April 27, 2010. Jacques Lemaire retirement story for Metro NYC Newspaper

US – Tuesday, April 27

Updated 17:25, April the 27th, 2010

See you later, losers

Who stays, who goes?

STAY:

Ilya Kovalchuk: The Devils have never had a player like Ilya Kovalchuk in the organization’s history. The 27-year-old Russian sniper has 338 goals in 621 games. He was the best Devil during the five game series loss to Philadelphia.

Paul Martin: Missed most of the year with a broken right arm. Still, he is the Devils best defenseman.

David Clarkson: The power forward may attract interest from teams around the league as a restricted free agent. Still he is an intriguing mix of skill and size.

GO:

Dean McAmmond: A solid utility forward, but his spot could be given to a young player in the system.

Andrew Peters: A good guy in the room and one of the better enforcers in the league. But the Devils already have Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond in that role.

Rob Niedermayer: Same as McAmmond. Plus the Devils are going to need to open up cap space for Kovalchuk.

Brian Rolston, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Jay Pandolfo: All may have some trade value. Rolston has been a disappointment in his two years. He struggled defensively and has become a power-play player. Langenbrunner raised eyebrows when he publicly admitted his displeasure at being scratched for the April 3 4-0 win in Carolina, yet having to travel with the team. Pandolfo can be replaced by a younger player.

Mike Mottau: The hard-working defenseman only makes $750,000. Yet he may be viewed as expendable when Lamoriello begins to retool his defense corps.

Martin Skoula: Acquired at the deadline to provide depth to the defense, Skoula was oftentimes invisible.

Yann Danis: The soon-to-be-38-year-old Martin Brodeur is still among the elite goaltenders in the league. But he may be at the stage of his career where he needs a legitimate backup, someone who can play 20 games a year.

Jacques Lemaire took the term “breakup day” to heart yesterday.

The first of what should be myriad personnel replacements came as the Devils’ coach shockingly announced his retirement. Lemaire will remain with the organization in a yet-to-be-determined capacity.

“It’s tough to leave what you like aside, but it’s a decision that I made,” Lemaire said.

Lemaire retires with a career regular season coaching record of 588-441-184, including a 48-27-7 mark this season, which ended last week in the team’s third straight first-round playoff exit. The two-time Jack Adams Award winner for coach of the year led the Devils to their first Stanley Cup in 1995.

The Devils’ head coaching position has been one of instability. Dating back to 2000, Larry Robinson and Lou Lamoriello, the current general manager, have held the job twice; Robbie Ftorek, Kevin Constantine, Pat Burns, Claude Julien, Brent Sutter and Lemaire once each.

“I think with Brent, he said he was homesick and missed home,” David Clarkson said. “We had no idea (that Lemaire was contemplating retirement). No one in here could have told you it was going to happen.”

“I feel like I’ve been here five years and have had six, seven coaches. You kind of get used to it,” added Zach Parise. “This is more surprising. Kind of felt that Brent was going to leave with how long it was taking. I think we’re a lot more surprised that Jacques left.”

During the second half of the season, Lemaire often raised concerns about his team’s consistency. Following a 1-0 shutout of the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 12, the Devils were 32-11-1. They went 16-16-6 in their final 38 games and were summarily dispatched by the seventh-seeded Flyers in five games. Still, the Devils’ second-half inconsistency was not the reason Lemaire decided to retire. It was a decision that he had been contemplating since the end of last season.

“Nothing at all. Nothing at all. It started my last year in Minnesota. I was starting to think about retirement,” Lemaire said, while repeatedly praising the Devils organization. “The year went really well. It’s not the team. It’s not the lack of result we had in the playoffs. I just find that it’s the end of the line. I’ll be 65. It’s just time.”

Lemaire admitted he became emotional when informing the assistant coaches, and had to have Lamoriello break the news to players.

“He did come into the room when I spoke with the players. It was just a difficult thing because Jacques is a players’ coach. These are tough things. I don’t know of anyone I have more respect for in this game than him,” expounded Lamoriello. “He did speak to players. He just couldn’t talk…he couldn’t go further.”

As the franchise’s transformative summer begins, Lamoriello now has to begin a coaching search along with determining which players return. There are candidates within the organization to replace Lemaire, specifically John MacLean at AHL Lowell.

Lamoriello bristled when asked about the search for a new coach.

“There hasn’t been a thought about anything,” Lamoriello said. “I have no thought process on anything at this moment.”

