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NEW YORK -- The New York Mets wont get far in the wild-card race losing games theyre supposed to win.Oscar Hernandez hit his first major league homer in the 12th inning, leading the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-2 victory over the Mets on Wednesday night for their second consecutive win over the contending team.The Mets have lost 14 of their past 19 games but remain only 2 1/2 back of the Miami Marlins for the second NL wild card.Weve been through these tough times, Mets manager Terry Collins said. But were just not coming through when we need to as we did a year ago.Hernandez was recalled from Double-A Mobile after Arizona placed catcher Welington Castillo on the paternity list Tuesday. Playing his first game this season, Hernandez drove a sinker from Jerry Blevins (4-2) down the left-field line in his fifth at-bat of the season.He played 18 games with Arizona in 2015 as a Rule 5 draft pick from Tampa Bay, collecting five hits in 31 at-bats. He was optioned to Class A Visalia to begin this season.We havent really had the season that we wanted to, Arizona starter Robbie Ray said. Wins like these are huge.The Mets Kelly Johnson forced extra innings with a two-run homer in the ninth off closer Jake Barrett. The blown save was Barretts fourth in eight chances.I thought we were going to win the game, Collins said. I just thought with the momentum, the energy, I thought we were going to get a base hit and win the game. We just didnt do it.Johnsons blast was needed after Ray spun seven shutout innings, scattering three hits and striking out four. Ray was perfect until Ty Kellys fourth-inning single.Paul Goldschmidt went 2 for 4, driving in the first two Arizona runs, and Jean Segura and Chris Owings each had three hits. Segura added two stolen bases and scored two runs. Arizona stole four bases on the night and has nine steals through the first two games in the series, breaking the franchise mark for steals in a three-game series with Thursdays matchup still to come. New York came into the game with a minus-67 stolen base differential, the worst mark in the majors.We knew they were an aggressive running team coming in, so theyre doing exactly what we thought they would, catcher Travis dArnaud said.Bartolo Colon started for the Mets, allowing one run on seven hits, striking out eight over seven innings of work. Colon has allowed one run or fewer in nine starts this season. The eight strikeouts matched a season-high. Arizona is the only major league team Colon has never beaten.Neil Walker added two hits for the Mets, who fell to 0-3 in extra-inning games played at Citi Field.T.J. Rivera, from nearby Throgs Neck in the Bronx, made his major league debut at third base in front of about 30 friends and family members. He picked up his first big league hit in the tenth and handled all of his chances in the field.I think after I got my first hit, it kind of felt like, OK, a lot of weight comes off, Rivera said.Randall Delgado (3-1) pitched two perfect innings for the win.TRAINING ROOMMets: INF Jose Reyes (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with Class A Brooklyn on Thursday. His assignment had been delayed because the switch-hitter was still having trouble swinging from the right side, general manager Sandy Alderson said on Tuesday.CAPTAIN AMERICA IS GENEROUS TOOInjured Mets star David Wright made sure that those closest to Rivera were close by when the infielder made his debut. Wright gave Rivera four tickets behind home plate so that his parents, wife and sister could be within earshot of the 27-year old.PLAY WIFFLE BALLArizonas Patrick Corbin joined New Yorks Wilmer Flores and Rene Rivera at a Play Ball Derby at Hudson River Parks Pier 63. The players participated in a wiffle ball derby, launching balls into the river at floating targets. Children from local Boys and Girls clubs and other baseball organizations participated alongside the players. Corbin, the non-hitter of the group, won the derby.UP NEXTMets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (9-6, 2.64 ERA) looks to snap a career-worst five-start winless streak. The All-Star hurler struggled in his last start, allowing four runs in six innings in Detroit, but has pitched to a 5-3 record with a 2.41 ERA at Citi Field this season.Diamondbacks: RHP Braden Shipley (1-1, 4.15 ERA) takes to the mound in the series finale for his fourth major league start. After struggling in his debut, hes thrown back-to-back quality starts, allowing two runs over his last 12 innings. Percy Miller Jersey . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Marvin Williams Hornets Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Michael-Kidd-Gilchrist-Hornets-Jersey/ . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. Bismack Biyombo Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Marvin Williams Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Shortly before joining his team-mates for his first day of training as a member of West Indies Test squad, Alzarri Joseph was made to climb a staircase at Sabina Parks North Stand. From somewhere near the middle of the ground, the WICBs media manager trained a 300mm lens on him. He took a few backward steps, eye glued to viewfinder, and stopped moving only when the framing was just right: Joseph on top of the staircase, hands on balustrade, and below him a sign saying Courtney Walsh End.No pressure, young man.Walsh bowled 30,019 balls in Test cricket, the most by any fast bowler, ever. Joseph is yet to play Test cricket, of course, and has only bowled 949 balls in first-class cricket. He is only 19.The cricketing world has seen what Joseph can do in short bursts. At the Under-19 World Cup, he sent the leg stump of Zimbabwes Brendan Sly flying with the fastest ball of the tournament, measured at 143kph, and, in the semi-final, showed he could be just as nasty at the other end of the length spectrum, roughing up the Bangladesh opener Pinak Ghosh with a series of bouncers, one of which clattered into the side of his helmet.Can Joseph sustain that pace, and that intensity, into his third spell of a sweltering day, the way Walsh did time after time in a 16-year Test career? Will West Indies pick Joseph for the second Test against India, and give the cricketing world the opportunity of finding out?Marlon Samuels will not make that decision, but he made his thoughts as clear as possible when he spoke to the media on Thursday.Me? I would definitely play him, he said. Fit, fast and fearless. When are you going to play him? At 25? Hes 19 now, its the best time to just let him go and enjoy himself and express himself.Conditions at Sabina Park might just allow Joseph - or any combination of fast bowlers West Indies pick - to do that. Two days before the Test match, the pitch wore a thick coat of grass. At 10.45am, when the white sheet covering it first came off to allow the umpires to look at it, it was a bright, almost neon green. In the afternoon, when the West Indian players arrived at the ground, and sang Happy Birthday to Sir Garfield Sobers on his 80th, it was still green, but not alarmingly so.Nothing had happened to the pitch in the interim. Perhaps it looked less green because the shock of first seeing it had worn off; perhaps it was just the sun sucking away the mornings moisture. It was just a different shade of green.By the time the Test match commences, the grass might lose a few millimeters, and some of it might get rolled into the surface, but much of it will probably remain in place.ddddddddddddBehind the western square boundary is the Kingston Cricket Clubs pavilion, and mounted on the roof beams of the members bar are plaques commemorating every batsman to have scored centuries in both innings of Test matches. If the pitch for this Test match plays true to its appearance, it will take some effort for anyone to join Clyde Walcott and Lawrence Rowe in achieving that feat at Sabina Park.But batsmen, according to the groundsman Charlie Joseph, will enjoy true bounce, at least on the first two days.Mikey [Michael Holding] always used to tell me, you need bounce on the first two days, Charlie Joseph said. What happens on the third and fourth day, thats not up to you. Thats nature. But you want true bounce on the first two days. You want to put your foot here, he says, planting left foot firmly forward, and do that - a shadow cover drive, on the up. Thats good cricket.We will only know for certain on Saturday, but conditions could cause both teams to alter the strategies they employed in Antigua. West Indies are chasing the series, and a green pitch gives them as good a chance as theyll probably get to bowl India out twice. A green pitch could also narrow the gap between the bowling attacks, but West Indies will need to do some of that narrowing themselves. That will mean picking Joseph, or Miguel Cummins, or both, to partner Shannon Gabriel and give the pace attack more bite.India played five bowlers in Antigua, on a slow pitch that offered bounce but little sideways movement. Here, four bowlers could do the job, with the legspin of Amit Mishra potentially surplus to requirements. This could allow them the security of an extra batsman. With only four players - Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - turning up for an optional session on Thursday, India did not reveal any of their cards. By Friday, a clearer picture should emerge.Whichever way the teams go, they will probably need to contend with a green track. Kent Crafton, the WICBs regional curator, who is overseeing the preparation of all the pitches for this series, said the board has made a concerted push to prepare quicker, bouncier pitches. We want to get it back up here, he said, bringing his hands up to chest level.Going by the bounce seen in Antigua, and the look of the pitch in Kingston, the efforts seem to be paying off. Its a positive sign, a rare one in West Indies Test cricket. ' ' '