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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) – Kevin Appier took one for the team.
|  | | Mets starter Kevin Appier hits the deck after taking one off the chin on this A.J. Burnett offering. |
Appier pitched seven strong innings, started two rallies at the
plate and got up after taking a ball off his chin as the New York
Mets beat the Florida Marlins 11-3 Thursday night.
"I saw a real competitor out there tonight," manager Bobby
Valentine said. "That's what he's all about. He looked like a man
possessed."
Darren Bragg went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, Robin Ventura
had four RBI and Edgardo Alfonzo scored three and drove in three
as the Mets put together their highest scoring game this season.
"It was a tremendous offensive outburst," Appier said.
"That's what this offense can do."
Appier (3-5), who stopped his four-game losing streak, also
helped the Mets out at the plate, sparking two rallies to help New
York win for the fifth time in seven games.
Appier, an .067 hitter in 30 career at-bats coming in, led off a
three-run third inning with a single and was hit by a pitch from
A.J. Burnett (2-2) to start a four-run fifth. The ball deflected
off his left hand and hit Appier in the chin.
"My hand took the brunt of it," he said. "I did a system
check. I wasn't knocked out."
The Marlins, who entered second in the league in fielding,
dropped three fly balls, leading to four unearned runs.
Reliever Vladimir Nunez was ejected after hitting Benny Agbayani
with a pitch in the back with the bases loaded in the fifth inning.
"It wasn't a good outing for us," said manager John Boles, who
was ejected with Nunez. "It's still only one loss."
Appier, signed to a $42 million, four-year contract as a free
agent during the offseason, has been a disappointment. The Mets had
lost his previous five starts and Appier had a 7.56 ERA in that
span.
After giving up a two-run double to Charles Johnson in the
second inning, Appier was at his best. He allowed two runs, four
hits and striking out a season-high 10.
"I think I had thrown better than the results had been," he
said. "Tonight was more reflective of how I've pitched."
Appier's third career hit got the Mets started in the third
inning. Bragg followed with a single and Alfonzo tied the game at 2
with a two-run double. Alfonzo advanced on a flyout and scored on
Ventura's grounder.
"It's important to get on base in front of the big guys,"
Bragg said.
New York put the game away in the fifth. Burnett hit Appier with
the first pitch of the inning, causing plate umpire Phil Cuzzi to
warn both teams about pitching inside.
"I was scared to death," said Valentine, who came out and
argued about the warning and the pitch.
After singles by Bragg and Alfonzo scored Appier, Mike Piazza
hit a fly ball to center field that Preston Wilson dropped for an
error, loading the bases. Ventura hit a two-run double to knock out
Burnett, and with the bases loaded Nunez hit Agbayani with a pitch
in the back to score a run.
Cuzzi immediately signaled that Nunez was ejected, prompting a
lengthy argument from Boles.
"I don't want to hit this guy with the bases loaded," Nunez
said. "Why do I do that? But he made that decision and there is
nothing I can do about it."
Ventura added an RBI double in the sixth as the Mets scored four
runs with help from errors by right fielder John Mabry and second
baseman Luis Castillo.
Burnett, traded from the Mets to Florida in 1998 in a package
for Al Leiter, struggled in his first start against his former
team. He allowed seven runs – six earned – and seven hits in
four-plus innings. He didn't retire a batter after hitting Appier.
"I just got out of my mechanics after that and it kind of got
away from me," Burnett said.
Burnett had given up only two runs in his first three starts of
the season, including a no-hitter against San Diego on May 12.
Alex Gonzalez hit a solo homer in the eighth off Donne Wall for
Florida.
Game notes
Ventura is 50-for-140 (.357) with 15 homers and 169 RBI in
his career with the bases loaded. ... Johnson has driven in 34 of
his 35 runs this season against right-handed pitchers. ... Mets RHP
Steve Trachsel allowed eight hits and three runs in six innings in
his first start for Triple-A Norfolk. ... Piazza went 0-for-5,
lowering his average to .245.
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RECAPS
NY Yankees 2
Boston 1
Baltimore 6
Anaheim 4
Cleveland 8
Detroit 5
Chi. White Sox 3
Toronto 1
Texas 9
Tampa Bay 3
St. Louis 7
Milwaukee 4
Chicago Cubs 3
Cincinnati 0
San Diego 3
Arizona 1
Philadelphia 6
Pittsburgh 5
NY Mets 11
Florida 3
San Francisco 5
Colorado 1
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