Greetings, Mets fans! I’m David Cassilo, and I will be taking you through tonight’s rubber game between the Mets and the Dodgers.

The Mets are coming off a victory (a rare thing to say these days), and tonight will look to win their first series since taking three of four from St. Louis from June 22-25. Since the first of June, the Mets have won just two series.

Last night, Oliver Perez tiptoed his way around seven walks to earn the victory after allowing just two runs over five innings. He was helped out by what can be considered an offensive explosion for this Mets lineup, as they were able to score five runs, which were enough to beat the Dodgers by one.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Tonight the Mets will send Livan Hernandez (5-4, 4.56 ERA) to the hill. Last time out, Hernandez had his worst start of the season, giving up seven runs and ten hits in three innings in a loss to Philadelphia.

However, the good news for the Mets is that Hernandez pitched very well against the Dodgers earlier in the season, allowing just one run over seven innings in a no decision on May 20.

In 29 career starts against the Dodgers, Hernandez is 9-13 with a 4.30 ERA. He may want to pitch around Manny Ramirez tonight, as the right fielder is 5-for-8 with a home run in his career against Hernandez.

For the Dodgers, 32-year old left-hander Randy Wolf (3-3, 3.49 ERA) will try to pitch the team to victory tonight. Wolf gave up just one run in six innings in a no decision against San Diego in his last start.

Wolf has dominated the Mets during his career, going 11-5 with a 3.30 ERA against New York in 29 career starts. Earlier this season, Wolf gave up two runs in 7.2 innings against the Mets in a no decision on May 18. In his last eight starts against the Mets, Wolf is 5-0.

It is a bit shocking to see Fernando Tatis in the lineup tonight for the Mets. In 28 career at-bats against Wolf, Tatis has just two hits and nine strikeouts.

I’ll be back for first pitch.

Top of the first: Rafael Furcal hits a ground rule double off the left field line that skipped into the crowd in foul territory. Andre Ethier singles to left field. Manny Ramirez singles up the middle to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Casey Blake flies out to center field. James Loney walks. Russell Martin strikes out swinging. Orlando Hudson hits a 3-RBI double to make the score 4-0. Hudson is caught trying to advance to third.

Bottom of the first: Luis Castillo grounds out to second base. Nick Evans walks. David Wright singles to right field. Gary Sheffield hits an RBI single to center field, and the Mets trail 4-1. Fernando Tatis flies out the warning track in left field. Ryan Church grounds out to second base.

Top of the second: Matt Kemp singles to left field. Randy Wolf sacrifices to the pitcher. Kemp is picked off second base. Furcal singles into left field. Ethier walks. Ramirez hits an RBI single to left field on the first pitch to give the Dodgers a 5-1 lead. With runners on first and second, Blake hits an RBI single to left field to extend the lead to 6-1. Loney flies out to center field.

Bottom of the second: Omir Santos grounds out to shortstop. Alex Cora grounds out to shortstop. Livan Hernandez singles into left field. Castillo walks. Evans grounds out to the pitcher.

Top of the third: Martin lines out to first. Hudson grounds out to first. Kemp singles into right field. Wolf grounds out to second base.

Bottom of the third: Wright singles to right field. Sheffield flies out to right field. Tatis doubles to left field to give the Mets runners on second and third with one out. Church hits an RBI groundout to make the score 6-2 Dodgers. Santos strikes out swinging.

Top of the fourth: Furcal doubles over Sheffield's head in right field. Ethier strikes out swinging. Ramirez walks. Blake lines out to second base, and the Mets appeared to have doubled up Furcal at second, but the umpire called him safe. Loney walks to load the bases. Martin hits a 2-RBI single to right field to give the Dodgers an 8-2 lead. Loney is thrown out trying to go first to third, although it looked like he may have been safe.

Bottom of the fourth: Cora grounds out to first base. Argenis Reyes pinch-hits for Hernandez and grounds out to second base. Castillo flies out to right field.

Final line for Hernandez: 4 IP 11 H 8 ER 4 BB 2 K

Top of the fifth: Pat Misch comes in to pitch for the Mets. Hudson grounds out to shortstop. Kemp lines out to shortstop. Wolf strikes out swinging.

Bottom of the fifth: Evans flies out to right field. Wright grounds out to third base. Sheffield doubles into the left-center gap. Tatis strikes out swinging.

