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NEW YORK -- Step by step, the improving New York Mets are building momentum for the second half. Cheap Jerseys . Chris Young and rookie Eric Campbell delivered big hits off the bench in the late innings to rally New York past the Miami Marlins 5-4 on Saturday. Youngs pinch-hit, two-run homer off Bryan Morris tied it at 4 in the seventh. Campbell came through with a pinch-hit single in the eighth to put the Mets ahead. "That might be the biggest win of the year right there for us," manager Terry Collins said. Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out 10 in six innings and New York (44-50) executed a perfect suicide squeeze, moving to 7-2 on a 10-game homestand that leads into the All-Star break. Christian Yelich homered for the Marlins, who have lost four of five. With two outs in the eighth, Travis dArnaud doubled off left-hander Mike Dunn (7-5). Campbell batted for Kirk Nieuwenhuis and poked a soft single into centre to give the Mets their first lead. "I just didnt execute the pitch: 3-2 slider," Dunn said. "Left it over the plate. Pretty much the only bad slider I threw all inning." Vic Black (2-2) worked a scoreless inning, and Jenrry Mejia got three quick outs for his 10th save. It is the third time the Mets have won seven games on a homestand at Citi Field, which opened in 2009. All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy stretched high for a leaping grab that kept the game tied in the top of the eighth, eliciting a roar not heard very often at Citi Field lately. Many in the festive crowd of 35,283 stayed for a postgame concert by Huey Lewis and the News. "I still cant believe I saw that," dArnaud said. "He could dunk, I think, with how high he jumped." With his days in the rotation probably numbered, as long as Jonathon Niese comes out of the All-Star break healthy, Matsuzaka had his fourth career double-digit strikeout game. The other three came with Boston in 2007, his first season in the majors. "My slider was really good today, which contributed to those strikeouts, but I would rather have gone deeper in the game," Matsuzaka said through a translator. Marlins starter Tom Koehler, pitching about 12 miles from his New Rochelle hometown, tossed two-hit ball into the seventh and left with a 4-2 lead after a one-out walk to No. 8 batter Ruben Tejada. Young was batting .195 before launching Morris first pitch into the left-field stands for his second career pinch-hit homer. The other came on June 27, 2012, with Arizona against Atlanta. "Never have I given up. I always realized how many games are left, how much is still possible," said Young, in his first season with the Mets after signing a $7.25 million, one-year contract. "The games ahead have nothing to do with the games that are past." Morris hadnt allowed an earned run in 21 1-3 innings over 17 games with Miami since arriving from Pittsburgh on June 1 -- the longest consecutive innings streak without yielding an earned run to begin a Marlins career. "Stroke of lightning that C.Y. dropped on em right there," Murphy said. Garrett Jones and Marcell Ozuna hit consecutive RBI doubles in the sixth off Matsuzaka to put Miami ahead 4-2. Adeiny Hechavarria hit a leadoff double in the Marlins third and scored when third baseman David Wright made an error on Donovan Solanos RBI grounder. With two on, Matsuzaka limited the damage by striking out slumping slugger Giancarlo Stanton and Casey McGehee on sliders. Yelichs solo shot in the fifth cleared the right-centre fence near the 390-foot sign. It was only the third home run this season off Matsuzaka, who has thrown 71 innings. New York tied it 2-all in the bottom half after Yelich was slow to get back on Nieuwenhuis double at the left-field wall. Juan Lagares had an RBI groundout, and Nieuwenhuis dashed home on Tejadas suicide squeeze. "That was one we shouldve been able to lock down," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "Weve had some struggles holding down a lead late in the game." NOTES: Marlins RHP Henderson Alvarez was added to the NL All-Star roster as a replacement for injured Washington pitcher Jordan Zimmermann. ... Collins said he might rest Murphy on Sunday before he heads to his first All-Star game. Campbell would probably start at second. ... RHP Bartolo Colon will start for the Mets in San Diego after the break. RHP Dillon Gee will be ready for that series but the team isnt counting on Niese (shoulder) that weekend, Collins said. Niese plans to throw Sunday and the Mets will wait to see how hes feeling before scheduling his return from the disabled list. ... New York rookie Jacob deGrom (2-5, 3.38 ERA) starts the series finale Sunday against LHP Brad Hand (0-1, 5.09). Cheap NFL Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. wholesale nfl jerseys . The Blue Jackets entered this series against the Metropolitan