04-28-2019, 12:38 AM
NEW YORK -- Mets rookie Eric Campbell earned a start in left field because of his bat. He should be getting even more playing time because of his glove. In his first career major league game in the outfield, Campbell doubled Yasiel Puig off second base after making a spectacular diving catch in the eighth that helped preserve New Yorks 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. "As it always goes, put a guy in for his offence and his defence saves the game," manager Terry Collins said. Campbell had a sacrifice fly in the first inning and is hitting .368 in his first eight big league games. Collins said he is going to use the versatile 27 year old who plays mostly at the corner infield spots at second base and shortstop, too. Campbell, who even worked out a bit behind the plate to be the Mets emergency catcher with Travis dArnaud on the 7-day concussion list, is ready. "I can handle it," Campbell said of playing second and short. "Just fielding a groundball and throwing to first." Jonathon Niese (3-3) hit an RBI double to provide himself some much-needed run support and pitched seven sharp innings for New York, which won for just the sixth time in 20 games this month and avoided a three-game sweep. Juan Lagares had a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh. The dynamic yet, at times, frustrating Puig made a sensational catch of his own on a sinking liner to right-centre that was so good it elicited a warm ovation from the 23,416 in attendance. But he made two baserunning mistakes that could have cost the Dodgers runs. "Thats one of the best catches Ive ever seen," Campbell said. "That was crazy." Zack Greinkes stretch of 21 straight starts allowing two or fewer runs ended. A mark that hasnt been matched since at least 1914 was done in by some sloppy play. "Just in my experience, weve played incredible defence when Im pitching throughout the years," Greinke said, "so, if someone makes one mistake in one game, you cant really say too much." Dodgers centre fielder Matt Kemp bobbled Curtis Grandersons drive in the first inning to right-centre, allowing Granderson to take third base on a double in a 12-pitch at-bat. Granderson then scored on Campbells sacrifice fly. In the fifth, third baseman Justin Turner failed to glove Daniel Murphys slow grounder that allowed Niese to score for a 3-1 lead. Niese reached on a well-struck RBI double to right-centre following Anthony Reckers double to a similar spot. Greinke was lifted after five, yielding four hits, three runs -- one earned -- two walks and four Ks. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 22 games. Niese then walked Chone Figgins, playing in place of Dee Gordon, to start the sixth. Figgins advanced to second on Puigs grounder to third when Murphy, the second baseman, dropped Wrights force attempt -- the call was upheld by replay. But Niese escaped unscathed when Puig ran into an out on an infield fly gone awry. Hanley Ramirez hit a high popup to second base. Murphy backed up under the ball but appeared to lose it in the lights. When the ball fell, Murphy hesitated and Puig jogged into second. Apparently thinking he was forced out, Puig wandered off second and was tagged out for the double play. "I didnt actually see the umpire give the signal," Puig said through a translator. "I felt it was a little bit too late and, by that time, I was already off the base. I thought it was going to be a double play and I was already off in that situation." The Dodgers tied it in the seventh, though, when Turner hit his first homer with the Dodgers after spending parts of four seasons with the Mets. "Hes welcome for that one," Niese said, joking. "For that one, just a mistake that he punched." Lagares RBI single off Chris Perez (0-2) s gave the Mets back the lead in the seventh. Granderson tripled in a run in the eighth for a 5-3 lead. Niese had received just five runs of support total in his previous four home starts. The left-hander has not allowed more than three earned runs in 12 starts. Jenrry Mejia pitched the ninth for his second save. He pitched a scoreless ninth Wednesday night making this his first back-to-back appearances since moving to the bullpen this month. NOTES: DArnaud (7-day concussion DL) was scheduled to do some on-field work before the game. If all goes well he should take batting practice on the field Friday. ... Up next: The Dodgers head to Philadelphia on Friday and the Mets play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . 