Day One of the 2011 NHL free agent season showed a variety of different approaches as teams tried to buy themselves a brighter future. While the catch of the day - Brad Richards - remains unhooked, most teams were quick to snatch up other pieces that could immediately improve their rosters. The Philadelphia Flyers may have made the biggest splash of the day, landing Jaromir Jagr after he seemed destined for their cross-state rivals in Pittsburgh. They were able to outbid teams like Pittsburgh and Detroit, inking him to a one-year, $3.3-million deal. The Flyers, who have drastically re-shaped their team in the past week thanks to dealing Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, wouldnt stop there. They would then sign one of the Penguins biggest role-players in gritty forward Maxime Talbot to a five-year, $9-million deal. "It could be a very good fit," said TSN hockey analyst Darren Pang. "They have a group of high-end, highly skilled defencemen that can get him the puck in the right places, he can be effective on the power-play and theres lots of power-play time to be had right now without Mike Richards or Jeff Carter." All the Flyers additions came at the expense of one of their key contributors from last season. Backed by new owner Terry Pegula, Buffalo flexed its newfound financial muscle and scooped Philadelphias fifth-leading scorer from last season, Ville Leino. After years of losing key players to the open market, Buffalo found itself dropping big money - $27 million over six years - and luring one of the bigger names available this off-season. "Its been long overdue," said TSN hockey analyst Pierre McGuire. "Now they actually get to keep their own players, trade for some bigger players and make their team better." The big spending was kicked off before the clock even struck noon, however, as the Columbus Blue Jackets made James Wisniewski Canada Days big winner. After acquiring his negotiating right from Montreal on Wednesday, Columbus locked the tough defender in to a six-year, $33-million deal. "This really puts an identity into the Columbus Blue Jackets," Pang said. "Now your top lines going to be Jeff Carter with Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger. The Central Divisions awfully tough, but the Blue Jackets made a real good step here." The Canadian teams, meanwhile, took vastly different approaches. Montreal opted to drop some big bucks of their own, adding big winger Erik Cole. He didnt come cheap, at $16-million over four years, but the Canadiens added a key piece to their attack in Cole. "They really had to address their lack of size up front and their lack of speed with big people up front," said McGuire "Now they (have that) with Erik Cole". The party line in Vancouver, meanwhile, was tinkering with the line-up in hopes of turning themselves from number-one contenders into champions. They would keep a couple core pieces in Sami Salo and Christ Higgins, while adding veteran forward Marco Sturm. "I think they identified - as the playoffs wore on - that you need to have depth," Pang said. "You need to have guys that can slide into top-nine, top-six roles. I think theyve done a nice job of re-tooling for next year." Their roster would not go untouched, however, as they lost agitator Tanner Glass just a day after Buffalo locked Christian Erhoff into a mammoth 10-year, $40-million deal. Edmonton added some grind to its forward ranks, signing Eric Belanger out of Phoenix and San Joses Ben Eager. Edmonton went a slightly less conventional route in shoring up its back end. On the same day he was bought out by Minnesota, Edmonton would snatch up former top-three pick Cam Barker to a one-year, $2.25-million deal. "The defence is getting better, but theyre still a long way away," said McGuire. "They still need to make some major upgrades back there." Ottawa, Winnipeg and Calgary would make small moves of their own. Ottawa inked back-up keeper Alex Auld. Calgary would lock down recently-acquired blue-liner Chris Butler. Winnipeg, meanwhile, added depth with its first unrestricted signings in Tanner Glass and Derek Meech. The Leafs, though, would keep silent throughout Day One. Going all-in in their pursuit of a number-one centre, they dedicated all their efforts on trying to lure Brad Richards north. "They made their pitch to Brad Richards, and thats the risk you run when you put all your eggs in that basket," said former NHLer Mike Johnson. "While you wait for Brad Richards to make that decision, youre on the backburner for a lot of other guys, potential other free agents you might want to sign." With a decision from Richards not expected until Saturday, the effectiveness of the Leafs Day One strategy remains to be seen.