You can follow us on Twitter @DenisGorman

DENIS GORMAN sports@metro.us

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April 23, 2010, Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils Game 5 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals game story for Metro NYC Newspaper

US – Monday, April 26

Published 22:16, April the 25th, 2010

What the Devil?

Flyers finish first-round upset, take the series in five

Why Philadelphia moves on

1. Flyers man up, Devils back down — The Devils opined they had been mostly even with the Flyers over the course of the series before vowing to play “a 60- minute game” and being “desperate” Thursday morning. It was all just talk. Daniel Briere netted a power-play goal 3:16 into Game 5 to break the Devils’ spirit. Claude Giroux then added two more goals to break their back for good. Giroux finished the series with four goals, outscoring the top players for New Jersey — Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk — who finished with a combined three. The Flyers had all the momentum heading into Game 5, but they did lose Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne, each to a broken foot in Game 4 and Ian Laperriere to a facial injury Thursday night. In Carter’s case, he re-broke his right foot, which had screws inserted in it so he could play in the last two games of the regular season. Laperriere slid face first into a Paul Martin slapshot, opening a cut that looked to be around his eye.

2. Boucher a beast — Summoned to duty due to long-term injuries to Ray Emery and Michael Leighton, Flyers goalie Brian Boucher started Philadelphia’s final seven games and won four to get the Flyers into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. Still, against a Devils team that had nine players score 10 or more goals and one of the legendary goaltenders in Martin Brodeur, there weren’t many who thought the Flyers would win the series. The 33-year-old Boucher put the ultimate exclamation point on this first-round domination, stopping all 28 shots in the clincher.

3. Looking ahead — When the Devils were winning Cups, the constant was defense. Lou Lamoriello built teams that were strong in the back end, with Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski as the foundation. The post-lockout Devils defense corps has been a compilation of third and fourth defensemen. That is fine during the regular season but in the playoffs, flaws are exposed. Defense is top priority this offseason.

PUBLISHED APRIL 23, 2010

As the door to the New Jersey Devils dressing room opened for the last time in the 2009-10 NHL season, The Verve’s "Bittersweet Symphony" cascaded down from the roof of The Prudential Center.

The pained faraway looks on the players’ faces confirmed that the musical choice was painfully fitting.

Despite the 12th 100-point season in franchise history and the ninth division championship, the Devils season will be viewed as a failure following their series-ending 3-0 Game 5 loss Thursday night. Philadelphia will prepare for most likely the NHL regular season champion Washington Capitals while the Devils are left to reflect on what could have been.

If attempting to compare this series loss to others in recent history, it is not the devastating heartbreak of allowing two goals in 80 seconds to Carolina last year. Nor is it akin to falling in five tight games to a Rangers team that was their equal two years ago.

No, rather this devastation was reminiscent of the 4-1 Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Hurricanes in 2006. The Hurricanes were clearly the better team in that series, just as the Flyers were visibly stronger and deeper than the Devils. The Flyers won nine of 11 meetings during the regular and postseasons.

“I think this year could sting a little more because we had the group to make a long playoff run. To come up short, it makes it that much more disappointing,” said Mike Mottau.

An organization whose stated goal is the Cup will not tolerate three consecutive first round flameouts. But the post-mortem will come soon enough for the Devils. Their initial feelings were anger, frustration and very pointed statements about the team’s desire.

“If you’re not playing your best hockey, playing a great system and believing in it and doing all the little things, it isn’t just going to happen. No one’s going to hand it to you,” Colin White said. “I mean we have do it, night in and night out. You don’t do it for five minutes and then take 10 minutes off and then do it for five. It just doesn’t work like that.”

Philadelphia broke through 3:16 into the game with a Danny Briere power-play goal. Briere slipped down the slot behind Brian Rolston, who was watching Claude Giroux, and chipped Giroux’s centering feed past Martin Brodeur (11 saves). Despite the early goal, the Devils said that they felt confident.

The belief dissipated when Giroux scored two goals in a 2:01 span in the second period to put the Flyers up 3-0. Giroux’s first goal was a straight away slapshot that beat Brodeur high stick side just under the crossbar. The other was a power play goal with Dean McAmmond serving a double-minor for high sticking.

“He had a terrific game,” Flyers’ coach Peter Laviolette said of Giroux. Giroux led the Flyers with four goals in the series and was second on the team with six points. “I remember back two months ago. We were talking and he told me that he wanted some responsibility. We revisited that conversation this morning with some veterans.”

Following the early skate, the Devils talked about playing “a 60-minute game” and vowed to get to Flyers’ goaltender Brian Boucher (18 saves). Boucher made five tough saves, but wasn’t made to work all that hard. And the desperation did not appear until after the game—and the series—had long since been decided.

NOTES:

Jacques Lemaire did not pull punches.

“I thought it was bulls—t, as a matter of fact,” the Devils’ coach said Thursday morning after being asked if the Devils received an emotional boost at the news that Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne will miss the rest of this series—and the playoffs—with foot injuries. “I don’t believe (anybody). So I can’t say it gave us a lift.”

While Lemaire believed the Flyers are playing a cat-and-mouse game, the truth of the matter is that Philadelphia’s second and seventh-leading goal scorers are done for the playoffs after each suffered a broken right foot in Game Four. With the Flyers leading the series 3-1, Ville Leino and AHL call-up David Laliberte were the prospective replacements for Carter and Gagne.

Carter, the Flyers’ leading goal scorer, was struck in his previously broken right foot, by a shot from teammate Chris Pronger. A Brian Rolston shot hit Gagne on his right foot. According to Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren, both will undergo surgery today.

Certainly the losses of Carter and Gagne are unfortunate for a Flyers team that is on the verge of eliminating their Atlantic Division rival from the playoffs. Carter recorded two goals and an assist in the first four games while Gagne has two assists.

Still, while the seventh-seeded Flyers will miss the duo, they recognize that lamenting their losses will not advance their cause.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game, a tough game to win on the road in their building. We’ve been playing really well and we’ve had some success against this team in their own building. The mindset is to not give them any life and close them out as soon as we can.,” Blair Betts said after the Flyers’ morning skate. “Our game plan doesn’t change. We’re going to add a couple of new bodies to the lineup and they’re going to play the same way as everyone else. They’re (Carter and Gagne) a couple key offensive players in our lineup and we may need some great individual efforts from players that you wouldn’t normally expect. We hope to get that tonight.”

The Flyers have received contributions from uber pest Daniel Carcillo prior to last night. Carcillo, who finished the regular season with 12 goals and 207 penalty minutes, is tied with Carter, Mike Richards, Chris Pronger and Claude Giroux for the team lead in goals with two. To put it another way: Carcillo has the same amount of goals as does Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk averaged 23:20 of ice time while Carcillo received 8:53.

*

The Devils did not particularly care that Carter and Gagne are gone. Instead, they focused on what they hadn’t done well, specifically special teams. The Devils power play has only cashed in on four of their 24 chances with the man advantage, while allowing six goals on 23 power plays against.

Most glaringly, the lack of bodies in front of Boucher has allowed the Flyers’ third-string netminder to gain confidence. Boucher is 3-1 with a 1.98 goals against and a .925 save percentage, which ranks fifth in the playoffs behind only Nashville Pekka Rinne (.953), Colorado’s Craig Anderson (.948), Boston’s Tuukka Rask (.939) and Chicago’s Antti Niemi and Buffalo’s Ryan Miller (tied at .927).

“We’re not playing bad hockey. We’re just not putting the puck enough and getting around their goalie. We have to be around their net more. We have to be around their net and create traffic for him,” David Clarkson said. “He’s a good goalie. He’s played well. He’s done great for them. We just got to get around the net more.”

Lemaire, Clarkson and Zach Parise echoed the same theme about the Devils’ mindset with their season on the line.

“I think the team at this time, the players, they should only have one thing in mind: Come out with their best game for 60 minutes and nothing else,” Lemaire said. “They have to focus on what they do well and nothing else.” Parise said that the Devils needed “more consistency” while Clarkson repeated “60 minutes” when talking about the effort needed.

*

Betts admitted that he was pleased that he and the Flyers beat out his former team, the Rangers, for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Rangers did not re-sign Betts last summer, opting to sign Donald Brashear to a two-year, $1.8 million contract. Betts signed with the Flyers, before both parties extended the deal for two years. In all, he will make $1.950 million with the Flyers.

Brashear totaled no goals, an assist, was minus-nine and had 73 penalty minutes in 36 games before being put on waivers. Betts recorded eight goals and 18 points, was plus-seven in 63 games.

“I think there was satisfaction in the fact that it came down to those last two games and we were able to win in a shootout. We felt that we should have won (the last game of the season) in regulation for sure,” Betts said. “There’s satisfaction there. There’s no grudge; they wanted to go in a different direction and that’s part of the game.”