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They promoted left-hander Zac Rosscup and right-hander Neil Ramirez from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Blake Parker to their top minor league team.TORONTO – Jonathan Bernier had made a mere 54 starts in the NHL before he joined the Maple Leafs this past summer. "I played a lot in junior, played a lot in the AHL, but last three years I didnt play much, so I kind of forgot how to prepare myself," said Bernier in conversation with the Leaf Report. "I forgot how hard it is to be ready every night." He is rapidly rediscovering what it takes. Making his third straight start in a rare Sunday night affair, the 25-year-old stopped 41 shots as the Leafs picked up back-to-back wins for the first time in three weeks, topping the Hurricanes 5-2 at the ACC. Bernier has sizzled with a .949 save percentage in his last five games, settling into a groove in the Toronto crease. He appears firmly on track to start in Wednesdays Winter Classic. "Thats up to Randy," said Bernier with a smile, now ranked eighth in the NHL with a .930 save percentage this season. "Obviously, itd be a really nice experience, but like Ive said since the beginning, you cant control what Randy is going to decide. Thats up to him." Bernier spoke earlier in the year about the mental and physical preparation required to play near-nightly in an NHL crease. Having tended goal as the back-up to Jonathan Quick for years with the Kings, he had forgotten the formula it took for success. With 23 starts already as a Leaf, he is picking it up once more. "Youve got to learn when to push yourself in practice or when to rest yourself, all those little things; when to work in the gym, when not," he explained. "You dont want to overwork, but at the same time you need those good practices to get back in the game and feel good about yourself." He is admittedly better prepared for the workload, one that is considerably more taxing night to night than what he experienced in Los Angeles. Sunday marked the fifth time he faced at least 40 shots this season. Its just another step in the learning process. "Im sure Ill be a different goalie or different person in two years from now," he said. "I never really played that much in this league so far. Its all new for me." Five Points 1. Bozaks Impactful Return Playing his first game since Dec. 3, returning from an oblique injury, Tyler Bozak made a splash with three assists against Carolina. The 27-year-old had a hand in both Phil Kessel goals – Kessels team-leading 19th and 20th – adding his 10th assist this season on Paul Rangers second goal of the year. Bozak, who entered the night averaging upwards of 21 minutes a game, was held to 17-plus on Sunday night, his ice-time managed after more than three weeks on long-term injured reserve. That will change in the near future according to Carlyle, who relies on the fifth-year centre in all situations. "We think a lot of a player by the number of minutes he plays," said Carlyle. "Usually thats a good indication of how coaches feel about players." The Leafs coach spoke of Bozaks intangibles. "Hes a smart hockey player," Carlyle continued. "He does a lot of little things that dont get noticed on the score-sheet and he puts himself in a position to be the safety valve for the other two players hes playing with." Alongside Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, Bozak and the Toronto top line enjoyed a flurry of opportunities against the Hurricanes, including a handful of breakaways for Kessel, but also had their issues in the defensive zone, being outshot by the trio of Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin and Nathan Gerbe. Gerbe scored Carolinas first goal of the game with the line out on the ice. Prior to the game, van Riemsdyk spoke of Bozaks ability to impact the trio as a "safety valve" defensively. "Were usually going against other teams top offensive units and hes really good at competing with them down-low, getting the puck out of the zone," said van Riemsdyk. "When he does that…it gives all of us more energy to play offence. When youre not getting hemmed in as much and youre good defensively. you have more energy to expend on offence." Bozak now has eight points in the past five games hes played, also winning 14 of 26 draws on this night. 