Cheap China Jerseys . Shortstop Hanley Ramirez had a CT scan on his left ribs Sunday, and the results were not yet available. He got hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly in the opener but stayed in to play all 13 innings of a 3-2 loss Friday. MLB China Jerseys . Kinsler, who had been out since May 18 with a ribcage injury, was activated from the disabled list after playing only two games for Double-A Frisco. He was 0 for 8 with a walk in the two games. http://www.cheapchinajerseys.biz/." One game is checked off, 15 remain and the next one to get crossed out could come Tuesday night when the defending champion Heat host the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series. NFL China Jerseys . Zito dove to catch a pop bunt in front of the mound by Arizona pitcher Joe Saunders in the second inning of the Giants 5-3 victory over the Diamondbacks on Saturday night. China Jerseys . Cano homered and drove in three runs to extend his recent tear, Kuroda took a shutout into the eighth inning and New York beat the Cleveland Indians 7-1 on Monday night.Danick Gaulthier scored two goals and Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Saint John Sea Dogs shutout the Quebec Remparts 6-0 Sunday in Quebec Junior Major Hockey League action. Jason Cameron, Tomas Jurco, Nathan Beaulieu and Charles-Olivier Roussel each scored singles to round out the scoring for the Sea Dogs (12-5-0), who now sit first in league standings. Team captain Jonathan Huberdeau added three assists. Louis Domingue made 43 saves for the Remparts (9-3-3). Elsewhere in QMJHL action, it was: Baie-Comeau 5, Chicoutimi 4; Blainville-Boisbriand 5, Moncton 4; Val-dOr 5, Rouyn-Noranda 1; and Victoriaville 5, Cape Breton 2. At Saint John, N.B., Danick Gaulthier opened the scoring for the Sea Dogs 4:27 into the first period. Quebec kept it close but second period goals from Jason Cameron and Tomas Jurco gave Saint John a 3-0 to take into the third period. Nathan Beaulieu scoreed short-handed 2:09 into the third period and Gaulthier added his second goal of the game minutes later to extend the lead to five.dddddddddddd Charles-Olivier Roussell scored on the power-play at 16:20 to make it a 6-0 final. --- Drakkar 5, Saugueneens 4 (SO) At Baie-Comeau, Alexandre Durette and Jean-Philippe Caron each had a goal and an assist to lead the Drakkar (11-4-0) over the Saugeens (8-5-5). --- Armada 5, Wildcats 4 At Boisbriand, Nikita Kolesnikovs had three assists and Alex Micallef scored in the final minute of the game to lift the Armada (8-9-1) over Moncton (8-10-1). --- Foreurs 5, Huskies 1 At Val-Dor, Cedrick Henley scored twice and Benjamin Casavant had three points as the Foreurs (9-7-2) beat Rouyn-Noranda (6-10-1). --- Tigres 5, Screaming Eagles 2 At Victoriaville, Yanni Gourde had two goals and two assists as the Tigres (11-6-0) defeated Cape Breton (7-10-1). ' ' '

Foxboro, MA (Sports Network) - The New York Jets have denied that three wide receivers went to head coach Rex Ryan to question the job being done by their offensive coordinator. The New York Daily News reported Sunday that Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason had individually approached Ryan in the past few weeks with concerns about Brian Schottenheimer. The team released a brief statement before Sundays game at New England: "The New York Jets deny a report this morning that wide receivers Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes and Derrick Mason have gone to head coach Rex Ryan individually in the past few weeks to question offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers system."

