QUICK TURNAROUND

Giants 4, Mets 1 (SF: 57-72; NYM: 68-62) East: 6 GB, Wild Card: 2 GB (pending PHI result)

That five-game winning streak turned into a two-game losing streak real fast. The Phillies are playing Sunday Night Baseball, so it remains to be seen whether or not the Mets will lose ground in the Wild Card chase.

I didn't see any of Sunday's game - it wasn't on the DirecTV package - so I'm not sure what to make of the loss. The only run scored on a wild pitch third strike with a man on third, so the Mets are still having some offensive troubles, coming off the 14-1 and 18-4 wins in Arizona.

Kris Benson came out of the gate strong, with a 0-0 tie going into the fifth inning. But he gave up three runs, and the Mets couldn't come back. The good news is he didn't give up six runs in 2-thirds of an inning. The bad news is he didn't win...which he usually does coming off a poor outing like last Sunday's.

The Mets need to get the bats working again against Philadelphia this week. They start a series against the Phillies at home on Tuesday, their only home games in the middle of these 17 road games. But first of all, the Phillies don't scare me - so the Mets can make up some ground in the Wild Card. Secondly, the Mets jumped out to a 5-2 start on that road stretch - although the Saturday and Sunday losses weren't pretty, in the big picture, the Mets are off to a 5-2 start on the road stretch. September is right around the corner - the Mets could theoretically start September in a playoff spot.

ELTRAN*'S: Carlos Beltran* was 1-for-4, and scored the Mets' lone run. But he needs to get going for the Mets to make a move. For the second half:

36-for-141 (.255 AVG.) 3 HR, 16 RBI, 26 Runs, 11 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: Not many doubles this weekend. He needs to go back to Arizona. Still on a good pace, though.

SECOND HALF: 13 SEASON TOTAL: 35 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 10 DOUBLES OVER THE FINAL 36 GAMES TO BREAK THE RECORD!!

THE KID'S KIDS: Here's some more bad news for Mets fans, and Gary Carter fans. The Gulf Coast League doesn't waste any time. The one-game playoff was held on Friday, with the Tampa Yankees beating the Gulf Coast Red Sox for the right to play the Mets. After a 3-2 win on Saturday, the Yankees beat the Mets 10-1 on Sunday to win the Gulf Coast League title (I'm pretty sure it's over, at least. Not a lot of fanfare about it.) The Mets' pitcher gave up six runs in the first inning - actually, in a third of an inning. He's got a future as a Kris Benson! Anyway, the final numbers: a 37-16 regular season record for The Kid, with an 0-2 post-season mark.

More bad minor league news: Danny Graves pitches an inning at Norfolk and gives up 5 earned runs. Maybe he should have retired.