2. Face-off Work Carlyle stressed the need for increased competitiveness in the face-off circle prior to Sundays game and he got it. The Leafs won 60 per cent of their draws against the Hurricanes, led by Jay McClement, who emerged victorious on 15 of 24 face-offs. "If youre not having success against the individual, then Im about being competitive and I believe that our team has to become more competitive in those small areas," said Carlyle earlier in the day. "When theres a 50-50 opportunity to come up with the puck, I think we have to show more tenacity, more bite, and what it comes down to, its more competitive spirit." Jerred Smithson, reassigned to the Marlies on Saturday, recently offered a similar sentiment in conversation with the Leaf Report. "Its just wanting to win the battle more than that other guy," said Smithson, who held a 59 per cent mark in 17 games with the Leafs. "Thats the biggest thing for me, anyway. You know theres always different techniques, but just the will and the commpete going into the circle and wanting it just that much more.dddddddddddd." Outside of Smithson and McClement, Toronto centres have all dipped under the 50 per cent mark. Even Bozak, long the teams best face-off man, has fallen to 46 per cent in 17 games this season. Centre Face-off Percentage Jerred Smithson 58.6 Jay McClement 54.9 Tyler Bozak 46.6 Trevor Smith 45.2 Peter Holland 45.2 Nazem Kadri 42.1 Dave Bolland 41.3 The Leafs, at 47.2 per cent this season, sit 25th overall on the draw. 3. Opposing Strategy Despite beating the Hurricanes handily, the Leafs did not play what could be considered a smooth game. Carlyle felt his team was "overmatched in a lot of areas" and were outshot 43-27 and out-attempted 75-49. The Leafs coach has identified the formula of opposing teams. "They got to the red-line and they dumped the puck in," he said of the Hurricanes. "That seems to be the mandate for teams coming in here: you try to force us to play as much defence [as possible] in our own zone." Carlyle said opponents have been intent on forcing his team to recover pucks down low and along the walls in the Toronto zone, pinching their defencemen where possible for added support. "Its no secret," he said. "We havent been able to hand that or manage the game properly in that area and weve got to get better at it." 4. Best Period as a Leaf? David Clarkson left the bench for the final 13 minutes of the second period. The 29-year-old required stitches for a gash on his elbow. He returned a different player for the final frame. "Probably the best period of hockey hes played for us," said Carlyle of Clarksons third period. Employed in checking line duties alongside McClement and Nik Kulemin for the past five games, Clarkson seems to be gradually finding a role with the Leafs. On Sunday, his units duties included a showdown with Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu. And though they were outshot, the trio managed to keep Carolinas top line off the scoresheet. "We feel confident that we can put that line on the ice against any line weve played so far," Carlyle said. "So when you have that type of confidence in the group, the sum of the three, its a good sign for the coaching staff. We feel confident in those players. And if you notice their minutes, they get to play a lot." 5. Hollands Opportunity With Bozak back from a 12-game stint on injured reserve and a checking unit of Clarkson, Kulemin and McClement remaining intact, Peter Holland moved down the lineup Sunday into the fourth line centre position. The shift wasnt because of performance. Holland has made good use of an opportunity presented by the teams injury troubles. He entered the evening with eight points in the previous 10 games. "I thought Ive come in and Ive gotten stronger pretty much on a consistent basis, game in, game out," said the 22-year-old, shooting a blistering 23 per cent on six goals this season. "Whether Im playing five minutes or 15 minutes, I think Im just trying to do my best to earn the respect of my coaches and the rest of my teammates. Just do the little things right; winning battles; winning face-offs; being on the defensive side of pucks. I think when Ive done a good job of that the offence has come, so I just need to stick with that." Holland, who played only eight minutes against Carolina, is tied for third on the team in December scoring. Stats-Pack .949 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier over the past five games. 43-72 – Leafs in the face-off circle against the Hurricanes. 17:14 – Ice-time for Tyler Bozak in his return to the lineup against Carolina. 6 – Seasons with 20-plus goals for Phil Kessel. 8 – Points in the last five games for Bozak, who had three assists against the Hurricanes. 8 – Goals from the Toronto defence in the past 12 games. Along with Ranger, Dion Phaneuf scored his fourth marker of the season on Sunday. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2 Season: 22.3% (5th) PK: 1-2 Season: 77.5% (27th) Quote of the Night "I wasnt waving the pompoms to be involved with it to start with." -Randy Carlyle, on the upcoming Winter Classic. Up Next The Leafs face the Red Wings in Wednesdays Winter Classic. 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