Division champions as heavy underdogs, but they sit tied with the Penguins at two wins apiece. Columbus has arrived at this point with a pair of overtime victories, including a 4-3 triumph in Wednesdays Game 4 clash at Nationwide Arena that gave the franchise its first home playoff win. MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Zimmer is finally a head coach in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings think now is the time for the veteran defensive co-ordinator. The Vikings announced on Twitter on Wednesday night that they had hired Zimmer for their top coaching job. "Im extremely excited to bring a championship to the state of Minnesota and to the great fan base of the Vikings," Zimmer said in a video posted on the teams Twitter account. "I cant wait to get to work." Long after reports first surfaced about the hire, the Vikings remained quiet. Their silence was strange, considering a report by ESPN that they had already requested and received permission from Cleveland to interview offensive co-ordinator Norv Turner for the same position in Minnesota. The top headline on the team website touted an area winner in the annual NFL Punt, Pass & Kick contest. That doesnt mean the Vikings werent delighted about the ninth head coach in their 54-year history. Tight end Kyle Rudolph, centre John Sullivan and defensive end Brian Robison were among the players who expressed excitement about the former Bengals assistant via their Twitter accounts. "Fired up about Coach Zimmer! As a Cincy kid hes been fun to watch there and cant wait to work with him!" Rudolph tweeted. For the Bengals, the news was bittersweet. Zimmer, who has been an NFL defensive co-ordinator for the last 14 seasons, spent six of those with Cincinnati. "Today is one of the happiest and yet saddest days for me. Happy Coach Zimm finally gets to be a head coach and spread all of his knowledge," cornerback Terence Newman tweeted. The Bengals were third in the league in yards allowed and fifth in points against this season, though they lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year. "Gonna miss you coach Zimmer! Wish you nothing but the best in Minnesota. You brought out the best in each of your players! So honoured to have been coached by you!" tweeted linebacker Rey Maualuga. Zimmer replaces Leslie Frazier, another former Bengals defensive co-ordinator who was fired Dec. 30 after the team finished 5-10-1 this season. General manager Rick Spielman interviewed at least seven candidates. He and Vikings owners Zygi Wilff and Mark Wilf settled on the one who was widely considered around the league to be the most overdue for a head coaching job. cheap jerseys from china. Zimmer has interviewed for several vacancies in recent years, including this month with Tennessee. The 57-year-old Zimmer played at Illinois State and spent 14 seasons coaching in the college ranks before being hired in 1994 as an assistant with Dallas. He got a Super Bowl ring the following season as defensive backs coach. Then he became defensive co-ordinator of the Cowboys in 2000 and spent seven seasons at that post, the last four under coach Bill Parcells. Zimmer led defences in Dallas that operated in both the 4-3 and 3-4 alignments, including the 2003 group that surrendered the fewest yards in the league. The Wilfs, natives of New Jersey, grew up as New York Giants fans and are admirers of Parcells from his days coaching that team. After one tumultuous year as the defensive co-ordinator for Atlanta, when Falcons coach Bobby Petrino quit midseason in 2007, Zimmer went to Cincinnati to work for coach Marvin Lewis. In 2009, when his wife, Vikki, unexpectedly died, Zimmer was named the winner of several NFL assistant coach of the year awards. Zimmer has a fiery personality, as evidenced by his profanity-laced appearances on HBOs "Hard Knocks," which featured the Bengals in 2009 and 2013. That overt intensity is a contrast to Frazier, who went 21-33-1 in three-plus seasons with one appearance in the playoffs. Frazier was a popular figure in the locker room and throughout the organization, but as a former defensive coach his area of expertise became the teams biggest downfall. Despite a carousel at quarterback, the aged, injury-depleted defence was mostly responsible for the sorry showing this season. The Vikings allowed an average of 30 points per game, the most in the league, and 397.8 yards per game, the second-most. Five of the seven reported candidates who interviewed for the vacancy had defensive backgrounds: Seattle defensive co-ordinator Dan Quinn, Cleveland defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton, Arizona defensive co-ordinator Todd Bowles, San Francisco defensive line coach Jim Tomsula and Zimmer. The other two were offensive co-ordinators: Seattles Darrell Bevell and San Franciscos Greg Roman. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