wholesale jerseys . Shane Hnidy joins me on TSN 1290 for the radio broadcast, while Dennis Beyak, Mike Johnson and Sara Orlesky will describe the action on TSN Jets. cheap nfl jerseys . Spurs are two points ahead of their north London rivals, who play their game in hand against Wigan on Tuesday, after Adebayor tapped in Clint Dempseys low cross in the 83rd minute. Dempsey had equalized for Tottenham at Britannia Stadium in the 20th after Steven Nzonzi opened the scoring in the third minute for Stoke, which is still not mathematically safe from relegation. http://www.chinajerseysnfl.com/. The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. cheap jerseys . Adriano scored two first-half goals to lead Barcelona, which will be returning to the Club World Cup final for the first time since 2009 when the team beat Argentine club Estudiantes. china jerseys .C. Romero for assignment and replaced him with right-hander Vance Worley.HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard had 15 points and 17 rebounds and James Harden scored 19 to help the Houston Rockets to a 100-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks on in a preseason game on Monday night. Houston coach Kevin McHale moved Howard to power forward on Monday to get 7-foot centre Omer Asik in the lineup with the teams new acquisition. Asik had four points and nine rebounds in his fiirst game this season after dealing with a calf injury.dddddddddddd The game was tied late in the third before the Rockets used a 7-0 run to take a 77-70 lead and hold on for the win. Dirk Nowitzki had 11 points and four blocked shots before he was ejected late in the third quarter after drawing a flagrant two foul for knocking Omri Casspi to the ground on a fast break. ' ' '

(SportsNetwork.com) - Postseason baseball returns to the Steel City for the first time in 21 years on Tuesday when Justin Moreau, Russell Martin and the Pittsburgh Pirates host Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds in the National League wild card game at PNC Park. There have been over 600 playoff games contested in Major League Baseball since the Pirates lost to the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 1992 NL Championship Series. None of those games, though, have included the Pirates, who are back in the postseason for the first time since their last winning season way back in 1992. This will be the first playoff game in Pittsburgh since Game 5 of that 1992 NLCS. "Thats a long wait," said Pirates second baseman Neil Walker. "Our focus is winning games and series, and we play for each other more than anything else. But we also play for the city and the fans. After teasing its fans with two straight second half collapses, Pittsburgh put it all together this season behind NL MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen and ended the year, 94-68. The Pirates spent a good deal of time atop the NL Central and were 26 games above .500 on Aug. 8. However, they were a .500 team in 48 games after that, but won five of six to close the campaign. In fact the Pirates cemented their season by sweeping the Reds over the weekend to secure homefield advantage for the wild card game, outscoring their NL Central foes, 16-6 in the process. "Itll be electric," Bucs outfielder Marlon Byrd said. "This city, its sports fans ... they love their sports. Theyve had their Steelers and their Penguins, and have been waiting on their Pirates. And here we come. "We wanted to make sure were able to bring it back to Pittsburgh. One game. Now its time to get it done." Pittsburgh had five All-Stars at this years Midsummer Classic, but none shined brighter than McCutchen, who continued to state his case as one of the best young players in the game. McCutchen hit .317 with 21 home runs, 84 RBI, 27 stolen bases, a .404 on-base percentage and .508 slugging percentage in 157 games. He became just the fourth major league center fielder since 1947 to have consecutive seasons of hitting .300 with a .400 slugging percentage and .500 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, joining Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr. In addition to the great McCutchen, a big reason behind the Pirates success was the man that will be taking the ball on Tuesday, left-hander Francisco Liriano. Signed as a free agent this winter, Liriano missed the first month of the season recovering from a broken arm, but showed no ill effects of the injury upon his return and ended the year, 16-8, while pitching to a 3.02 ERA. Liriano, the Pirates first postseason starter since Doug Drabek, struggled against the Reds, going 0-3 with a 3.70 ERA against them in four starts. However, the Dominican hurler was terrific at PNC Park, where he has just one loss in 11 starts (8-1) with a sparkling 1.49 ERA. Pittsburgh, as a team, was 50-31 in front of its fans this season. While the Pirates