PHILADELPHIA -- All that extra batting practice paid off for Wilmer Flores. Flores hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs, Bartolo Colon threw seven-plus sharp innings and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-2 Monday night in a makeup from an April rainout. "It felt good," Flores said. "Been struggling the last couple games, and I didnt feel good my first two at-bats, but as the game was going I made the adjustment, so I put a good swing on it. I havent been playing that much, so Ive just been taking extra batting practice. That helped." After playing 39 innings in the three previous games, the teams finally didnt go extras. The Mets took four of five from the Phillies and are 9-1 in Citizens Bank Park, dating to last season. Colon (5-5) allowed two runs and six hits to win his third straight decision. The 41-year-old righty has a 1.61 ERA in his last three outings. "He knows when he has to put a little something on it," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Hes the master of taking stuff, taking speed off the ball, getting it to sink, getting it to move. When he needs it, theres still plenty there." The last-place Phillies went 4-7 on a season-long 11-game homestand. Theyre a season-worst seven games under .500 and barely resemble the team that won five consecutive NL East titles from 2007-11. "We didnt play that well this homestand," Chase Utley said. "Nothing we can do about it now. We have to go on the road and win games." Roberto Hernandez (2-3) failed to pitch six innings for the sixth time in 10 starts. He allowed five runs -- four earned -- and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. Bobby Abreu and Lucas Duda hit consecutive doubles in the second to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. The Mets chased Hernandez in the sixth. Matt den Dekker and Daniel Murphy hit consecutive singles to start the inning. David Wright drove them both in with a shot off the wall in centre. After a one-out walk to Abreu, Hernandez was replaced by Mario Hollands. Duda hit a grounder to second base that shouldve been an inning-ending double play, but Utley booted it for an error. Flores then looped a two-run double down the right-field line for a 5-0 lead. The Mets blew it open with six runs in the ninth off Jake Diekman and Phillippe Aumont capped by Flores hitting a grand slam, his second career homer in 145 at-bats. "I just want to prove to them that I can do the job," Flores said. "I know Im good and I can do this." Den Dekker, called up from Triple-A Las Vegas a day after being sent down, robbed Ryan Howard of his third homer in three games. He jumped above the short wall in centre and grabbed Howards drive in the second. Den Dekker saved another run in the third when he threw out Reid Brignac trying to score from second on Ben Reveres single. Brignac hadnt even reached third base when den Dekker fielded the ball in medium centre, but third-base coach Pete Mackanin inexplicably waived him home. Howards RBI groundout in the sixth ended Colons scoreless innings streak at 16 1-3. Revere scored on Jeurys Familias wild pitch in the eighth to cut it to 5-2. NOTES: The Mets placed CF Juan Lagares on the 15-day DL with a strained right intercostal muscle. Den Dekker replaced him. ... Phillies ace Cliff Lee, out with an elbow strain, hopes to start a throwing program during Philadelphias upcoming road trip. ... The Phillies are 12-19 at home; 12-12 on the road. The Phillies start a three-game series at Washington on Tuesday. David Buchanan (1-1, 3.86) makes his third career start filling in for Lee. Jordan Zimmermann (3-2, 4.07) goes for the Nationals. ... The Mets head to Chicago for a three-game series vs. the Cubs. Zack Wheeler (2-5, 4.31) faces Jake Arrieta (1-1, 3.20) on Tuesday night. . The Cavs announced the move Saturday, one day after LeBron James said hes returning to Cleveland. A 12-year veteran, Haywood has played in 794 NBA games, averaging 6. . Terms of the contract were not disclosed by the club. Clemons spent his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 draft out of Clemson.
http://www.authenticbasketballshophawks ... ks-jersey/. As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. . -- Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale searched more than three quarters for five guys who would play well together.(SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will close out a five-game homestand Tuesday and will try to add to the misery of the Minnesota Timberwolves from Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers are 3-1 on the stay and posted back-to-back victories with Sundays 105-91 decision over the talented Memphis Grizzlies. James scored 25 points and handed out 11 assists, Dion Waiters scored 21 points off the bench and Kyrie Irving ended with 17 to go along with 12 assists. Anderson Varejao scored 18 points for the Cavs, who shot a sizzling 60.5 percent and made 7-of-14 3-pointers. I was there to knock shots down, said Waiters, who scored 20-plus points for the second time in three games. We moved the ball tremendously tonight. We have to play like that all the time. Cleveland has won 11 of its last 14 games overall and is 10-5 at home. James is averaging 28.5 points per game in his last six for the Cavaliers, who are 8-1 in their last nine games at the Q. The Cavs are posting an average of 104.3 ppg in those nine home games. The Cavaliers have lost six of nine games against Western foes. This will mark the first time Clevelands Kevin Love will face his former team. The Timberwolves traded Love in the offseason for Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, the last two No. 1 overall picks in the draft. Love expressed a desire not to re-sign with Minnesota this summer when he becomes a free agent. Lovee played six seasons with the T-wolves and made three All-Star teams.dddddddddddd After hosting the Timberwolves, James and the Cavs will begin a tour of Florida with consecutive games against Miami and Orlando. James, of course, won two NBA titles with the Heat before heading back home this offseason. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will play four straight on the road against Cleveland, Denver, Golden State and Utah, and are 2-10 as the visitor. Minnesota has lost five in a row and 11 of its last 12 games, including Sundays 100-96 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. Mo Williams had 24 points and 10 assists off the bench and Shabazz Muhammad added 21. Chase Budinger provided 13 points off the bench for the Wolves, who shot a decent 46.8 percent and committed 16 turnovers. Minnesota gave up 52 points in the first half, but later took a 92-91 lead on a Williams basket. We didnt play as hard as we needed to play in the first half, Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. (The young guys) need to play with a sense of urgency. Or they are going to sit. The T-wolves are 1-20 when allowing 100 or more points and 29th in opponents scoring at 108.4 ppg. Minnesota and Cleveland will play twice this season and are scheduled to meet again Jan. 31 at the Target Center. The Wolves and Cavs split a pair of matchups last season, while the Timberwolves have won five of the last seven contests in this series. ' ' '
