On the Mets beat

11:01 p.m. Switch time: Brady Clark comes in to play right field, replacing Ryan Church. Clark will bat second in the 12th. The bigger news is Jorge Sosa coming in to face Pedro Feliz and as Scott Schoeneweis walked to the dugout, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. A first this season, maybe ever. He earned it, though. Sosa did his job as Feliz grounded into a fielder's choice. Bottom of 12, tied at 3.

10:52 p.m. Mets go very quickly and quietly against Tom Gordon in the bottom of the 11th. 3-3...

10:50 p.m. Thought I just heard a "Fire Isiah" chant but can't be sure...

10:43 p.m. Fist pumps all around. Schoeneweis induced a 4-6-3 double play from Utley, then gave a fist-pump that would put both Tiger Woods and Joba Chamberlain to shame. Brian Schneider and Carlos Delgado joined in. Wonder if Schoeneweis will be a radio topic because of it. 3-3 in the bottom of the 11th.

10:37 p.m. SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS HAS BEEN CALLED IN. Phillies have runners on first and second with one out and Chase Utley coming up. Schoeneweis was greeted like Hillary at an Obama for President rally.

10:29 p.m. Rudy Seanez is so old he once went on a gameshow and the grand prize was fire. [of course that's stolen]. But seriously folks...

Anyway, Kid Rudy, whose career started with Cleveland in 1989, set down the Mets, striking out Beltran with an 84-mph heater, leaving David Wright on second. Still 3-3 in the top of the 11th. Joe Smith out there for a second inning for the Mets.

10:15 p.m. Smith just had a nice 13-pitch inning, which included a one-out walk to Geoff Jenkins. After the walk, Smith got Feliz to fly out and Coste to line out. New pitcher for Phillies, the aged Rudy Seanez. This guy has seen it all...twice.

10:07 p.m. Brad Lidge, whose career hasn't been the same since giving up that bomb to Albert Pujols in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS, was a mostly ignored offseason signing. He came in in the bottom of the ninth and struck out Church, induced a ground out from Easley, then walked Schneider. Pinch hitter Endy Chavez hit the ball hard - a line drive - but right at Bruntlett for the third out. That's three innings this season and no earned runs for Lidge. Tied at 3-3 going to the 10th. Second extra inning game for the Mets this season. They lost 5-4 to Florida in 10 innings April 1. Joe Smith comes in for the Mets.

9:58 p.m. What a wasted opportunity in the eighth by the Mets, who had runners on second and third with one out. Beltran struck out and then Delgado grounded out to third.

Interesting ninth, with Billy Wagner coming in and and striking out pinch-hitter Jimmy Rollins. Shea's favorite villain, besides just about any Mets reliever, went down swinging on an 84-mph slider. Bruntlett flew out to right and, though Wagner did walk Utley, he ended the inning by striking out Ryan Howard, who was 3-for-7 in his career against Wagner, with an 82-mph slider. Wagner has said he isn't as mentally into it when he comes in with the game tied - he prefers save situations - but you wouldn't have known it there.

9:36 p.m. Aaron Heilman's ERA before the game: 7.20. Two runs last inning won't help. 3-3 now in the bottom of the eighth.

9:27 p.m. How about a package deal, Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins? You know, change of scenery and all.

9:22 p.m. More than a smattering after Heilman put a 1-1 pitch over the middle of the plate that Ryan Howard hit an estimated 450 feet to center field. 3-2 Mets, none out.

9:20 p.m. Randolph pinch hit Marlon Anderson for Feliciano in the bottom of the seventh inning. Anderson grounded out to second, leaving Damion Easley stranded at second. Aaron Heilman has been summoned to pitch the eighth. He heard boos, though only a light smattering of them.

9:06 Watching the Mets bullpen is more uncomfortable than watching John McCain trying to trade barbs with the ladies on "The View" this morning. But after Feliciano walked pinch-hitter Jayson Werth to put men on first and second with none out, he struck out Victorino, Bruntlett and Utley. He was missed, to say the least, for the home opener. 3-1 Mets in the bottom of the seventh.
8:53 p.m. 0-1 pitch from Maine absolutely grooved and absolutely destroyed to left field. Coste followed with a bullet off the left field wall for a double. Maine is done; Pedro Feliciano coming in. Still, hard to find much fault with Maine's performance tonight. Now it's in the hands of the bullpen and, really, not much to fear there.

