Quintanillamania! Applesauce: Journeyman Infielder Rips Three Hits, Hefner Picks Up First Victory And Hits First Home Run

Meet the Mets

Jeremy Hefner started and hit a home run and Omar Quintanilla had three hits. That's just how we all drew it up back in January, right? The rains held off at Citi Field until the eighth inning, when an hour delay stepped in. But even with that, the Mets were able to easily beat the Phillies 6-3 in front of the home crowd for Hefner's first big league victory. The two teams went back and forth early, as the Phils got on the board with a run in the top of the first and the Mets promptly answered with two in the bottom of the inning. The next frame, former Met Brian Schneider ripped a home run to tie it at two but Mike Baxter doubled in Quinanilla to move the Mets ahead 3-2. From then on, this one was basically all Mets. Hefner hit an absolute bomb to left field, a ball that would've been out of the park in the old dimensions. After the Phils scored another run a Hunter Pence double and Baxter fielding error, Scott Hairston put the game away with a two-run pinch hit home run to left field off of Joe Blanton, sending him to the showers. The Mets pen did their job, pushing the Mets back to their high water mark of six games over .500 on the season.

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The Mets and Phillies meet at Citi Field for the rubber game of their series tonight at 7:10 PM. Once again, it'll be the rhyming matchup of Dillon Gee and Cliff Lee on the hill. I'd make up another rhyme but I just don't have the will.

As was rumored after Monday's affair, the Mets designated Manny Acosta for assignment and placed Justin Turner on the disabled list, replacing them with SS Omar Quintanilla and RHP Chris Schwinden. Toby Hyde took a look at what these moves mean for the team, while Patrick Flood said goodbye to the Acostalypse. Meanwhile, Turner got some good news in that he didn't break his ankle or suffer any ligament damage. Quintanilla made some Mets history, as he's the first Met player to have a last name that begins with the letter "Q".

Good news: Josh Thole could rejoin the Mets on Friday. Looks like the Nickeas/Johnson battle is coming to a quick resolution. Bad news: Ruben Tejada will be in New York through Friday but he won't be joining the team on the field anytime soon. I hate to even mention it but I'm starting to get an Ike Davis vibe from Ruben's injury.

R.A. Dickey is awesome. So awesome that he won the NL Player of the Week award for his dominance. As if he wasn't great enough, Dickey took part in a book signing/Q&A session with fans at Citi Field last night for his book "Wherever I Wind Up".

Sandy Alderson acknowledged that he will speak with David Wright's agents later this season regarding an extension, though he said that he doesn't want to infer that an offer will be made. He went on to say that the team would like to keep David long term, however.

Adam Rubin spoke with former pitching coach Rick Peterson about his previous work with Ben Baumer and the Mets' stats department. This a really interesting look into the inner workings of the organization.

ESPN loves Mets pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. Just a heads up: Adam Rubin's been teasing a player profile on Wheeler for a few days now that sounds like it'll be filled with scouts' opinions on him and other goodies. That is supposed to come out later today, so definitely look out for that.

Jenrry Mejia continues to work his way back to the big league bullpen this season. I have to say that I'm kind of intrigued with having his arm in the pen at the moment. Certainly, I'd love for him to be a dominant starter long term but I don't think the Feliz/Ogando track would be the worst thing in the world.

The New York Football Giants' 2012 draft class will be at Citi Field today. Can any of them play shortstop?

Around the NL East

The big news in the division came from the Phillies, who learned that their ace Roy Halladay will miss at least 6-8 weeks with a strain of the latissimus dorsi muscle behind his right shoulder. Definitely not good news for them but I suppose it could be a lot worse.

Anibal Sanchez was dominant, as the Marlins defeated the Nationals 3-1 at Marlins Park on Tuesday. The Mets and Marlins are both tied for 2nd place in the NL East, now just a game and a half behind the first place Nats.

The Braves defeated the Cardinals 5-4, snapping their eight game losing streak. First baseman Freddie Freeman, who's missed the last few games with some vision problems due to a bout of chronic dry eye, is getting prescription goggles on Wednesday and he should be able to return to the lineup.

Around the Majors

The saga is over, people! The Rangers added free agent righty Roy Oswalt on a minor league deal, which will be worth a base salary of $4.25 million when he makes it to the big leagues. The rich get richer. Meanwhile, the Padres signed Jason Marquis to a minor league deal, meaning that the #ClasslessMets once again did not sign Jason Marquis to any sort of deal. I might throw a parade.

Major League Baseball is expanding replay next season, according to Jayson Stark, and it'll feature umpires in a remote location games and contacting the umpires on the field. So no, no robot umps yet.

Angels ace Jered Weaver is headed to the DL with a strained lower back. Probably good news, considering it initially looked like it may have been a knee injury to me.

Magglio Ordonez is going to announce his retirement in a ceremony at Comerica Park on Sunday. Rey's brother (not really) was a pretty great hitter in his 15 big league seasons.

The Yankees acquired former Met Ryota Igarashi off of waivers from the Blue Jays for some reason. Apparently, nobody in the Yankees organization watched Mets games the last two seasons.

Remember Kurt Abbott, a utility infielder on the 2000 Mets? Well apparently, former Marlin and current Sheriff's Deputy Kurt Abbott was arrested and charged with a DUI. Not huge news but he is an obscure Met.

Finally, Reds' third baseman Todd Frazier saved a guy's life by performing the Heimlich Maneuver at a restaurant.