Clan Wars » pain werent reminders enough

PHOENIX - A group of Mets players gathered around the television in the clubhouse to watch a replay of Kirk Nieuwenhuis homer a couple of hours earlier. Off the crack of the bat, one player shouted: "Get in the pool!" Nieuwenhuis just missed a splashdown but was on the mark in his season debut. Called up from the minors after Juan Lagares went on the disabled list, Nieuwenhuis had three hits, three RBIs and made a diving catch in centre field to lead New York to a 9-0 rout of the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. "Three years ago, he was a guy people thought was going to be an offensive centre fielder people thought could run, play the game the right way and had some power," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "But some injuries have kept him down a little bit. Hopefully this is his chance to come up and produce." Struggling heading into the three-game series, the Mets have gotten hot in the desert. New York had 13 hits to win the opener and had 12 more to ensure a winning record on its nine-game road trip. Nieuwenhuis had the big highlight, a two-run homer to the pool deck at Chase Field in the Mets six-run fourth inning off Bronson Arroyo (1-1). Eric Young Jr. had three hits and two RBIs, and Andrew Brown drove in two. New York also got solid pitching, something thats been rare this season. Jenrry Mejia (2-0) tossed five effective innings before leaving with a torn blister, combining with Gonzalez Germen and Kyle Farnsworth on a three-hitter for a second straight decisive victory over Arizona. "It was a good win for us," Nieuwenhuis said. "Hopefully we can keep it going." The Diamondbacks had another awful night on the mound, losing their seventh straight home game and eighth in nine at Chase Field. Arroyo allowed 10 runs in less than four innings and Arizona has given up 38 — most of those by the starters — through the first five games of a homestand that ends Wednesday against the Mets. At 4-14, the Diamondbacks have matched the worst start in team history (1998). "Last year, it was the bullpen giving it up and this year its just the inverse," manager Kirk Gibson said. "That part is very frustrating." Mejia struggled with walks during his first two starts — nine in 11 innings — but was hitting his spots against the Diamondbacks. He was perfect through three innings and didnt allow a hit until Paul Goldschmidt sneaked a single inside third base with one out in the fourth. Mejia escaped a jam in the fifth inning and got some defensive help from Nieuwenhuis, who made a sliding catch in centre to rob Mark Trumbo of a hit. Mejia tore a blister on his right index finger and didnt come out for the sixth after allowing two hits. "Until the blister started to act up, he threw the ball very well," Collins said. "About the fifth inning, we knew the finger was getting hot and were hoping to get another 20 pitches out of him, but didnt get that." Arroyo got an extra day of rest between starts, but it didnt seem to do him much good. New York jumped on him from the start, stringing together three straight singles and scoring three runs in the first inning. Nieuwenhuis capped the outburst with a run-scoring single up the middle. It got much worse for Arroyo in the fourth. Nieuwenhuis added his pool-deck homer to right-centre and Young followed with a two-run single to left. New York scored another run on a single and error by centre fielder A.J. Pollock and went up 9-0 on Browns fielders choice. Arroyo allowed 10 runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. "It was 3-0 after the first inning and thats exactly what we couldnt have on this ballclub right now," Arroyo said. "It just kills the morale of a team when youre losing constantly and giving up runs a lot, then you give up a three-spot early on. It just grew from there." About the only thing that went right for the Diamondbacks came in the fifth inning when Gibson challenged a close play at first and had it overturned on replay — with the score 9-0. Mejia got two weak groundouts with two on to end the inning. NOTES: Mets RF Curtis Granderson was out of the lineup after he injured his left forearm and ribs colliding with the outfield wall Monday night. He is day to day. ... New Yorks David Wright extended his hitting streak to seven games. ... Arizona RHP Brandon McCarthy, scheduled to start Wednesday, has a 1.16 ERA in four starts against NL East teams. ... Mets RHP Dillon Gee, who will start Wednesday, allowed four earned runs over five innings in his only start at Chase Field. Custom Oakland Athletics Jerseys . 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According to various reports, the striker is about to sign a five-and-a-half year extension with Manchester United worth a reported 300,000 pounds a week that would see him at Old Trafford until 2019.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Defending champion Spain and stars Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta will train in the Washington, D.C., area next week. England and Wayne Rooney arrive Sunday for a week of workouts in Miami. Ivory Coast and Didier Drogba have games in St. Louis and Texas. But instead of preparing for the World Cup against top teams and global stars, the United States arranged a sendoff series against No. 85 Azerbaijan, No. 39 Turkey and No. 44 Nigeria. Not that U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann didnt try to schedule tougher opponents. "Youre trying to find the best teams that suit you. Its not that easy anymore," he said leading to Sundays exhibition against the Turks at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. When the U.S. contacted high-profile teams, Klinsmann said they backed off. "Has to do a little bit with our results of the last two years," he added. Since Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley in July 2011, the U.S. beat Italy for the first time in 11 games over 78 years, defeated Mexico in Mexico for the first time in 75 years and qualified for its seventh straight World Cup. Klinsmann chose Stanford University for a two-week training camp that opened May 14, and the Americans started their prep schedule Tuesday with a 2-0 win over the Azerbaijanis — coached by Berti Vogts, a special adviser to Klinsmann. The American defence and goalkeeper Tim Howard were hardly tested, and the U.S. offence seemed to be slowed by heavy legs following a physically demanding training camp. "Now the teams start progressively getting harder," defender Omar Gonzalez said. "I think its a great three games for us, and its just an opportunity for us to shore things up, to gain a little bit of confidence." Turkey hasnt appeared at the World Cup since 2002, when the Crescent-Stars finished third after losing to eventual champion Brazil 1-0 in the semifinals, then lost to Germanny in the semis of the 2008 European Championship.dddddddddddd The Turks finished fourth in their qualifying group for this World Cup, behind the Netherlands, Romania and Hungary. Preparing for the start of 2016 European Championship qualifying, Turkey won 2-1 at Ireland last weekend on goals by Ahmet Ilhan Ozek and Tarik Camdal, then beat World Cup-bound Honduras 2-0 Thursday at Washingtons RFK Stadium when Mevlut Erdinc scored in the 70th minute and set up Caner Erkins goal on a counterattack in the 83rd. "Turkey is an unpredictable team. Its a team that has a lot of individual skills and they are good players that can make a difference in half a second," Klinsmann said. "We need games that really keep us on our toes. We need games that especially for our back line ... that challenges them not to lose focus and concentration, not even for one moment in our game. Otherwise you get punished, and that costs you badly." Four years ago, the U.S. rallied to beat the Turks 2-1 in Philadelphia, getting second-half goals from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey in the Americans final game before they headed to the World Cup in South Africa. The Turks have been without Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan, who missed last weekends Champions League final against Real Madrid because of a sore hip, but Borussia Dortmunds Nuri Sahin is on the roster. After this, the only pre-World Cup exhibition left for the Americans is on June 7 against Nigeria at Jacksonville, Florida. Thats followed by a scrimmage in Sao Paulo against Belgium on June 12. One question is whether Klinsmann changes his back four of right back Fabian Johnson, central defenders Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler and left back DaMarcus Beasley. "Were not worried about the results," Klinsmann said. "Even if we would have a negative result in these preparation games, we would take it the right way." ' ' '