left field. Caleb Joseph singled and moved Flaherty to third. Adam Jones sent Flaherty home with a sacrifice fly into right field to tie the game at 2.

That was as close as the Orioles would get. The Red Sox clubbed three home runs. Jackie Bradley hit a solo shot in the sixth. In the eighth David Ortiz hit a solo shot, then with two on Marco Hernandez hit his first home run of his career with a three run shot. 

The teams continue their four game series on Tuesday night with a 7:05 first pitch.

Mets fall to Dodgers in extras

(Elsa/Getty Images)

The Mets were looking to redeem themselves after getting trounced on their home turf the night before with a lopsided 9-1 loss and a ton of drama.  Noah Syndergaard was ejected for throwing behind Chase Utley and Utley had the last laugh with a home run and grand slam.  On Sunday Night Baseball, the Dodgers scored two runs in the ninth for a 4-2 win.

Clayton Kershaw took the ball for the Dodgers and went up against "Big Sexy" Bartolo Colon.  LA jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  They scored in the third on a fielder's choice and again in the fifth with an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez.

In the sixth, the Mets cut the deficit in half with a home run by Asdrubal Cabrera into the party deck in left field.  In the eighth, with Kevin Plawecki on, Curtis Granderson tripled to bring him home. With the game tied at 2, the Mets turned to closer Juerys Familia, who blew a save on Friday night. He loaded the bases and Gonzalez came through with a single to bring home two runs for the eventual 4-2 win.

The Mets turn to Matt Harvey as they welcome the Chicago White Sox to town on Memorial Day. Harvey looks to bounce back from his poor previous two starts.

NYCFC and Orlando City SC play to a draw

David Villa puts NYCFC up 2-1 in the second half (Michael Stewart/Getty Images)

Frederick Brillant and David Villa tallied a goal in each half but a two goal lead wasn't enough as New York City FC settled for a 2-2 draw.  A goal by Kevin Molino for Orlando City SC during stoppage time would prove to be the difference at Yankee Stadium.

For Brillant, it was his first goal of his Major League Soccer career.  He found the back of the net just before halftime to send NYCFC into the locker room up 1-0.  RJ Allen played it on a corner by Andrea Pirlo then Brillant jumped and headed it in.

Villa doubled the lead in the 66th minute.  He took a ball off his chest from Pirlo and kicked it high where it landed past Orlando City goalie Joe Bendik.  It was his ninth goal of the season which leads the MLS.

Orlando City got on the board in the 72nd minute with a goal by Julio Baptista.  Molino tied it in stoppage and both teams walked away with a point.

Utley ruins 86' celebration

Members of the 1986 Mets were honored before the game. Courtesy of Elsa (Getty Images)

The Mets celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1986 World Series championship on Saturday night, welcoming back members of that exciting team to Citi Field.  Before a sellout crowd, each member was introduced and there were a couple of great video montages highlighting that magical season.  

Members of the 86' Mets pose for a photo with the World Series trophy (Elsa/Getty Images)

Jesse Orosco threw out the first pitch and imiatated the final out of the 86' World Series with D.J. Carter, the son of Gary Carter.  Gary passed away in 2012 and for the other members that passed away their family members took part in the festivities.  

"These things are kind of cool.  This is a big part of Mets history.  But we're trying to create our own right now.  We're more worried about the 2016 Mets... I think what we're trying to do is create our own identity,"said current Mets manager Terry Collins. 

The celebration was the only good highlight for the Mets that night.  In the top of the third, Mets ace Noah Syndergaard got ejected from the game for throwing behind Chase Utley.  The umpire saw it as a possible retaliation from last October's incident where Utley injured then-Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada when he slid into him.

Noah Syndergaard exits the game early for throwing a pitch behind Chase Utley (Tim Clayton-Corbis/Getty Images)

Utley had the last laugh.  He homered in the sixth inning and in the seventh hit a grand slam as the Dodgers beat the Mets 9-1.  The Mets look for payback tonight on Sunday Night Baseball with first pitch at 8:05.

