Those Mets

FRENCY, NIESE GUIDE METS TO CRISP WIN

As Saturday’s nonwaiver trading deadline approaches, Jeff Francoeur has heard the rumors and fretted that he may not finish his second season as a member of the Mets. The return of center fielder Carlos Beltran from knee surgery has left the struggling team with four first-string outfielders for three positions. That has made the free-swinging Francoeur, with his occasional power, expendable and possibly attractive to certain teams in pennant races. So Francoeur — with a batting average of .248 before Tuesday’s game — was not certain to be in the starting lineup when the Mets opened a homestand against St. Louis at Citi Field with an 8-2 victory over the Cardinals.. But Francoeur’s services were needed when doctors diagnosed Jason Bay, the regular left fielder, with a concussion sustained Friday in Los Angeles. With Angel Pagan moving from right field to left, Francoeur played right, batted seventh and enjoyed one of his best moments of the season. With the game tied, 1-1, in the fourth inning, Francoeur drove an Adam Wainwright pitch over the wall in left-center field for a three-run home run to highlight the victory. The Mets won without Manager Jerry Manuel, who served a one-game suspension for bumping hat bills with the umpire Doug Eddings last Friday night during an argument in Los Angeles. The winning pitcher was Jon Niese (7-4), who fell behind by 1-0 in the first inning but worked efficiently over six innings by inducing ground balls. Niese gave up one earned run and seven hits and left with two runners on base and no outs in the top off the seventh. One of those runners reached on an error by Ike Davis, the second Mets’ error of the night. Manny Acosta replaced Niese and finished the inning by getting Albert Pujols to fly out to left and Matt Holliday to ground into a double play. Francoeur’s home run was his ninth of the season. Jose Reyes also hit a home run for the Mets, his seventh of the season, with a man on and two out in the sixth off relief pitcher Fernando Salas. The victory raised the Mets’ home record to 31-16, one of the best in baseball. But they are 20-33 on the road. In their 11-game road trip that ended Sunday, the Mets went 2-9 and were shut out four times. Along with chatter about possible trades, their slump has again raised the issue of the job security of Manuel and his coaches. Before the game, Manuel and General Manager Omar Minaya met with the owner Fred Wilpon and the chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon. Afterward, Manuel said the bosses were not happy. The Cardinals scored their first-inning run on an infield hit by Ryan Ludwick. The Mets got it back in the bottom of the second on a run-scoring groundout by Davis. After Francoeur homered in the fourth, the Mets added two in the fifth, the first of them on a sacrifice fly by David Wright, the second on a single by Beltran. With the Mets holding a 6-2 lead, the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth on two walks and an error by Wright, but Niese ended the inning by getting Aaron Miles on a fly ball to Francoeur. (NY Times)