are back in the postseason for the first time in over two decades, Cincinnati is making its third appearance in four years after going 90-72. Like Pittsburgh, the Reds were in cruise control for the better part of September, despite being six games back in the NL Central as late as Aug. 10. Still and all, Cincinnati essentially knew it would be postseason bound in some capacity after taking three of four from Arizona from Aug. 19-22. The Reds, though, enter the postseason riding a five-game losing streak after losing three straight home games to the Pirates. "Youve got to block it out," manager Dusty Baker said of the rough finish. "Its a situation where its a new season. What you did previously, it doesnt matter. What you didnt do previously doesnt matter. Now you start the season all over." Cincinnati has something to prove this October after an awful collapse in last years NLDS. The Reds had won the first two games of that series with the San Francisco Giants, only to lose the final three at home in the best-of-five set to the eventual World Series champions. Johnny Cueto made only eight pitches in that series before leaving Game 1 with a strained oblique and will take the ball for the Reds Tuesday following an injury-plagued 2013 that saw him make three trips to the disabled list. "Its a really meaningful game for me," Cueto said via translator Tomas Vera. "This is the most important game of the season. All I have to do is keep doing my job. Baseball is still the same. I hope to do what I have to do." After missing 2 1/2 months with a lat strain Cueto returned to make two starts late in the season and allowed just one earned run in 12 innings. He ended his year 5-2 with a 2.82 ERA. "Im going to be normal. Im going to be the same guy," Cueto said. "What happened to me in San Francisco, I was excited. I was so emotional for the game and I think I overdid it too much. I really dont know what happened that day or how I got to that point." As bad as Liriano was against the Reds this season, Cueto has been the exact opposite versus Pittsburgh, posting a 13-4 lifetime mark against the Pirates with a 2.37 ERA in 21 starts. "They have a great team," Cueto said. "They have really good players so Im going to have to do my job as well." The matchup between Cueto and Liriano is just the third in postseason history between two starting pitchers from the Dominican Republic. In both 1999 and 2004, Pedro Martinez faced off against Bartolo Colon. "I want to tell my people in the Dominican Republic to follow this game," Cueto said. "There are two Dominicans on the mound. I want to give advice to all the youth in the Dominican that you have to work hard and continue working hard to do things like this." The Pirates took 11 of their 19 meetings with the Reds, including five of the nine matchups in Pittsburgh. Tuesdays winner will face NL Central champion St. Louis in the NLDS beginning on Thursday.

nfl jerseys china . -- There were no late-game heroics for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. wholesale jerseys . While Richards continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms, the Stars try to win three straight for the first time in over a month as they visit the Phoenix Coyotes, who are hoping to avoid a season-worst fourth consecutive setback this evening at Jobing. http://www.chinajerseysnfl.com/. Tom Soehn, Vancouvers director of soccer operations, had made the journey to evaluate defender Alain Rochat and midfielder Davide Chiumiento. cheap jerseys . The Thunder acquired guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick in the surprising deal. Oklahoma City also sent centre Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston. cheap nfl jerseys . Well, here they are. Williams will make his debut as a major league manager with the Washington Nationals, a hiring announced by Rizzo on Thursday, one day after the World Series ended. "Matt played with intensity as a player, but he also was a terrific teammate.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Rory McIlroy went home to Northern Ireland after the Masters and left his clubs behind in Florida. He didnt touch them again until he returned last week to start gearing up for a big summer that includes his title defence at the U.S. Open. The Wells Fargo Championship will be only his second tournament in the last two months. Its an example of how McIlroy, who turns 23 on Friday, already is learning to find balance in a life that is more public than ever and getting increasingly busy. He was in Germany to watch his girlfriend, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, and he brought her home to Holywood in County Down on a whim. He even had occasion to chat with the Queen of England during a horse race at Newbury. "For me, theres more to life than just golf," McIlroy said Wednesday. "I dont know if people are