Granderson, Mets walk-off Dodgers

Mets teammates mob Curtis Granderson after his ninth inning walk-off home run. Courtesy of Al Bello (Getty Images)

The Mets welcomed the Dodgers into town this weekend for a three game series.  It is a special Memorial Day weekend as the Mets are honoring the 1986 Mets on the 30th anniversary of their dramatic World Series win over the Red Sox.  While the big ceremony takes place on Saturday night, the Mets got some early fireworks going on Friday night in the form of a ninth inning walk-off home run by Curtis Granderson.

The Mets got off to a fast start.  In the bottom of the first with Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes on base, Neil Walker doubled into the left field corner to score Cabrera.  Juan Lageres followed with a single into centerfield that scored Cespedes and put the Mets up 2-0.  

After a Chase Utley sacrifice fly in the third put the Dodgers on the board, the Mets answered in the fourth.  David Wright homered for the third straight game.  His solo shot into centerfield put the Mets up 4-1.  In the fifth, Juan Lageres homered into right field to give the Mets the commanding 5-1 lead.  

Mets starting pitcher, Jacob deGrom had a solid start.  He went seven innings allowing just one run on three hits, striking out seven and walking three batters.

"I feel closer.  There's still some work, but this is a step in the right direction," deGrom said.  "I didn't give up as many hard hit balls tonight; there were a couple hit at Cabrera but their base hits, none of those were really hit hard.  So I think that's a step in the right direction."

Jeurys Familia went out in the ninth inning to finish the game, though it wasn't originally a save situation.  He loaded the bases and allowed a walk to Yasmini Grandal that cut their lead to just three with Utley due up.  Utley was booed the sellout Citi Field crowd the entire night.  Fans were still bitter about his controversial slide that injured Ruben Tejada last October.  

Utley made those boos even louder and silenced the crowd in the process.  He delivered a clutch base hit into right field to score three runs and tie the game up at 5.

"You're always shocked when Jeurys doesn't come in and slam the door, but look, we had a chance to win the last game and we did it.  We'll take it and get ready for tomorrow," said Terry Collins.  

In the bottom of the ninth, Granderson made the crowd erupt again as he took the second pitch of the at-bat into the right field seats for a walk-off home run to give the Mets the 6-5 win over the Dodgers.

Granderson said the fans and the atmosphere in the ballpark all weekend with the tributes to 86' will benefit with the motivation.

"The fans did a good job of keeping us motivated.  We had a packed house here for the 86' weekend, which is definitely good," said Granderson.  

With the win and the Nationals losing 6-2 to the Cardinals, the Mets are now tied with the Nats for first place in the NL East. Game two will take place tonight at 7:15 and prior to the game the Mets will honor the 1986 team with a special pregame ceremony.  Then Noah Syndergaard will take the mound looking for another stellar start.  

Mets sweep Brewers

Noah Syndergaard has been named NL Player of the Week for May 16-22. Courtesy of Mitchell Clayton/Getty Images

Noah Syndergaard was electric on the mound and Michael Conforto and Asdrubal Cabrera provided the offensive support as the Mets swept the Brewers at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon 3-1.  The win gives New York some much needed momentum as they head to Washington for a crucial and exciting three game series against the first place Nationals.  

Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the first, Conforto came through with a home run to tie the game, a solo shot to right-center.  Conforto hasn't had his best month, hitting just .194, however over the last seven days he's batted .300 with three home runs.  

"I think during my rough stretch, my swings were okay, but my decisions weren't good," said Conforto.  "I took a look at it, and I was getting in my own way by swinging at pitches out of the zone.  

In the bottom of the fourth, Conforto led off by drawing a walk.  Yoenis Cespedes followed with a blooper to shallow left field.  Ryan Braun slid attempting to catch or stop it and the ball went past him allowing Cespedes to take second base. Instead of a single or pop out.  Two batters later, Cabrera sent them home with a two-run single into right field.

