DODGERS DODGE BULLET

Dodgers 6, Mets 5 (LA: 44-52; NYM: 49-47, 4.5 GB- pending ATL)

Nobody's going to believe this, but I had a strong feeling the Mets would come back when they were down 6-2 after five and a half innings. Well, maybe you will believe that, since the comeback never fully materialized.

But that's the thing about this Mets lineup - it has the ability to overcome big deficits at any point in the game when the players are swinging the bats well, and they came up just short on Friday night.

I didn't see this game, but followed it on GameCast...but Victor Zambrano didn't have it...and Heath Bell relieved him, giving up one inherited runner, which proved to be the game-winning run. But all six runs were charged to Zambrano - not a good outing, especially with a 4-game winning streak on the line.

So the Mets trailed 6-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. (Doug Mientkiewicz had hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the fifth - the Mets were actually down 6-0 in the game.) But the top of the lineup was due up in the sixth, and you knew if they could get it going, the Mets had a shot. So THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, singles, then the least clutch hitter of all time (he cost the Mets later), Mike Cameron, singled, and Carlos Beltran* homered, and suddenly it was 6-5. But the Mets got no closer. But the point is the lineup is potent, and because of that, the Mets aren't out of many games.

Incidentally, ex-Mets killed them in this game. Jeff Kent homered, singled, and doubled, and Jason Phillips had an RBI and run scored.

It really is too bad the Mets couldn't win this, because the Nationals lost again - 14-1. The Dream Ride is over - actually, it's come to a crashing halt. The Braves started at Arizona after this post, so it remains to be seen if the Mets lose ground on them. But the Nationals are sliding. Before their demolition to the Astros, Jose Guillen and a couple of other players took a 300-foot tape measure out to the field at RFK to measure the dimensions of the ballpark. Turns out, the numbers on the wall are shorter than the actual measurements. Guillen says he writes down every shot he hits to the warning track at RFK, and says he should have 29 homers this year. He says it doesn't bother him....but you know it does. Talk about turmoil....and I'm sure we haven't seen the worst yet from Guillen.

I forgot to mention the past few days, and hopefully someone reads this so it doesn't go unnoticed, but the Pirates have a rookie pitcher named Zach Duke who made his debut, I think, on July 7th (right around there, anyway). He won again Thursday night, and has only allowed a couple of earned runs in his 4 or 5 starts, and he's striking out a lot of batters. Keep an eye on him.

ELTRAN*'S: Beltran* went 1-for-4 with that huge homer, so his 2nd half numbers are: 8-31 (.258 BA), 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 Runs, 0 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright's 1-for-3 was a double, so: 2ND HALF: 3 SEASON TOTAL: 25 TEAM RECORD: 44

THE KID'S KIDS: The Gulf Coast Mets won, 7-3 over the Dodgers, so they're 17-8, 3 games up.