surprised to hear that, but I have a lot going on in my life than just golf." McIlroy is growing into his role as the biggest of the games rising stars -- on and off the golf course. When he arrived at Quail Hollow, he made time Tuesday to film a commercial for the PGA Tour and its support of the St. Judes Children Hospital. McIlroy appears in the commercial with Shaun White, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in snowboarding, and a 7-year-old boy named Dawson who is undergoing chemotherapy. McIlroy is not even playing the St. Jude Classic next month, which benefits the hospital. No matter. Boy Wonder is touched by children, as he showed last year during a UNICEF trip to Haiti. And he was especially moved by Dawson. "If Im going to do anything like that, I want it to be with kids, because I feel like I can relate to them a little bit better than anything else," McIlroy said. "To see someone go through what hes going through, and to have all this positivity coming out of him, it just makes you realize how lucky and how fortunate we are. I know if I was going through an illness like what Dawson has, I dont know if I would be as bright as and as happy and as cheery as he is. Its definitely inspiring to see." McIlroy said there was one moment during the video shoot when the director told the boy that he could use a TelePrompTer if he forgot his lines. "And he goes, I dont know how to read," McIlroy said. "So he memorized his lines, and he was brilliant. He was more of a pro than I was. It was cool to see." Conor Ridge, his agent at Horizon Sports Management, said White asked for McIlroy to be part of the commercial. "Watching him react with Dawson was unreal," Ridge said. "You forget how young Rory is." Its easier to forget considering what he already has achieved. McIlroy twice has reached No. 1 in the world this spring, only for Luke Donald to wrest it away from him last week in New Orleans. Its a battle that could go on during the summer, with perhaps Lee Westwood rejoining the fray. McIlroy or Westwood could go to No. 1 with a win this week. Donald is not playing. "IIt would be nice to assert my authority in that No.dddddddddddd1 position and keep it for a while," McIlroy said. Quail Hollow again has attracted a strong field on one of the top golf courses on the PGA Tour, so good that it already has landed the PGA Championship for 2017. Tiger Woods, who won here in 2007, makes his first start since his worst Masters -- a tie for 40th, and heavy criticism for kicking his 9-iron after a poor tee shot on the 16th hole in the second round. Woods did not make himself available for interviews. Instead, he answered 19 questions that fans submitted on Facebook and Twitter and posted the video on his website Monday. His spokesman said he would not be taking questions after his pro-am Wednesday, and several cameras followed him as he left the 18th green and signed autographs. That didnt stop a few players from having fun with his decision. "You guys didnt see my video, huh?" Phil Mickelson playfully asked when he sat down for his interview. Hunter Mahan, who shares the same swing coach as Woods, said with a smile at the end of his press conference, "I was going to announce that Im only doing webcasts from now on." Woods won by five shots at Bay Hill in his last start before the Masters, so his performance at Augusta National was a surprise. He said on his video that his posture was slightly off, and that it has been fixed since returning to practice. McIlroy won his first PGA Tour event at Quail Hollow in 2010 when he closed with a 62, the sign of big things to come. He shot 63 at St. Andrews that summer to tie the major championship record, then shattered the U.S. Open scoring record at Congressional last year to finish at 16-under 268. If nothing else, he should be fresh for this week. McIlroy finished third at Doral, and then took three weeks off before he tied for 40th at the Masters. He went to Europe for two weeks, and then last week worked hard in the gym and on the practice range to get ready for this big stretch. He has Quail Hollow and The Players Championship, over to England for Europes flagship event at Wentworth, back to America for the Memorial and then the U.S. Open. He hopes to play no more than about 24 events on both tours this year. The last few months have been important for him to do very little on the course. "Basically, the most important time for me in the golf season is from the start of April until the end of August. Thats when all the big tournaments are and thats when you want to play your best golf," McIlroy said. "All the stuff either side of that is more preparation work and making sure that your game is getting ready and your body is physically ready for that time of the year. "Ive got a busy stretch coming up now," he said. "I know Ive been criticized a little bit for not playing as much as some other guys leading into these few weeks, but I know Ive got a big stretch coming up, and I want to be as fresh as possible for this." ' ' '