Syndergaard dominated on the mound.  He went seven innings, allowed only one run on six hits while striking out 11.  His efforts both in this start and his previous start on Tuesday night against Washington (which he struck out 10) helped earn him the NL Player of the Week.  

"The growth that I've had in the span of one year has been night and day.  I have the ability to go out there and have the confidence to throw any pitch at any given time," said Syndergaard.

The sweep over the Brewers was a good response for the Mets after a horrible performance in the previous series against their division rivals the Nats.  

"We spent last year doing the same thing.  We'd have a tough series and everybody would be writing us off, and we'd bounce back and play good," said Mets manager Terry Collins.  

The sweep pulls the Mets within a game and a half of Washington as these teams will meet starting tonight in DC.  Bartolo Colon gets the start for the Mets up against Gio Gonzalez.  

Captain Clutch: David Wright comes through with walk-off base hit

Mets teammates mob David Wright following his walk-off base hit. Courtesy of Elsa/Getty Images

The Mets were hoping to create some momentum after a quality win on Friday night to snap a two game losing skid and a slump that saw them drop six of seven prior to that win.  On Saturday afternoon the Mets and Brewers continued their three game weekend series.  Once again the Mets had to rally and they did, this time with a 5-4 victory.

Jacob deGrom took the ball for New York.  Despite striking out seven batters he went five innings allowing five runs on four hits.  The Mets fell took a 1-0 lead when Curtis Granderson led off with a home run on the second pitch of the at-bat.  The lead was short-lived as the Brewers scored twice in both the second and fourth innings.  The Mets, for the second day in a row, had to play catch-up.  Ramon Flores hit his first home run of his career, a two run shot, in the second.  Flores got an RBI groundout in the fourth while Jonathan Villar had an RBI single.

In the bottom of the fourth, trailing by three runs, the Mets began their comeback.  Yoenis Cespedes got on base with a single.  Two batters later, Asdrubal Cabrera drove him in.  Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Michael Conforto drew a walk and Cespedes hit a two run homer that landed just inside the left field corner near the foul pole.  Citi Field erupted.  It was a brand new ballgame.

The bottom of the ninth started out with Eric Campbell leading off with a single.  Kevin Plawecki followed with a walk.  Matt Reyonolds hit a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over to second and third to bring up Granderson.  Brewers reliever Michael Blazek decided to intentionally walk him to load the bases which brought David Wright to the plate.

Wright has struggled all season long and he had a chance to come up clutch and show why he is one of the best franchise players of all time.  Wright worked a 3-0 count before lining a single to right=center to score Campbell and send the fans home happy.

"It's nice to be able to contribute to  a win.  These guys have picked me up so much this year that it's nice to be able to return the favor, do something positive to allow us to celebrate in here after the game," said Wright.

This afternoon the Mets and Brewers will conclude the three game weekend series in Flushing.  Chase Anderson will take the ball for the Brewers while the Mets will counter with their top pithcer Noah Syndergaard.  First pitch is at 1:10.

Mets rebound with win over Brewers

Entering Friday night's game at Citi Field the Mets have dropped six of their last seven including two of three to the Nationals.  The Mets looked to bounce back Friday night after Matt Harvey's worst outing of his career.  They got it with a 3-2 win to open their three game series.

Steven Matz took the mound for New York and pitched seven solid innings to win his sixth start in a row.  He got off to a rough start surrendering a two run homer to Chris Carter in the first inning however, he retired 15 consecutive batters after that as he went seven innings with nine strikeouts and no walks.

The Mets got on the board in the second inning with an RBI groundout by Rene Rivera.  Still trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning the Mets rallied.  Asdrubal Cabrera singled to lead off the frame.  Michael Conforto followed that up with a two run shot into left field to give the Mets a 3-2 lead they would not squander.