Top of the sixth: Furcal walks. Ethier grounds into a fielder's choice. Jerry Manuel pulls Misch from the game.

Brian Stokes is in to pitch. Ramirez walks. Blake grounds out to shortstop. Loney walks. Martin grounds out to shortstop.

Bottom of the sixth: Church pops out to shortstop. Santos pops out to second base. Cora grounds out to third base.

Top of the seventh: Stokes hits Hudson in the knee with the first pitch. He has to come out of the game, and Juan Castro will replace him. Kemp walks. Wolf strikes out trying to bunt. Furcal strikes out swinging. Ethier strikes out swinging.

Bottom of the seventh: Juan Pierre replaces Ramirez in left field. Daniel Murphy pinch hits for Stokes and strikes out looking. Castillo hits a ground rule double over the right field wall. Wolf is pulled from the game.

James McDonald comes in to pitch for the Dodgers. Evans strikes out swinging. Wright walks. Sheffield strikes out looking, and then is ejected for arguing the third strike call.

Final line on Wolf: 6.1 IP 7 H 2 ER 2 BB 3 K

Top of the eighth: Murphy stays in to play first base, and Tatis moves to right field. Tim Redding is in to pitch. Pierre grounds out to first base. Blake singles down the right field line. Loney doubles to left field. Martin is intentionally walked to load the bases. Juan Castro hits a 2-RBI single to right field, and the score is 10-2. Matt Kemp hits an RBI single to center field to make it 11-2. McDonald strikes out looking. Furcal grounds out to second base.

Bottom of the eighth: Blake DeWitt replaces Blake at third base. Tatis walks. Church grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Santos flies out to center field.

Top of the ninth: Ethier singles to center field. Pierre singles to left field, despite a diving effort by Evans. DeWitt strikes out looking. Loney flies out to center field.

Bottom of the ninth: Claudio Vargas in to pitch for the Dodgers. Cora singles to center field. Murphy grounds into a fielder's choice. Castillo walks. Evans grounds into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Final score: 11-2 Dodgers

W- Wolf (4-3)
L- Hernandez (5-5)

Player of the game: Manny Ramirez 2-2 2 RBI 2 R 2 BB

This one was over before it started as Hernandez had nothing for the Mets on the mound, and the talented Dodger hitters jumped all over him. Ramirez led the way, as he reached base in all four at-bats. Furcal also played a crucial role in getting things started, as he scored three runs.

The loss coupled with a Philadelphia win drops the Mets to 5.5 back in the division. It is the furthest back they have been this season.

Tomorrow the Mets open a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Fernando Nieve will face Bronson Arroyo on the mound.

-David Cassilo

Here's the lineup:

Castillo ............ 2B
Evans .............. LF
Wright ............. 3B
Sheffield .......... RF
Tatis ................ 1B
Church ............. CF
Santos .............. C
Cora ................ SS
Hernandez ....... SP

Brian Schneider, fresh off watching the SNY postgame show somewhere in the catacombs of the clubhouse, swatted away questions about Perez's wildness and instead focused on his ability to get "big" outs.

Fine. I understand that wins for the Mets these days are about as frequent as Donald Trump sightings in Flushing, so I shouldn't expect Ollie's teammates to be overly critical of his performance. Even Jerry Manuel, who must have going crazy in the dugout, bit his tongue after the game and went easy on Perez. The same can't be said for Newsday's own Wally Matthews.

But for $36 million, a supposedly healthy Perez has to do a better job. He pitched like a 20-year-old kid rushed up from Double-A Binghamton for a spot start. And when Perez missed the strike zone, which he did often, it wasn't even close. Pitching coach Dan Warthen will have his hands full fine-tuning Perez for his next start, which, mercifully, won't be until after the All-Star break.

In other news, Carlos Delgado, who is the only one actually making progress on the DL, took ground balls at first base yesterday and appears to be ahead of schedule. How about Daniel Murphy's behind-the-back alley-oop to Bobby Parnell? Newsday's David Casillo has all the details here.

Good evening! Adam Ronis here to take you through tonight's game. Forget about the Mets winning a game right now. The bigger question is will the Mets score a run? They haven't done so in 22 innings. When they score, a parade will be held.

