Rockies pound Mets pitching

Losing four in a row isn't bad enough. Last night at Coors Field, the Mets pitchers gave up 17 runs. Starter Orlando Hernandez had no control. In just four innings of work he made 107 pitches; only 59 were strikes. His replacement Mota, did even worse, yielding six runs in just two thirds of an inning, raising his ERA to 7.71. He threw 43 pitches. Ship him to the minors on the next train out of Shea. The only Mets pitcher who pitched at least an inning without giving up a run was Aaron Heilman who pitched the ninth. Eight of his 10 pitches were strikes.

The Cyclones lost too. However, it's not often that someone gets four hits in a game. Last night against the Staten Island Yankees, first baseman Jason Jacobs did just that. Strangely, he neither had an RBI nor scored a run. Starter Joseph Leaper gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. Leaper was the 1144th pick in the 2006 MLB draft, picked in the 38th round.

Despite Jacobs' and Leaper's efforts, the Cyclones lost in the bottom of the 11th after scoring the go-ahead run in the top half.

Now, some good news. In Savannah, the Sand Gnats defeated the Columbus Catfish 8-2. Starter Nelson Portillo allowed two runs on five hits over six innings.

And more good news. The Zephyrs won 7-3. Though giving up 11 hits, former Major Leaguer Brian Lawrence limited the Iowa Cubs to three runs in his 6.2 innings. And ex-Met Jon Atkins didn't yield a hit during two innings of shutout relief.

For hot dog fans: In Coney Island, Joey Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes, defeating Takeru Kobayashi, who'd won the six previous years and seemed invincible.