Rays drop third straight

Fernando Nieve turned in another impressive start, and Brian Schneider hit a three-run homer, leading the New York Mets to a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.

Fernando Nieve turned in another impressive start, and Brian Schneider hit a three-run homer, leading the New York Mets to a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.

David Wright added an RBI double, and Daniel Murphy had three hits for the Mets, who opened a 10-game homestand by improving to 6-10 in June. Francisco Rodriguez rebounded from a blown save with a perfect ninth inning.

In the first meeting between these teams since 2001, the Rays mustered little offense against Nieve (2-0). B.J. Upton manufactured one run with his speed and later hit a two-run double.


The American League champions have dropped three straight following a season-best six-game winning streak. They fell to 14-22 on the road overall.

Filling in for injured starter John Maine, Nieve has provided a surprising boost for a depleted rotation that’s also missing Oliver Perez. He allowed one run and three hits in six innings.

Upton’s two-run double off Bobby Parnell cut it to 4-3 in the seventh, but Pedro Feliciano retired Carl Crawford on a grounder back to the mound to preserve the lead.

Ryan Church added a two-out RBI single in the bottom half off J.P. Howell to make it 5-3.

Schneider’s shot off Andy Sonnanstine (5-7) in the second inning was his first homer since connecting twice on Sept. 18 at Washington.

Sonnanstine gave up seven hits in six innings, falling to 1-7 with an 8.22 ERA on the road this year.