(SportsNetwork.com) - The shock of Daniel Alfredssons departure from Ottawa has probably started to lighten a bit now that the NHL season is a few weeks old, but Senators fans may still have to blink a few times on Wednesday night when they see the veteran forward in a Detroit Red Wings sweater. The Sens will get a look at the definition of their past as they visit Alfredsson and the Red Wings for the first time since this season. You can catch all of the action live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt and get in-depth player stats, Twitter Trender and more on TSN.cas GameTracker. Alfredsson sent waves through the NHL, especially in Ottawa, when he departed the Sens as a free agent by signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal with Detroit on July 5. It ended a relationship with the city and franchise that began when the Senators took the Swede in the sixth round of the 1994 draft. "It was a very tough decision, especially when it happened fairly quickly. But the way I looked at it at the time and still do today, its a huge challenge for myself personally, both on and off the ice," Alfredsson told NHL.com. "Its a big challenge for our family and I think I will look back at this down the road as something that was a stepping stone for me in my life, in a lot of different areas." The 40-year-old played in 17 seasons with Ottawa before departing as the clubs all-time leader in goals (426), assists (682), points (1,108) and games played (1,108). He was selected to six All-Star Games in that span and served as the captain of the Senators from 1999-2013. Alfredsson, who has a goal and eight assists in 10 games with the Red Wings, will face the Senators again in Detroit on Nov. 23 just over a week before his first scheduled trip to Ottawa on Dec. 1. Ottawa head coach Paul MacLean is tasked with trying to keep his team focused on the task at hand and not on the reunion with Alfredsson. "I think Bobby Ryan went back to Anaheim and it was emotional for him," said MacLean. "Im not going to be able to speak for Daniel. Were just going there to play the Red Wings. Thats all my focus is on is were playing the Red Wings. Thats a big enough task in my book." The Sens and Red Wings will meet four times in total this season after realignment shifted Detroit from the Western to Eastern Conference. The Senators and Red Wings both now reside in the new-look Atlantic Division. Detroit has won four straight over Ottawa, scoring 19 goals over that time, and has not lost to the Senators since Jan. 12, 2008 on the road. The Red Wings have won two straight and five of the previous six meetings at home in this series. Alfredsson and the rest of the Red Wings offense was shut down in Mondays 1-0 shootout loss to the visiting San Jose Sharks. Jimmy Howard made 27 saves through overtime to get credited with his 17th career shutout, but allowed the only goal of the tiebreaker. "That was two really good teams playing some great defense out there," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "Scoring chances were very few on both sides of the ice." The Red Wings lost their second game in a row, but are 4-1-1 in their past six games overall. Detroit will be without defenseman Jonathan Ericsson for at least the next two weeks due to a partially dislocated left shoulder. Niklas Kronwall, who intended to play on Wednesday, took a puck to the face at practice and will be a game time decision. The team recalled Xavier Oullett from Grand Rapids, who will step in if Kronwall is unable to play. The Sens, meanwhile, had a two-game win streak halted with Saturdays 3-1 home setback to the Edmonton Oilers. Chris Neil had a third-period goal and backup netminder Robin Lehner made 18 saves as Ottawa failed to record a point for the third time this season (3-3-2). "I dont think we had enough traffic at their net. We didnt get to their net probably as much as we needed to," noted MacLean. "If we could have got a little more traffic it probably would have helped us a lot, but they did a good job of boxing us out." As the Senators prepare to face their former star they recalled 20-year-old forward Mika Zibanejad from Binghamton on Tuesday. The sixth overall pick of the 2011 draft ranked fourth in scoring for the Sens last season, notching 20 points on seven goals and 13 assists in 42 games. The Swede had two goals and five assists in six games with the B-Sens of the American Hockey League this season. No. 1 goaltender Craig Anderson is likely to get the start tonight for the Sens and is just 2-5-0 with a 3.14 goals against average in 10 games (7 starts) versus the Red Wings. Howard is unbeaten in three starts against the Sens, going 3-0-0 with a 3.00 GAA.