Game two of the three game set is today with a 4:10 first pitch from Citi Field.  Jacob deGrom will take the ball for the Mets while Zach Davies will pitch for the Brewers

Washington Redskins Wild Card Preview

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For the second time in four years, 2012 being the last, the Washington Redskins will host a playoff game at FedEx Field.  Unlike last time, which ended in heartbreak, the Redskins are determined to win in front of their passionate home crowd. 

One year ago nobody thought this would be possible as they finished in last place in the NFC East with a 4-12 record.  If that wasn't bad enough, the team won only seven games combined between the last two seasons.  The Redskins entered the season with question marks, starting with the man under center.  Quarterback Robert Griffin III or RGIII won the city over in 2012 with an incredible rookie season.  Since the playoff game against the Seahawks, which he injured his ankle, he was never the same.  Because of that, head coach Jay Gruden elected to bench Griffin and start Kirk Cousins.  A lot of media and fans questioned the move while others supported it but it took a great amount of patience. 

While it was a roller coaster to start the season, the Redskins did win some impressive games.  In particular, the comeback win over the Eagles in Week 4 was exciting but that didn't compare to what unfolded a few weeks later.  The Redskins were at home facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and I apologize to my fellow readers for these next few sentences and paragraphs.  While I did write these from a journalist perspective, I also am a big fan.  What I am basically trying to say is, that Tampa Bay game was the one that completely sold me on having Kirk Cousins as the starter. 

Leading into that game, Cousins threw 24 career touchdowns to go along with 27 interceptions.  The Redskins were down 24-0 at the half.  In the second half, Cousins and the Redskins came all the way back to win 31-30.  On his way to the locker room, Cousins turned to reporters and shouted out "You like that?!"  It got a lot of people mocking him and a lot of my friends that hate the Redskins told me that he was too cocky for doing that and that the team wasn't going anywhere.  I disagreed.  I thought this was going to somehow turn into a rallying cry, and it did.  

Since that game, Cousins has thrown 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions.  Cousins also leads the league in completion percentage and passer rating in the second half of the season.  

This Sunday the Redskins face a struggling Green Bay Packers team.  After starting their season 6-0, they have lost six of their last 10 games including two in a row.  Last week at home, they fell to the Vikings 20-13 which set up the road contest with the Redskins.  

WIth the way Kirk Cousins has played lately as well as the hot streak Washington has winning four in a row, I think they can continue their momentum in the playoffs.  The playoffs are a whole different animal but I think this Redskins team is one of the most motivated teams we have ever seen.  While teams of the past have had talent, I have never seen a team with this much chemistry and I have been following the Redskins for 13 years.  My prediction is that the Redskins will win 31-24. 

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Redskins beat Cowboys, Packers await in Wild Card

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The Redskins secured the division and home field for the first round of the playoffs yet still had one more regular season game against their arch rival Dallas Cowboys.  While nothing was to be gained in this meaningless game between the rivals, the Redskins were hoping for a win for momentum heading into the playoffs.  They got it with a 34-23 win.

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The Redskins played their starters in the first quarter and quarterback Kirk Cousins had a field day with three touchdown passes on three straight drives.  His first was a five-yarder to Ryan Grant.  The second came on a deep ball to Pierre Garcon 39 yards.  His third was a short three yard pass to Jamison Crowder to put the Redskins up 21-0.

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On his 12th completion, Cousins set the single-season record for most passing yards by a Redskins quarterback with 4,166 yards.  He finished the afternoon 12 of 15 for 176 yards to go along with the three touchdowns.  Jordan Reed also earned his place in the Redskins record books as he became the new leader of receptions by a tight end with 87.

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Colt McCoy took over for the rest of the game.  His lone touchdown pass was a beautiful 71 yard throw to Rashad Ross.  The Redskins 34-23 win was the cherry on top for a turnaround year that saw the Skins win more than double their win total.  The Redskins finished with a 9-7 record and winners of four straight games.  It is also their first division title and trip to the playoffs since 2012.  The Redskins will host the Packers this Sunday at 4:40 p.m. from FedEx Field.  Tickets for that game sold out this morning in 13 minutes.

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