Four little words

Short hops: First up on the unexpected “four little words” list is Mets in first place. Not that it really matters since it’s still only April, but with a doubleheader sweep of the dwindling Dodgers, the Mets moved to 12-9 and sit alone in first place, 0.5 games ahead of the Phillies, who lost again to the Giants Tuesday night. The Mets have now won six in a row and are playing like the team fans hoped they would be, and Jason Bay is finally hitting like he oughta. If Jeff Francouer can get going again, the lineup would pretty much be complete. The Phils have now lost three in a row, but they’re still better off than the Braves, who dropped their seventh straight yesterday with a 5-4 loss to the Cardinals. … Bucs beat the Brewers: The Pirates got some good defense from Lastings Milledge et al. as well as a homer in the ninth from Ronny Cedeno off of Trevor Hoffman to tie the game at 3-3 last night in Milwaukee. Hoffman then loaded ’em with one out for Ryan Doumit, who unloaded ’em with the finishing blow in a 7-3 Pirates victory. It was the first time the Pirates had scored seven runs in a game since their 11-5 victory over the Dodgers on Opening Day, which coincidentally was the last time Doumit had hit a homer. The Bucs are now 8-12 and still in last, but it’s a pretty shallow climb out of the basement right now in the NL Central. … Orioles win at home (also Yanks lose by one): The Orioles beat the Yankees 5-4 yesterday to win their second in a row for the first time this year. It was also their first home win in seven tries. The Yankee’s second straight loss, coupled with the Rays’ third straight win, has the Yanks 2.5 games behind Tampa for first place. Interestingly enough, this was the first one-run game the Yankees were involved in all season, giving them an 0-1 record in such games. For the Orioles, it was only their fourth win in twenty games this year, giving them the same 4-16 record the 1962 Mets had through their first twenty games. … Padres keep on winning: The Padres beat the Marlins yesterday in a game that ended with a great catch by Pads right fielder Will Venable. The win kept the Padres on pace with the Giants, who they are currently tied with.

Expect a more detailed Short Hops tomorrow – sorry for today’s lateness and brevity!