The Mets have recalled infielder/outfielder Nick Evans from Binghamton and optioned outfielder Fernando Martinez to Buffalo.

Evans, 23, was hitting .323 in June with nine multi-hit games for the B-Mets. Since June 4th, he’s batting .377 (20-53) with seven doubles, one triple, two home runs, and seven RBI. Overall, the righthanded batter was hitting .276 (29-105) with nine doubles, one triple, nine RBI in 25 games with Double-A Binghamton.

Martinez, 20, hit .194 (12-64) with five doubles and five RBI in 18 games with the Mets.

It would be easy to label F-Mart’s first taste of the majors a failure, but he is just 20. He’ll be back.

With a one-run lead in the ninth inning, Francisco Rodriguez came into the game and had trouble locating his fast ball. The result was his first true blown save of the season, not counting the game the Mets lost to the Yankees when Luis Castillo dropped a routine fly ball.

Rodriguez allowed a lead-off double. He then walked the next batter. The third batter at the plate bunted, but Omir Santos’s throw to third was a tad too late, loading the bases. He then walked Adam Jones to tie the game at 4. Finally, Aubrey Huff hit the ball into right field for the walk-off win.

The Mets had a chance to tack on runs in the ninth when Castillo started off with a hit. Alex Cora then bunted him over. Daniel Murphy hit a fly ball to advance Castillo to third, but after an intentional walk to Carlos Beltran, David Wright could not bring the runner home.

It was another good outing by Livan Hernandez, who allowed only two runs and pitched seven innings. Pedro Feliciano allowed a double to Huff with one out and was removed for Sean Green. Green allowed a single and then got a ground ball, but it scored another run. He closed out the inning to head into the ninth.

Beltran and Cora both had good nights at the plate, each getting two hits. Beltran got an RBI. Wright didn’t get a hit for the second straight night but did get an RBI. The Mets scored all of their runs on small ball.

It was an especially disappointing loss considering the Phillies had lost earlier in the day to the Blue Jays and the Mets could’ve pulled within two games. Now, the Mets face a tough home stand starting with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, followed by the Cardinals four and then the Yankees. Fernando Nieve will make his third start.

Alex Cora SS
Daniel Murphy 1B
Carlos Beltran CF
David Wright 3B
Gary Sheffield DH
Ryan Church RF
Omir Santos C
Fernando Martinez LF
Luis Castillo 2B

Livan Hernandez P (5-1, 4.33 ERA)

The Mets will face their third straight right-handed pitcher, Jason Berken (1-3, 7.32 ERA), as they try to win the rubber game of the three-game series in Baltimore. The players are pretty much the same, but the order is a little different.

Murphy is batting in the two hole after getting three hits last night, and Martinez, who has not been able to find any kind of consistency at the plate, is batting eighth. Santos gives Brian Schneider a day off, and Sheffield and Church switch spots in the order.

The Phillies continue their losing streak at home, getting swept by the Blue Jays. They lost 8-7 after Ryan Madson allowed a home run in the top of the ninth inning. I bet the Phillies can’t wait to get Brad Lidge back from the DL. Madson’s been brutal.

The Mets can now pull within two games tonight if they can manage to beat the Orioles. If Livan Hernandez can keep up his good pitching, the Mets have a chance. It’s time for them to capitalize.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP)—New York Mets left-hander Oliver Perez is getting back on track.

Perez, on the disabled list since May 7, threw 48 pitches in three shutout innings of an extended spring training game Thursday at the Mets’ rehab facility. He gave up three hits and one walk, and struck out five in the pain-free performance that came after a recent setback.

“I felt really good,” said Perez, whose fastball was clocked in the low 90s.

“I’m a little tired because it’s hot, but I feel strong. I threw three innings, and I was using all my pitches. I used my slider, backdoor, in good situations, behind the count, my change-up, too.

“I’m happy I had good command, and I was throwing a lot of strikes.”