The lineups
Mets (39-43)
Cora (SS)
Murphy (1B)
Wright (3B)
Sheffield (LF)
Church (RF)
Reed (CF)
Schneider (C)
Castillo (2B)
Perez (P)

Dodgers (53-30)
Furcal (SS)
Hudson (2B)
Ramirez (LF)
Blake (3B)
Loretta (1B)
Martin (C)
Ethier (RF)
Kemp (CF)
Kuroda (P)

On Oliver Perez:Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Perez returns. Which Perez will show up? He is 1-2 with a 9.97 ERA in five starts and makes his first start since May 2 when he was placed on the disabled list with patellar tendinitis in his right knee. Perez walked nine in 9 1/3 innings in two starts at Triple-A Buffalo.

On Hiroki Kuroda: Ok, Mets fans. Here's a ray of hope. The Mets are hitting .441 against Kuroda in two career starts. He is 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA and didn't last longer than 3 1/3 innings in either start. I know that this lineup can't even hit Rodrigo Lopez, but I am trying really hard to give you guys some hope. I'm sure it didn't work. Kuroda started April 6 and was on the disabled list until June 1. He is 3-4 with a 3.91 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and has allowed 40 hits, walked nine and struck out 37 in 48 1/3 innings. Opponents are batting .223 off him.

Stats and notes.Manny Ramirez is batting .273 (3-for-11) with a homer and four RBIs since returning from his suspension...The Mets have lost four straight and 9 of 11...David Wright has no hits in his last 16 at-bats. He has six hits in his last 46 at-bats (.130).

A look at the standings. The Mets are now in fourth place in the NL East trailing the first-place Phillies by 4 1/2 games. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and lead the wild-card leading Giants (46-37) by 7 1/2 games in the NL West. The Giants lost to the Marlins, 7-0 this afternoon. The Braves defeated the Cubs, 4-1.

Cora - ss
Murphy - 1b
Wright - 3b
Sheffield - lf
Church - rf
Reed - cf
Schneider - c
Castillo - 2b
Perez - sp

Good evening everyone. Adam Ronis here to take you through tonight’s game. If you’re a Mets fans, it’s not a good time right now. The injuries, a putrid offense, lack of fundamental baseball and a three-game sweep by the first-place Phillies over the weekend have fans feeling down as the Mets have lost eight of 10. Things don’t appear much brighter with the Dodgers, the best team in the majors, visiting for three games with Manny Ramirez back.

The lineups
Mets (39-42)
Castillo (2B)
Cora (SS)
Wright (3B)
Sheffield (RF)
Tatis (1B)
Church (CF)
Evans (LF)
Santos (C)
Pelfrey (P)

Dodgers (52-30)
Furcal (SS)
Hudson (2B)
Ramirez (LF)
Blake (3B)
Loney (1B)
Martin (C)
Ethier (RF)
Kemp (CF)
Kershaw (P)

On Mike Pelfrey: Pelfrey is coming off a great start against the Brewers. He went 7 2/3 innings and allowed six hits for just his second win in 10 starts. He is 6-3 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. In 88 2/3 innings, he has allowed 97 hits, walked 31 and struck out just 43. Pelfrey is not missing many bats, but he keeps the ball on the ground and has allowed just six home runs. Pelfrey had a 6.39 ERA in June.

On Clayton Kershaw: The lefthander is 5-5 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. He has allowed just 63 hits in 87 2/3 innings and opponents are batting just .207 off him. Kershaw has great stuff, especially his curveball. He’s 21 and hasn’t pitched above Double-A, so he can be inconsistent. His biggest problem is control. He tends to walk a lot of hitters preventing him from going deep in games. He has issued at least four walks in 7 of his last 10 starts and leads the NL with 52 walks. He has allowed two runs in his last four starts and has struck out 26 in 23 2/3 innings. On Wednesday against the Rockies, he went five innings and allowed one hit, walked five and struck out five. Kershaw faced the Mets last season on May 30 and went 3 2/3 innings giving up five hits and four runs. He has lasted just six innings twice since the beginning of June.

Injury news. Jose Reyes still feels pain in his right leg and had a cortisone shot in his torn right hamstring today and there is no timetable for his return. Carlos Beltran will need a rehabilitation assignment before he returns. Carlos Delgado is hitting off a tee, but isn't expected back until mid-August.