8:49 p.m. Run-scoring single by Carlos Beltran – or as ESPN’s Jon Miller calls him “Carlos BELL[miniscule pause]TRAHN” – to give the Mets a 3-0 lead heading to the top of the seventh. Scott Schoeneweis warming…kidding. Maine back out there.

8:37 p.m. Rarer than a departing, or arriving, American Airlines flight, a Mets catcher threw out a baserunner, with Brian Schneider nipping Victorino for the first out of the sixth inning. Maine labored a bit - fine, more than a bit; he loaded the bases - but still got out of the sixth with a 2-0 lead, having thrown 85 pitches. Maine got erratic there in the sixth, meaning Willie will likely rip him [aka, the Oliver Perez treatment] despite throwing shutout ball.

8:21 p.m. Maine was the Mets best pitcher in the spring, actually the best in the NL overall, with a 1.53 ERA, and he's rediscovered that tonight, at least to this point. Last inning, the Phillies went down in order, a half-inning that came in under five minutes. The Mets went quietly as well, with Reyes flying out softly to left. Not to pile on, but he's 0-3 tonight, flying out each time. 2-0 Mets going to the top of six.

8:11 p.m.Nice start, to this game and the season, for Ryan Church. Hitting .333 coming in, Church singled his first time up, then delieved a two-out single to left center that brought home Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran. Really got the towels going. Rally towels in April; looks cool enough, just odd in April is all. 2-0 Mets going to the fifth.

7:55 p.m. Maine: 33 pitches through four innings [again, compared to 96 in four his first start]. Much, much better. 0-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

7:50 p.m. Victorino just went back and tracked down a shot by Jose Reyes. Too bad he can't hit - Victorino, not Reyes, though thus far him, too. Victorino came into the game hitting .162, but he catches everything. Certainly in this series he has.

7:46 p.m.Well, Maine has allowed a baserunner in each inning but keeps getting out of the mini-jams. After walking Chris Coste, pitcher Adam Eaton sacrificed him to second. Victorino then came up and grounded to Maine, who had Coste frozen between second and third but for some reason decided to throw to first for the second out. Eric Bruntlett made it a moot point by lining out to center. Scoreless going to the bottom of the third.

On another note, specifically tonight’s game notes, I just noticed that tomorrow is Dog Day at Shea [no Schoeneweis jokes here. Thank you]. Fans and their dogs can gather in the Shea picnic area at 6 p.m. and then parade around the warning track. Tickets are $30 for people, $5 for dogs, and $15 for those where the designation isn’t as clear. The latter isn’t from the game notes.

Anyway, the night is for a good cause with tickets benefiting North Shore Animal League America. Visit animal-league.org for more information.

7:28 p.m. Maine threw 96 pitches in his first outing in Atlanta. Through two tonight, he’s thrown 28 pitches, having just retired Pedro Feliz on a flyout to center. Maine had Feliz down 0-2 and fans started waving white DHL rally towels, given to the first 25,000 in attendance. Trying to recapture that playoff atmosphere from last October, apparently. Not funny, I know. 0-0 heading to the bottom of the second.

7:21 p.m.Maine gave up a hard single to center to leadoff batter Shane Victorino but Victorino was doubled off in an ensuing hit and run as Eric Bruntlett popped out. Meanwhile, the Mets collectively lasted about 5 minutes, 20 seconds in going down in order. No score after one.

7:05 p.m. Boland back, this time at Shea, as your blog boss tonight. John Maine, who allowed eight hits and four runs in four innings in his first outing at Atlanta, goes for the Mets. He is 4-0 in six career starts against the Phillies with a 2.13 ERA. Phillies starter Adam Eaton had a 3.86 ERA against the Mets last season, the best he had against any team in 2007.

As Rieber pointed out in posting the lineups a moment ago, no Jimmy Rollins tonight for the Phillies, meaning Scott Schoeneweis, should he get in, will be the most booed player in the building. Actually, it still would have been close. And away we go...