nfl jerseys cheap . -- Mike McCarthy never put a whole lot of stock in a perfect season, except as a means of gaining home-field advantage and setting the Green Bay Packers up for another Super Bowl run. cheap jerseys . Twice this season, the team has been dealt three consecutive shutouts against MLS opponents. http://www.cheapnfljerseysonline.biz/.C. -- Gerald Henderson is enjoying the best streak of his four-year NBA career, and the Charlotte Bobcats are playing better, too. cheap reebok nfl jerseys . The Canadian catcher belted his career-best 20th home run of the season Friday as the New York Yankees continued their playoff push with a convincing win over Toronto. cheap authentic nfl jerseys . Canada will host the second stop on the circuit, the 2011 Skate Canada International in Mississauga, Ontario from October 27-30, 2011 at the Hershey Centre. NEW YORK -- Mike Baxter made the play of the game 12 pitches in. The left fielder turned a potential two-run double into an inning-ending double play with a leaping catch of Jesus Guzmans drive against the wall. Dillon Gee relaxed after that and struck out a career-high nine to lead the New York Mets over the San Diego Padres 6-1 Friday night. "Huge," Gee said. "It gives me confidence going the rest of the game." He started with a five-pitch walk to Will Venable and allowed Yonder Alonsos popped single to left that put runners at the corners. Baxter got a good read on Guzmans drive and made what he considered his best catch ever. "I didnt even play outfield in Little League and high school," he said. "Thats probably the first time at this level." He saw third baseman David Wright waving his arms to get his attention, then made a precise throw to shortstop Ronny Cedeno, who doubled up Alonso returning to first. "It really lifted Dillon and everyone else. It was a tremendous play," Mets manager Terry Collins said. Venable scored on the sacrifice fly, putting the Padres ahead. New York first baseman Ike Davis was disappointed when he found out about that. "I gave a first pump because I thought the run wouldnt count," Davis said. Once Gee was back in the dugout, he was told to slow down by pitching coach Dan Warthen. Gee (4-3) wound up allowing just the one run and four hits in seven innings, combining with Tim Byrdak and Ramon Ramirez on a four-hitter. Following Sundays 6-5 win at Toronto, Gee has wins in consecutive outings for the first time since he reeled off five in a row from May 13 to June 10 last year. "Thats what I want to be, is a consistent guy that you know what youre going to get every night out. Lately I havent been that guy, and it really gets under my skin," Gee said. "I just feel my mechanics have been all out of whack. My right foot didnt know what my left foot was doing, and I just felt lost." Lucas Duda hit a tying home run in the second off Anthony Bass (2-5), a solo drive off the front of the second deck in right, Consecutive doubles by Gee and Baxter put the Mets ahead in the third, just the second extra-base hit for Gee in 70 career at-bats. Kirk Nieuwenhuis followed with an RBI single for a 3-1 lead. "Thats another thing that was getting under my skin. I didnt have a hit yet this year," said Gee, who had been 0 for 11. "I came in the dugout and I was just gasping for air." Baxter, hitting .3352 in 54 at-bats, started in left field and led off for the third time in four games, forcing Andres Torres to the bench.dddddddddddd. The 27-year-old from Queens was claimed off waivers from San Diego last July. Collins compared him in a way to Mike Piazza, a 62nd-round draft pick for the Los Angeles who became a 12-time All-Star for the Dodgers and the Mets. "He came to camp to make the club," the manager said. "Now he made the club. Hes pretty tough to get out of the lineup right now." Baxter was filled with praise for the Padres and their organization, and he was happy to see some of his former teammates. "Hes a solid, fundamentally sound player. I think our minor league people taught him well," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Hes a bright kid, our minor league guys really liked him. The cool thing is when a guy comes back and plays in his hometown." New York, which has split the first half of the four-game series, broke it open in the fifth when Daniel Murphy hit an RBI double and slumping Ike Davis hit a two-run single. Davis, who entered with a .164 average, has driven in runs in consecutive games for the third time this season. "Im a lot better player than Ive showed," he said "Thats what Im supposed to do. Tonight I actually helped the team do something." Bass allowed six runs -- matching his season high -- eight hits and three walks in 5 1-3 innings. "Honestly, its the best I felt all year," he said. "Every mistake I made they hit." Wright went 0 for 3 with a walk, dropping his average to .397 -- only its third day under .500 since May 12. Collins was especially pleased the rest of his offence came through on a night Wright didnt, praising players with relatively little big league experience. "They have been on those bus rides together. Theyre up here now finally enjoying the fruits of all that time in the minor leagues," Collins said. "They just enjoy playing with each other and playing hard. The winning is certainly a reflection of the way theyve played the game." NOTES: Van Smith, a scout for the Padres since 1991, died Thursday at the age of 67. ... Mets RHP Chris Young allowed three earned runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings for St. Lucie against Charlotte in the Class A Florida State League. he threw 54 of 74 pitches for strikes. ... Carlos Quentin, still recovering from right knee surgery in spring training, was supposed to made a rehab appearance for Class A Lake Elsinore. He also played for the Storm on May 9 and 10. ' ' '