“I’m just glad we’re in the position that we’re in right now.”

You can follow us on Twitter @DenisGorman

Denis Gorman

http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/04/26/04/1614-82/index.xml

April 15, 2010, Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils Game one Eastern Conference Quarterfinals game story for Metro NYC Newspaper

US – Friday, April 16

Published 22:16, April the 15th, 2010

Devils fall flat in Game 1

Flyers 2, Devils 1

History is a cruel judge. It cares not for the whys and wherefores. Its only demand is the facts.

Recent New Jersey Devils playoff history has been an unwelcome juxtaposition of heartbreaking failure for an organization whose DNA is encoded with success. Two years ago, the then-fourth seeded Devils were dismissed by the Rangers in five games. Last year, the third-seed Devils were 80 seconds away from advancing to the second round before falling to sixth seeded Carolina in a Game 7.

History will show that with a hated rival in the house for the first of what seems certain to be a long, mean-spirited quarterfinal series, the Devils power play was inept in their 2-1 loss to Flyers Wednesday night. Game 2 is Friday night at The Rock.

The Devils 11^th -ranked-in-the-regular season power play was thoroughly stymied by Philadelphia’s 11^th ranked penalty kill. New Jersey was 0-5 with the man advantage and only leveled four shots at Brian Boucher (23 saves).

“Wasn’t good,” was Zach Parise’s analysis.

“Our power play, we have to be better on. That’s it. They won,” offered David Clarkson.

“I think it’s making simple plays,” said Travis Zajac. His slapshot goal with 2:43 remaining ended Boucher’s shutout bid. “It’s just about making the right plays.”

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette opined that the “structure” and system implemented by assistant coach Craig Berube as key to the success of their penalty kill.

“Our penalty kill the last month has been outstanding,” Laviolette said while making sure to praise the Devils’ personnel.

Chris Pronger scored the series’ first goal at 9:35 into the second period. With Dainius Zubrus in the box for hooking, Mike Richards threw a goalmouth pass that Danny Briere jabbed at before Pronger tapped under Martin Brodeur’s (12 saves) pads and into the net.

Pronger’s goal deflated the crowd and the Devils, who had dominated the Flyers in every feasible manner up to that point.

Ilya Kovalchuk briefly awoke the crowd two minutes later with a spectacular end-to-end rush which culminated with a shot high and wide of Boucher. Kovalchuk, who turns 27 today, was not alone in missing the net. His teammates spent much of the evening shooting high and wide of Boucher, who finished the regular season with a 9-18-3 record and .899 save percentage.

Kovalchuk and Parise dismissed the notions that the Devils experienced Game 1 jitters and that the ice was below par.

“(The) puck was bouncing all over our sticks,” Kovalchuk said. “Nah, it wasn’t nerves. It happened. We have to find a way to fight through that.”

“We have to play on the same sheet as they do,” said Parise.

Richards increased the lead to 2-0 with an even strength slap shot goal that was out of Brodeur’s reach with 3:33 remaining in the period. Defenseman Martin Skoula gave the puck away to Ian Laperriere, who carried the puck into the zone and froze Skoula with a 360 degree spin-o-rama to set up Richards from the middle of the ice for the game-winner.

This series marks the third time the Atlantic Division rivals have met in the playoffs, and the first time since 2004. The Devils have won two-of-the-three series. Both wins came in the Eastern Conference Finals (1995 and 2000). The Devils also won the Stanley Cup in those years.

Denis Gorman

http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/04/16/04/1632-82/index.xml

April 14, 2010, 2009-10 New York Rangers breakup day story for Metro NYC Newspaper

US – Friday, April 16

Published 22:25, April the 14th, 2010

Rangers' break-up day: Leadership wanted

More youth, fewer personnel changes, stay the course and more leadership.

Those were John Tortorella’s position on the state of the Rangers.

“The exciting part of it for me is the young corps.” Tortorella said yesterday as the team cleaned out its lockers. “I don’t think we need to (make as many personnel changes as the Rangers did last year). I think we added to our corps. There are some really good people here. But there are some very important decisions we have to make on some important positions on our team after our corps.

“I look at some guys like (P.A) Parenteau. He comes up and he’s our second most talented guy. I’m anxious to see (Dale Weise). (Evgeny) Grachev, he’s a guy that we need. I’d like to get younger. I think there are some positions where we can get younger.” Tortorella did say he was pleased with the development of the young Rangers throughout the course of the season.

Despite not qualifying for the playoffs for the first time post-lockout, the coach warned that the organization did not need to “blow everything up” even with the inherent pressures that come with being a professional sports franchise in New York City and, specifically, an Original Six franchise. “You have to be really careful,” Tortorella said. “I think people (within the organization) are going to ask me about a number of other things to fix that I’m going to fight because I don’t think they need to be fixed.

“You can cause even more problems for yourself when you don’t get in and say ‘We got to change this, we got to change that.’ I don’t think it comes down to winning and losing. I think to be a good organization, even when you’re winning, you have to keep an eye on the ball or you’ll lose.”

The coach believes one of the primary issues that must be addressed over the summer is the climate in the dressing room. Specifically, he believes the additions of Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley set in motion a transformation in the players’ dispositions, but more needs to be done in order for the Rangers to be a legitimate long-term contender. The Rangers finished 2009-10 with a 38-33-11 mark. However, the Rangers started the season 7-1-0 and finished 7-1-2. In between they were a less-than-imposing 24-31-9.

“I don’t think the room is a strong room. I think it improved, but I still think we have some work to do here,” Tortorella said. “It’s not one particular issue. You talk about character. We don’t have enough.

“That is certainly shown what our locker room has begun to become with the addition of (Shelley), Pruster and (Anders) Eriksson. I’m not saying it’s anybody’s fault; it’s just what it is right now. We have a young corps that’s going to grow. Now if you get some people sprinkled around them, not just talent but character, it’ll progress quicker. When you bring other people in, other people get knocked out of the bus.

“I think it’s the right people, the right character guy,” emphasized Tortorella, who absolved Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan from criticism about the overall personality of the team. “I think some guys need to be bumped off. That’s the development of the room.”

Leadership cannot simply emanate from one individual. It has to be a collective mindset. The coach singled out Marian Gaborik, Erik Christensen and other top Rangers forwards for criticism by the coach due their collective invisibility Sunday afternoon with the season on the line.

“We didn’t deserve to win that hockey game,” Tortorella said of his team’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Flyers. “That’s what makes my stomach turn, 48 hours after. It’s that we had zero top guys show up. We had zero top guys show up in Philly, which is despicable.”

Tortorella did explain his rationale for not having Gaborik as one of the top three shootout shooters Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia. Gaborik was 1-for-5 in the one-on-one portion of the game and 2-for-18 lifetime. Tortorella settled on Erik Christensen (1-for-4 this year), Parenteau (3-for-3) and Olli Jokinen (5-for-10 overall; 0-for-1 with the Rangers and 5-9 with Calgary). Only Parenteau figured out Flyers goalie Brian Boucher.

“If you look at it, historically with other teams, the three players that were there, they need to take the shot,” Tortorella said, roughly 45 hours after the season ended. “I’m a big believer that your top guy needs to be a part of everything with your team. Would I have loved to have Gabby lead off? Yeah. I’ve tried that (during the year). I also have to make a conscious decision what’s best for the hockey club, too. There’s no way I’d change that. I’d do it again. If it happened tomorrow, those three guys would take it.

“I don’t second guess myself.”

Denis Gorman


http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/04/15/04/2542-82/index.xml?print=1

April 12, 2010, Washington Nationals-New York Mets game story for Metro NYC Newspaper

US – Monday, April 12

Updated 22:51, April the 11th, 2010

Willingham's granny dooms Mets

Nationals 5, Mets 2

Look ahead: Tuesday, Mets at Rockies

Pitching matchups:

Tuesday, April 13: John Maine (0-0, 7.20) vs. Greg Smith (0-1, 9.00)

Wednesday, April 14: Jonathon Niese (0-1, 4.50) vs. Aaron Cook (0-1, 6.75)

Thursday, April 15: Mike Pelfrey (1-0, 3.00) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (1-0, 0.00)

Three Things To Pay Attention To:

1: How much longer can the Mike Jacobs experiment last? Signed to a minor league contract in the off-season, Jacobs is versatile enough to play first and catch. That flexibility proved useful when everyday first baseman Daniel Murphy went down with a sprained knee at the end of spring training. However Jacobs has been a hole in the middle of the Mets' lineup, hitting .133, while highly touted first base prospect Ike Davis is waiting at Triple-A Buffalo.