Give me amnesia please! The Dodgers bring back bad memories and I’m not even talking 1988. The Mets were swept in a three-game series in Los Angeles in May, highlighted by Ryan Church failing to touch third base and a five-error extra inning loss.

Wright is wrong. David Wright was elected to start at third base by the fans for the National League All-Star game but his streaky season has hit another low. He is 5-for-40 with one homer and three RBIs in his last 10 games. He has started all but one of the Mets’ 81 games and went 0-for-11 against the Phillies over the weekend.

Mannywood comes to New York. Manny Ramirez returned from his 50-game suspensions on Friday and will garner a lot of the spotlight tonight. Ramirez is hitting .333 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 30 games. He went 1-for-7 with a homer over the weekend against the Padres. The Dodgers are 22-8 when Ramirez plays.

O-Dog lacking bite. A lot of Mets fans clamored for Orlando Hudson and the second baseman made the All-Star team. He hasn’t been very good lately and didn’t start Saturday and Sunday. He has no hits in his past 22 at-bats and is 1-for-28 in the past eight games.

Niese on the way? Lefthander Jon Niese was named the International League Pitcher of the Week. He shutout Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Notes and stats. The Dodgers are 18-8 in one-run games…The Dodgers swept a three-game series from the Mets in May and held the Mets to six runs…Rafael Furcal has had a disappointing season, but went 8-for-16 with four runs against the Padres over the weekend…Fernando Tatis has hit into 11 double plays…Oliver Perez will make his return and start tomorrow.

A look at the standings. The Mets are 4 ½ games behind the first-place Phillies (43-37), who won 22-1 over the Reds yesterday. The Marlins are second (43-41) and the Braves (39-43) are ½ game behind the Mets…The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and lead the NL West by seven games over the wild-card leading Giants (45-37).

Anyway, here's the lineup:

Castillo - 2b
Cora - ss
Wright - 3b
Sheffield - rf
Tatis - 1b
Church - rf
Evans - lf
Santos - c
Pelfrey - sp

Don't underestimate the value of Angel Pagan, either. Pagan is a good outfield defender -- something in short supply on these Mets -- and should add a spark to the slumping lineup if he returns later this week. That also will mercifully end the inconsistent run for Fernando Martinez, who at age 20 has continued to struggle during his second stint in the majors.

Don't look now but Jon Niese could be ready to help soon, too, with the clock ready to strike midnight on Fernando Nieve. Funny, but I just noticed it's the same name with the 's' and 'v' swapped. Weird.

As for the whole Manny fiasco, which kicks off tonight at Citi Field, the guy is a cheat -- bottom line. Why he is being hailed as some kind of conquering hero is beyond me. I assume that the fans at Citi tonight, as well as over these three days, will do their best to remind Manny of that. Not that it really matters. Ramirez seems incapable of remorse.

David Wright and Carlos Beltran were voted in by the fans.

Beltran is injured and will not be able to play (sorry, fans).

Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana were selected to be on the NL pitching staff. The All-Star Game is July 14 in St. Louis.

Johan Santana (9-6, 3.34 ERA) will take on Phillies righty Joe Blanton (4-4, 5.08).

In a slight change from yesterday, Sheffield was held out of today's lineup. Nick Evans will be starting in left field and Jeremy Reed will get the start in center. Ryan Church will man is usual right field position.

Keys to the game: Offense, offense, offense. The Mets need to score and do it early. They've scored a total of three runs over their last two games. Scoring less than three runs against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park usually won't get it done. The hope is that Santana can provide the spark today. But he hasn't been great lately. Outside of two solid starts against the Cardinals on June 25 and Tampa Bay on June 20, he's been less than average the last month.

We'll see everyone after the top of the 1st.

It was an easy first inning for Blanton. Alex Cora grounded out to second for the first out. Daniel Murphy popped out to short rightfield. David Wright struck out to end the inning. Mets 0, Philles 0 - Middle of 1st.

Jimmy Rollins led off the first for Philly with a solo home run. It was the 30th time he's done that in his career. Shane Victorino popped out to shortstop. Chase Utley walked. Ryan Howard lined into a double play to first base to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 1st.