It was the same score as last night’s game, but the Mets were on the losing end tonight as the Orioles went ahead in the seventh inning, scoring two off of Pedro Feliciano. Tim Redding started the game, allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He didn’t give the team the quality start they needed to win.

Feliciano took the loss. He came into a 4-4 game after Bobby Parnell got the first out of the seventh inning. Feliciano allowed a hit before Aubrey Huff hit a long home run. Feliciano had been pitching great to left-handers before tonight but he just didn’t have it. He couldn’t seem to find the outside corner. Parnell, on the other hand, pitched much better, retiring three batters.

The Mets had 12 hits on the night but only managed four runs. Daniel Murphy started at first and had three hits with an RBI.  Gary Sheffield hit his eighth home run of the season in the sixth inning. David Wright broke his 11-game hitting streak by going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. A couple of at-bats came in big spots, but he couldn’t get it done. Ditto for Carlos Beltran, who was 1-for-5.

The Mets had their chance in the sixth inning when the bases were loaded with one out. Unfortunately, Fernando Tatis grounded into a double play after coming in for Fernando Martinez, who went 1-for-3.

So, the Mets lose one but didn’t lose ground against the Phillies, who dropped their second game to the Blue Jays, 7-1. Livan Hernandez takes the mound Thursday night.

Alex Cora SS
Fernando Martinez LF
Carlos Beltran CF
David Wright 3B
Ryan Church RF
Gary Sheffield DH
Daniel Murphy 1B
Brian Schneider C
Luis Castillo 2B

Tim Redding (0-2, 6.18 ERA) P

Throwing out the exact same batting order as last night, the Mets send Redding out to try to continue his quality pitching of late. In his past two games, Redding has a 2.77 ERA. One of those games was against the Phillies, when he pitched seven innings, struck out six and allowed three runs.

The Mets are throwing out a predominantly left-handed batting order as they face their second straight right-handed pitcher in the form of Koji Uehara (2-4, 4.37 ERA). The Mets can’t rely on their opposition committing three errors for three unearned runs every night, so they’ll need to step up their offense.

The following is a list of the Mets players on the disabled list and their status:

June 17: Billy Wagner said he expects to pitch two Major League innings in 30 days, according to The New York Daily News.

June 17: The Daily News also reported that Oliver Perez and John Maine actually will pitch against each other in an extended Spring Training game in St. Port Lucie on Thursday.

June 16: In some bad news, Jose Reyes told the Daily News that he doesn’t know when he’ll be ready to test his slightly torn hamstring.

June 11: Angel Pagan is eligible to be activated today, though there is no news yet on whether or not he will be.

Well, it’s been one year since Jerry Manuel took over the reins of the Mets as its manager. The team has won 88 games and lost 67 for a .567 percent winning percentage under his tenure. That’s not bad for a first-year manager. I’m sure Joe Girardi would’ve loved to have had that record in his first year, though his wasn’t much worse at .549.

Manuel was hot out of the starting gate in his first 93 games, where he was 55-38 (.591 percentage). Those were the number of games he managed in 2008, but the Mets fell short once again at the end of the season and didn’t make the playoffs for the second straight year. That was on his watch. In 2009, the Mets are 33-29 for a .532 percentage and right now trailing three games behind the Phillies, which is exactly where the Mets were at the end of last season.

Despite some tense moments in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Mets came away with a win against a sub-.500 Orioles team. Mike Pelfrey retired 13 of his first 14 hitters but started to weaken a little in the sixth when Nick Markakis hit a two-run shot to make it 4-2 Mets. Pelfrey left after 5 2/3 innings. It was his first win since May 7.

The Mets got those four runs in the fourth inning, thanks to two Orioles errors. Another error by Aubrey Huff in the seventh inning helped to score the other two Mets runs. The Mets only scored three earned runs.

Alex Cora had a great night going 3-for-5. Brian Schneider and David Wright both had two hits and an RBI each. Wright kept up his blistering pace and added another stolen base.

The bullpen, except for Bobby Parnell, was good. Sean Green came in for the last out of the sixth and proceeded to retire the next five batters. Pedro Feliciano came in to face two left-handers and struck out both. Parnell came into the game in the ninth but immediately gave up two straight hits, which presented a save situation.

So, K-Rod was called on to close. After allowing a walk to load the bases, K-Rod induced a strikeout. He then walked pinch hitter and former Met Ty Wigginton to close the gap to 6-3. Rodriguez then got a ground ball, but that scored a run as well. Finally, he struck out Adam Jones.

The Mets hung on and took the first game of the series. Tim Redding takes the mound on Wednesday. Although the Mets only had one extra-base hit, they were able to produce enough offense to win, which is always a good sign.

Alex Cora SS
Fernando Martinez LF
Carlos Beltran CF
David Wright 3B
Ryan Church RF
Gary Sheffield DH
Daniel Murphy 1B
Brian Schneider C
Luis Castillo 2B

With a bevy of right-handers that the Orioles are throwing at the Mets this week, the lefties will get a lot of action. Thanks to another interleague series, Sheffield can rest his aching knee some more and try to rest it before the team faces National League teams again.

Mike Pelfrey takes the mound tonight, and the Mets will need the good Pelf. After the mind-boggling performance by Johan Santana on Sunday, Pelfrey needs to serve as the stopper.

According to The New York Post, Gary Sheffield did not receive an MRI after a team doctor took a look at the outfielder’s right knee and decided it wasn’t necessary. Sheffield had been complaining of pain behind the knee since May.

Sheffield will continue to platoon in the outfield after the interleague series with the Baltimore Orioles ends on Thursday, according to the Post report.

The Mets medical staff has been questionable at best all season with the various injuries that have plagued the players. Let’s hope they got this one right and won’t do more harm than good.

In case you haven’t heard, television sports personality Joe Buck has a new show on HBO. It’s premiering tonight at 9. Check your local listings to see channels and times. Use our new TV listings page.

Wright will appear in a taped segment talking about what it’s like to play in New York City under the intense spotlight of the media and fans.

Last week’s poll question is: Knowing what you know now about the Mets and who’s on the team, where do you seem them finishing the season?

Here are the results:

In first place: 16 percent
Wild Card winner: 21 percent
Second place in division but no wild card: 44 percent
Third place in division: 19 percent

Well, it looks like there are a lot of Mets pessimists out there, but then again, you wouldn’t be a true Mets fan unless you weren’t pessimistic. Sixty-three percent of you don’t think the Mets will have a post season, where as 37 percent do.

After this past weekend’s two debacle games, I might have to side with the pessimists. The Mets seemed to have Friday’s game in hand. Unfortunately, the hand belonged to Luis Castillo and he promptly dropped the ball – literally. It was followed by the gasp heard ‘round the Mets’ nation, followed by a lot of cursing.

At least Fernando Nieve’s outing on Saturday was excellent. He allowed only four hits, two walks and two runs in 6 2/3 innings and got the win. One wonders how much of that was the Yankees having never seen him before, but it was the only highlight of the weekend.

Sunday’s game in which Johan Santana allowed nine earned runs (yes, you read that correctly) in just three-plus innings has got to concern a lot of people. On Friday, I mentioned that Santana’s last few outings were getting progressively worse, but never did I imagine it would be this bad.

Santana claims there is nothing wrong with him physically, that there are no injuries to worry about, but you have to wonder. The Mets cannot afford to lose a third starting pitcher, especially their ace.

So, this week’s question is: How do you characterize yourself as a Mets fan?

Congratulations to Michael Reddan of Yonkers, who submitted the correct answer to this week’s Mets Contest question: What is the deepest part of the Citi Field outfield and how many feet is it? The answer is: right-center and 415 feet.

Michael will be receiving a copy of “The New York Mets: Essential Games of Shea Stadium DVD Set.”

The Mets Contest is going on hiatus for the next two weeks but will return on June 29. Please check back then for the next question.