2: Jeff Francoeur is the Mets' hottest hitter. The perpetually positive Francoeur is hitting .476 with an otherworldly 1.000 slugging percentage. While the middle of the Mets lineup would be overloaded with right-handed hitters if Francoeur replaced Jacobs in the five hole, Jerry Manuel may have no choice if his right fielder keeps hitting the way he has.


3: The Mets are averaging four and a half runs in their first six games. Prior to last night's game against the Padres, Colorado averages 4.6 runs. With both pitching staffs struggling, expect to see runs cross the plate.

Six games into the 162 game opus is far too early for a team to assign do-or-die status.

But judging from the painfully blunt words originating from the somber countenances of the New York Mets, they believe that their season could very well be over before it ever begins.

"You look at this team. We lost our first two series," said first baseman Mike Jacobs in a pin drop silent locker room after the Mets' disheartening 5-2 loss to the Nationals Sunday afternoon.

With the loss, the Mets fell to 2-4 on the season. The Mets begin a six-game road trip against the Rockies and Cardinals starting Tuesday night. They return home for a 10-game homestand against the Cubs, Braves and Dodgers beginning next Monday.

"It's kind of disappointing," Jerry Manuel said. "(Sunday's) game was not a good game for us. I thought we appeared unprepared and I have to take responsibility for that."

Specifically, the Mets were not ready for Livan Hernandez. The ex-Met baffled his former mates with his off-speed stuff. The Mets only recorded five hits in seven innings off of Hernandez (1-0), which earned ire from their manager.

"I think sometimes until you experience it, it doesn't relate. It's unfortunate that you have to experience it to really understand. I would hope that we would become better at that, than what we've shown so far," Manuel said of his team's approach against Hernandez. Hernandez slapped a single to centerfield in the seventh for good measure. "We're going to have to address (not hitting with runners in scoring position). How we do that is discuss ways to get the message across.

"You're going to make outs in this game. I think the approach has to be corrected. We have to have the right mindset going forward and I haven't seen that."

The one certainty with the Mets was that Johan Santana would take the mound once every fifth day and all would be right in their world. That was not the case yesterday as Santana (1-1) struggled in his second start of the season as he lasted only five innings against a lineup that is hardly reminiscent of the Murders' Row Yankees. Washington roughed up Santana for five runs on five hits while drawing three walks.

Josh Willingham plated all of the Nationals' runs.

He slammed a first inning grand slam, and drove in Adam Dunn with a RBI double in the third.

"I tried to throw my fastball but I didn't have it in the first inning. It was all over the place. I wasn't able to command it," explained Santana. "I tried to throw him a fastball and then I threw him a changeup that didn't do anything. He put a good swing on it and the ball was carrying. Just like that the whole game changed."

The Mets broke through in the eighth with Jacobs' two out, two-run home run off of Brian Bruney that cut the lead to 5-2. The homer was the first of the season for Jacobs and the 100th in his career. Jeff Francoeur followed with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error by third baseman Alberto Gonzalez, but Gary Matthews' strikeout ended the rally.

NOTES:

The Mets announced before the game that reliever Sean Green was put on the 15-day DL with a right intercostal muscle strain. Raul Valdes was called up from Triple-A Buffalo. Green's only appearance in the early season was in last Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the Marlins. He allowed two hits and a run in an inning of work.

Valdes made his Major League debut in the sixth inning. He only allowed two hits in two innings and struck out two.

▶ The series finale marked Jose Reyes' second game back after missing most of last season with a hamstring and the first four games of this year with a thyroid. Without their top-of-the-lineup igniter, the Mets were a combined 54-79 in a 133 game span.

▶ There were late fireworks as the benches and bullpens emptied after Francisco Rodriguez hit Willie Harris with a pitch in the ninth inning. No punches were thrown.

Rodriguez began shouting and pointing as Harris jogged to first. Harris was restrained by Nationals first base coach Dan Radisson and Jacobs while Rod Barajas tried to calm Rodriguez.

Rodriguez would not divulge what Harris said. "He said a couple words that I didn't like," Rodriguez said. "I took it in a bad way." The closer emphasized that he was trying to pitch inside and would continue to do so in the future.

"When I try to make a pitch inside, (hitters) seem to get upset. I have to do my job," Rodriguez said. "I'm going to keep pitching inside and if I hit them, I hit them. But I know for sure that I'm not doing anything on purpose."

You can follow us on Twitter @DenisGorman

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