Laberbereich » whether or not the Canadiens make the playoffs.

NEW YORK -- When told he was going to start the makeup of Fridays rainout, Daisuke Matsuzaka said he was certain he could go deep into the game, throw maybe 100 pitches, even though hes spent this season in the bullpen. He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. "Im pretty confident in my hitting so I just wanted to get a hit and get a run in," the .185 career hitter coming in said through a translator. "I wanted to pitch as deep into the game as I could and today I was able -- that was the least I couldve done." Bobby Abreu added a run-scoring double in a rare chance to play because Eric Young Jr. was held out with a tight right hamstring. He will be examined by a doctor before the Mets decide if the speedy outfielder needs to go on the disabled list. Outfielder Matt den Dekker is on his way to New York from Triple-A Las Vegas in case Young goes on the DL. The Diamondbacks used a miscue by Daniel Murphy in the ninth and turned a season high-tying five double plays for a 2-1 victory in the opener. Anthony Recker had a career high four hits. Pinch-hitter Ruben Tejada hit a tiebreaking single off Triple-A Reno callup Zeke Spruill (0-1) in the sixth inning for the Mets, who have won just three of 11 games. "We realize were not hitting, were not scoring runs. When you can win a game, when you can get a big hit -- Ruben had a tremendous big hit for us -- its a lift," manager Terry Collins said. "Its nice to go into the next series with a W." Murphy added an RBI single in the eighth for New York. Jenrry Mejia pitched the ninth for his third save after getting the loss in the opener. Its the first time the converted starter pitched twice in a day and he is finally feeling like a closer. "Right now I feel pretty good. Lets see how I feel (Monday)," he said. "Its unbelievable." The 33-year-old Matsuzaka (2-0) made 123 starts and one relief appearance in seven big league seasons before being called up by the Mets in mid-April. The longest of his 14 relief outings this season was 3 2-3 innings and 56 pitches. But he threw 98 pitched and allowed only three hits. Other than a three-batter sequence in the second when Aaron Hill led off with a single, Martin Prado got a favourable carom for an RBI triple and Cody Ross followed with a run-scoring groundout, Matsuzka was sharp. He struck out six, walked one and hit a batter. Matsuzaka got a run back for the Mets when he sent a broken-bat flare into left field in the second inning. "It tells you the kind of heart hes got," Collins said of Matsuzaka. "He knows we needed help." After Lucas Duda and Chris Young each stranded six runners and grounded into a combined three double plays in the first game, Collins mixed up a lineup that was 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position in the opener. They were 4 for 13 in the late game. The 40-year-old Abreu was making only his sixth start since coming up five weeks ago and he had two hits, driving in the tying run in the fifth with a double off Spruill, the Diamondbacks 26th man for the twin-bill. Tejada hit for Matsuzaka in the bottom of the sixth and had an RBI single. Spruill gave up 10 hits and three runs in 5 1-3 innings. "He did well for us. ... He gave us a chance to win," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "But we could mount no offence at all." In the opener, the Diamondbacks broke a 1-all tie when Murphy dropped a throw at second base from David Wright, trying for an inning-ending forceout in the ninth. A.J. Pollock, who doubled off Mejia (4-1), scored when Murphy dropped Wrights force attempt at second base on Owings grounder to third base. Owings homered off Rafael Montero and Wright had an RBI single off Bronson Arroyo, both runs coming in the first. Addison Reed earned his 14th save. Montero and Arroyo impressed with differing styles. The 23-year-old Montero used a 91-92 mph fastball to strikeout 10 in his third big league start. The high-kicking, slow-pitching Arroyo induced four double plays -- including inning-ending turns in the second, third and fourth innings to keep the game tied. Duda had the double play that hurt the most. With first and third, he hit a sharp grounder off Evan Marshall (2-0) to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who threw home. Catcher Miguel Montero made a perfect relay back to Goldschmidt at first base. Gibson said he lifted Arroyo after six innings because the 37-year-old right-hander had a tender elbow. "Ill be fine. Ill make my next start," Arroyo said. "Theres times when youre grinding through (stuff)." Hill had to leave the finale a couple of innings after he fouled a ball off his left ankle. "It blew up pretty big on him, the top of his ankle, so I had to get him out of there," Gibson said. "I think itll be OK, but its pretty swollen up; he couldnt hit." NOTES: Mets C Travis dArnaud (concussion) caught five innings Sunday and went 1 for 3 with a two-run home run for Double-A Binghamton in his first rehab game. ... Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said RHP Dillon Gee (strained right lat) was help out of his rehab start. He also said a June 5 return for Gee is unlikely. ... The Mets 26th man for the DH, RHP Vic Black, was sent back to Las Vegas. ... The Diamondbacks were a combined 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position. Denis Malgin Jersey . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games. Derek MacKenzie Jersey . Tokarski, a somewhat controversial choice -- with his 10 games of NHL experience and all -- to replace an injured Carey Price in Game Two had a night to remember, turning back a Rangers team that was dominating play from the get-go, outshooting the Canadiens 14-4 in the first period and 37-25 overall. http://www.cheapfloridapanthersjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-james-reimer-jersey . - After a back-and-forth battle throughout the season, Alex Guenette has earned the 2013 rookie of the year award for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 by just one point over Ryley Seibert. Connor Brickley Jersey . 1 goaltender tonight when they conclude a four-game road trip versus the Winnipeg Jets. Mark Pysyk Jersey . Footballs governing body said Tuesday that of the 2,577,662 tickets allocated for this years tournament, 1,041,418 have gone to people in Brazil. The U.The biggest gun among unrestricted free agents was dealt just as the deadline approached, but the ultimate price sure appears to be a relative bargain. Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Vanek, 30, was considered the prize of the pending unrestricted free agent class as the deadline approached. Hes scored 271 goals in 645 games since coming into the league in 2005-2006. Since his second year in the league, Vanek ranks fourth with 246 goals and hes done it with all sorts of different linemates between his time in Buffalo and, for much of this season, with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo on the top line for the New York Islanders. Vanek isnt a great possession player, some years better than others, but is so skilled and plays in an offensive role that his on-ice shooting percentage is among the best in the league over the past five seasons. In Montreal, Vanek should give the Canadiens offence a jolt, as Max Pacioretty, with 29 goals, is the only Hab with more than Vaneks 21 goals this season. Adding Vanek will give the Canadiens offence more depth and its conceivable that a finisher like Vanek can continue to produce while also elevating the production of his new linemates. A spot alongside Tomas Plekanec and Alex Galchenyuk might be a decent fit to start. An unrestricted free agent in the summer, Vanek brings a cap hit of more than $7.1-million. There have been several rumours this season about Vaneks desire to end up in Minnesota, and that may be where he goes as a free agent, but Vanek also acknowledged that a winning team sure helps in the decision-making process. If Vanek can play a significant role in the Canadiens playoff push, then perhaps Montreal will be a destination that he considers as a long-term home, but that expectation had better come with the understanding that Vanek is going to command a massive contract as an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Islanders Get: RW Sebastian Collberg and a conditional second-round pick.dddddddddddd Collberg just turned 20 a couple of weeks ago and was a second-round pick in 2012. Hes a skilled forward with good speed who has 18 points in 75 Swedish Elite League games over the past two seasons with Frolunda HC. Hes put up a dozen points in 13 games at the past two World Junior Hockey Championships. Its hard to project a young forward getting limited ice time in Sweden to a big role right away in the NHL, so Collberg probably needs time in the AHL, which ought to be fine for the Islanders, who have quite a few young forwards coming through the pipeline. One of those young forwards, Anders Lee, the 23-year-old rookie pro out of Notre Dame, could see quite a bit of action in a scoring role down the stretch. Lee has four goals and six points in six NHL games (this year and last) and, with Vanek gone, there is room for Lee to show that he should be a part of the plans for next seasons team. The conditional picks are based on whether or not the Canadiens make the playoffs. If they hold their current playoff spot, then the Canadiens swap their second-rounder for the Islanders fifth-round pick. If the Canadiens fall out and miss the playoffs, then the deal will just be Collberg for the rental of Vanek. All told, the price doesnt seem to be nearly enough a return for the Islanders, who were out of the race early enough that everyone knew they were going to deal Vanek, but somehow appeared to overplay their hand because even if Collberg is a good prospect, that doesnt seem to match the price paid for lesser players. As a result of that incongruous fit between the Islanders asking price and what the market was ultimately willing to pay, it sure appears to have provided an opening for Montreal GM Marc Bergevin to take advantage and upgrade his team at a very reasonable price. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '