Citi Field

Rod Barajas and Jeff Francoeur became the first Mets hitters to homer twice out of Citi Field in the same game, powering New York past the Washington Nationals, 8-2, on a windy night. Despite gusts well over 20 mph that knocked down fly balls and littered the field with hot dog wrappers, the Mets posted their first four-homer performance at the ballpark that opened in 2009. They totaled only 49 home runs last year in their new, spacious home. Barajas and Francoeur sent their shots to leftfield.

Fans at Citi Field booed the free-falling New York Mets even more loudly than they jeered Manny Ramirez - before he got ejected. Ramirez drove in three runs with two singles, then was ejected following his second called strikeout, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat what's left of the Mets, 8-0, last night. Clayton Kershaw (6-5) combined with three relievers on a four-hitter, pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt hit a seventh-inning homer off the front of the second deck in leftfield and Los Angeles twice scored with bases-loaded walks.

Citi Field, New York. Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. RHP Vance Worley (4-4, 2.92 ERA) vs. New York LHP Jon Niese (6-3, 3.55) Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. LHP Cliff Lee (0-5, 4.13) vs. RHP Chris Young (2-1, 3.30) Thursday at 7:10 p.m. LHP Cole Hamels (10-4, 3.08) vs. RHP R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.15)

7:10 Citi Field, New York. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. TONIGHT'S PITCHERS Phillies RHP Roy Halladay vs. Mets RHP Jenrry Mejia (0-3, 3.86) WHO'S HOT: Shane Victorino: In three games in the leadoff spot, he is 8-for-16 with six runs, four steals and three RBI. WHO'S NOT: Roy Halladay: Yeah, it's a stretch. After all, he's pitched seven innings in each of his last three starts, and has recorded quality starts in two of him. But he's allowed at least at least three earned runs in three straight outings for the first time season.

U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Ted Poe are urging the Obama administration to demand that Citigroup drop its $400 million, 20-year naming rights deal for Citi Field, the New York Mets' new stadium scheduled to open in April, because of $45 billion the bank received in government aid. "At Citigroup, 50,000 people will lose their jobs. Yet in the boardroom of Citigroup, spending $400 million to put a name on stadium seems like a good idea," said Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat. Citigroup reached its agreement with the Mets 3 years ago. It is among several American banks that have received financial assistance from the federal government in recent months.

Dykstra's reportedly behind in the count Celebrated in recent years as a Wall Street wizard, Lenny Dykstra is flat broke, according to a report in the New York Post. The former Phillies and Mets centerfielder may lose his $18 million California mansion and private jet, according to court documents and associates. "He's been writing bad checks all over town," an unidentified source was quoted as saying. Dykstra purchased his Thousand Oaks estate from Wayne Gretzky.

DANIEL MURPHY emphatically flipped his bat to the ground while he ran to first on his RBI single to centerfield. Take that Brett Gardner. Murphy had the go-ahead hit in the eighth after being denied a homer by Gardner two innings earlier, and the New York Mets rallied to beat the rival Yankees, 2-1, last night for their second straight home win after losing eight in a row. "I was fairly angry after he took that from us," Murphy said. David Wright hit his first home run at Citi Field this year leading off the seventh.

It turns out umpire Brian O'Nora didn't just swallow his chaw during the first inning of the Phils-Mets game Friday. MLB announced Monday that he is recovering from an intestinal tear that forced him to make a sudden exit. There was no timetable for his return. The 50-year-old had been feeling ill before the game in New York. He was the plate ump and quickly left the field during the bottom of the first, hurrying through the Mets dugout. The game was delayed nine minutes and resumed with three men in blue.

NEW YORK - Baseball is a funny game. Charlie Manuel has dedicated his 69-year-old soul to mastering it as best he can, yet he often yields to that adage when confronted by the inexplicable. He is not alone. So when the Phillies rallied Friday in the sixth inning of a 4-0 victory over the Mets, the manager must have wondered what he'd done to deserve this. For the fourth straight day, his team put a runner on third base with no one out. The previous three instances generated failures.

At Citi Field, New York. Friday at 7:10 p.m.    RHP Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 3.28 ERA) vs. New York RHP Dillon Gee (1-3, 5.95).   Saturday at 1:05 p.m. RHP Jonathan Pettibone (0-0, 3.38) vs. New York RHP Shaun Marcum (first start).   Sunday at 1:10 p.m. LHP Cole Hamels (0-3, 5.40) vs. New York LHP Jonathan Niese (2-1, 3.81).

BASEBALL SEASON is here, and with it the reinvigorating rituals of spring, such as saying "screw the Mets. " It's a popular phrase in the movie "Gimme the Loot," except the movie is salty, so nobody bothers with a PG word like "screw. " The movie can also be recommended for the horrible things some of the characters say about Derek Jeter. As a bonus, it's built around a mythic, baseball-related quest: To deface the loathsome Mets' Home Run Apple, imported from Shea and installed at Citi Field, a prized target of spray-paint vandals throughout the Northeast.

First in a series that looks at the NL East teams.   IT WASN'T all that long ago that a big-market team in the Northeast emptied its wallet each winter in an attempt to win the National League East even before pitchers and catchers reported to Florida. Built around homegrown, All-Star infielders, the team's management aggressively attacked the free-agent market to add future Hall of Famers, former Cy Young winners and fellow All-Stars to the roster. It was an endless pursuit of perfection (and hopefully, the postseason)

Someone had to be blamed for the Indians' collapse. Manager Manny Acta, hired in 2009 after two losing seasons as the Nationals' skipper, took the fall Thursday. Cleveland was within three games of first place in the AL Central on July 21 before losing 21 of 25, going 5-24 in August and sliding all the way to the bottom of the AL Central. It certainly wasn't all Acta's fault, but there were times when the Indians seemed to be going through the motions and a lack of effort never reflects positively on any manager.

NEW YORK - The conversation was initiated by Ryan Howard about two hours before game time. As he waited to take batting practice at Citi Field, the Phillies first baseman had a question for a couple of reporters sitting in the visiting dugout. "What do you guys think about the comeback?" Howard asked. He didn't mean Wednesday night's rally, when the slumping slugger stepped to the plate with the Phillies down to their last out and smashed a two-run home run that provided a stunning victory over the sinking New York Mets.

NEW YORK - Although he's played less than half a season, Ryan Howard is as mentally drained as any player in baseball. With 2 weeks left in the most trying month of his career, Howard admittedly has beaten himself up over his lack of production at the plate. Ten months removed from left Achilles' surgery, Howard is battling the psychological rehab as much as dealing with the physical toll the injury has had on his body. But Howard could breathe and sleep easy on Wednesday night, the night he took one mighty swing that kept the Phillies' fading playoff hopes alive.

NEW YORK - In the four seasons since Citi Field opened its doors, a time that coincided with the Phillies' rise to the top of the National League and the New York Mets' descent to making regular appearances in late-night talk-show hosts' monologues, Charlie Manuel and Co. haven't exactly steamrolled over their sad-sack division foes. The Phils had even suffered through two of their lower moments in the last three seasons in Flushing. Two years ago, they failed to score a run in a New York sweep.