The Mets are making it too easy for the Phillies. Ryan Church struck out. Nick Evans flew out to deep right. Jeremy Reed grounds out to first to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 2nd.

Santana bounced back with a solid second inning. Jayson Werth struck out swinging. Pedro Feliz flew out to deep right on a nice running play by Church. John Mayberry grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 2nd.

Blanton stayed in control in the third, despite the Mets first hit on the day. Brian Schneider grounded out to the pitcher. Luis Castillo singled down the leftfield line. Santana sacrificed Castillo to second. Cora grounded out to first on a diving stop by Ryan Howard to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 3rd.

Santana is starting to cruise, although Rollins stayed hot. Carlos Ruiz popped out to shortstop. Blanton grounded out to second. Rollins stayed hot with a single to right. Victorino grounded out to second on a nice play by Castillo. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 3rd.

It was another relatively easy frame for Blanton. Murphy struck out looking. Wright walked. Church lined to first for a double play to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 4th.

Santana is in a groove now. Utley flied out to right. Howard grounded out to first. Werth walked. Feliz popped out to second to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 4th.

Blanton needed just eight pitches to get through the fifth. Evans flied out to center. Reed flied out to right. Schneider grounded out to first to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 5th.

Santana countered with a 10-pitch inning. Mayberry struck out swinging. Ruiz grounded out to short. Blanton flied out to right. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 5th.

The Mets really blew it here. Castillo walked. Santana reached on a bunt single. Cora sacrificed, advancing Castillo and Santana to third and second. Murphy walked. David Wright bounced into an inning-ending double play. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 6th.

Phillies extend their lead. Rollins struck out looking. Victorino failed on a bunt attempt. Utley homered to right for the Phillies second run. Howard flied out to left. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - End of 6th.

The Mets continue to struggle with men on. Church popped out to short. Evans struck out and was thrown out at first. Reed singled to center. Schneider grounded out to first, stranding Reed. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - Middle of 7th.

Santana needs some offense. He's done his job. Werth flied out to right. Feliz grounded out to the catcher. Mayberry popped out to short. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - End of 7th.

The Mets blew another chance to score. Castillo singled off the pitcher. Sheffield his hitting for Santana. Sheffield struck out at a pitch in the dirt. J.C. Romero, on to pitch for Blanton, hit Cora. Chan Ho Park, in to pitch for Romero, got Fernando Tatis, who pinch-hit for Murphy, to bounce into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - Middle of 8th.

Phillies three outs away from sweep. Ruiz struck out swinging against Bobby Parnell, who's pitching for Santana. Matt Stairs grounded out to second. Rollins walked. Victorino grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing Rollins at second to end the inning. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - End of 8th.

Lidge was on fire for a perfect ninth. Wright struck out looking against Brad Lidge. Church struck out swinging. Evans struck out to end the game. Phillies sweep.

It was another bad series for the Mets, who managed just three runs in three game. David Wright continued to struggle, striking out twice and bouncing into a killer double play. The Phillies improve to 42-37 and the Mets drop to 39-42. Santana picked up the loss and is 9-7, Blanton improves to 5-4. The Mets are off tomorrow, but return to action on Tuesday at Citi Field against Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers.

See you on Tuesday.

Cora .......... SS
Murphy ..... 1B
Wright ....... 3B
Church ...... RF
Evans ........ LF
Reed ......... CF
Schneider .. C
Castillo ...... 2B
Santana ..... SP

-- Fernando Martinez is bothered by pain behind his right knee and said he expects to miss "a couple days" with the injury. F-Mart was scratched from Friday's lineup but grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth.

Here's today's lineup:

Castillo ........ 2B
Cora ............ SS
Wright ......... 3B
Sheffield ....... RF
Tatis ............ 1B
Church ......... CF
Evans .......... LF
Santos ......... C
Nieve ............ SP

In the first of a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park tonight, the Mets have a chance to pull the division race even closer against Philadelphia starter Rodrigo Lopez, a right-hander who hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2007. On the mound for the Mets is perhaps their most pleasant surprise this season, right-hander Livan Hernandez, who's 5-3 with a 4.04 ERA.

The Phillies (39-39), unable to take advantage of the Mets' recent five-game swoon, escape Atlanta where they were swept in three games.

Evan Drellich here to take you through the first of the latest installment of Mets-Phillies.