The Mets have been playing a lot better since manager Jerry Manuel took over for Willie Randolph. But lately, their bullpen has been simply awful. Last night, they blew a 4-run lead to the Pirates. Manuel got ejected, and the Mets lost 7-5.

Aaron Heilman was especially awful, getting tagged for 3 runs in a third of an inning in the 9th. Since the lost Billy Wagner to injury, the entire Mets bullpen has looked lost, and last night was just one more example. Pedro Martinez put in 6 solid innings, giving up only 1 run on 3 hits. But the bullpen proceeded to allow 6 runs in the remaining 3 innings, and blew the game completely.

Doug Mientkiewicz was the star for the Pirates, going 3-4 with 2 RBI. Steve Pearce and Ryan Doumit also had 2 RBI each.

Manuel got ejected in the 9th inning for arguing balls and strikes, but was obviously frustrated at his bullpen's performance. After the game, he even joked that he may start bringing starters out of the bullpen. While that's a very unorthodox and improbable idea, the Mets bullpen has been bad enough that it's almost a reasonably possibility.



----- Other MLB Games -----

AL:
Red Sox 5, White Sox 1 - Josh Beckett: 8 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 8 K, 0 BB
Indians 13, Orioles 8 - The Indians had 5 players with multiple RBI's. Nick Markakis: 4 RBI in the loss
Blue Jays 7, Tigers 2 - Rod Barajas: 2-3, 3 RBI, HR
Twins 4, Yankees 0 - Scott Perkins: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 K, 3 BB

NL:
Brewers 7, Nationals 1 - Corey Hart: 2-4, 2 RBI ... Dave Bush: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 6 K, 2 BB
Cardinals 4, Marlins 2 - Joel Pineiro: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 4 K, 2 BB
Astros 3, Giants 1 - Ty Wigginton: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
Dodgers 8, Phillies 6 - James Loney: 3-4, 3 RBI ... Manny Ramirez: 2-3, 2 RBI



----- Other MLB News/Notes -----

The Rays are in rough shape, as they suffer their 2nd huge injury in the past week.

Gary Sheffield is still the same old Gary Sheffield that everyone has grown to despise. Except now, he can't hit.

The D-Backs got themselves a power hitter.



Streakers - In case any team tries to make history, I'm going to list the teams with the longest active winning and losing streaks. Today's streakers:
Brewers: 6 wins
Reds: 6 losses