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DENVER - John Maine on the mound facing essentially a Triple-A lineup. It appeared to be the perfect pick-me-up for Mets manager Willie Randolph.
Aaron Cook and Seth Smith would have none of it.
The Colorado Rockies beat New York 4-1 Sunday when Smith hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot to back an impressive start by Cook (7-3). The right-hander allowed four hits, all singles, in his seventh career complete game and first since July 25.
“We’re not up here filling space,” said Smith, one of four recent call-ups in Colorado’s starting lineup. “We’re not up here just waiting until they get back. We’re here to help this team win baseball games.”
Awaiting the embattled Randolph back home Monday is a meeting with ownership amid speculation that his job is in jeopardy.
Randolph said he has no trepidation.
“No, just looking to win a ballgame,” he said. “We got the Marlins coming in, they’re in our division, looking forward to getting back on the right track.”
Does he expect to still be the manager after his meeting?
“I don’t see why not,” he said.
After a losing streak that dropped the Mets (23-25) below .500, general manager Omar Minaya made a surprise visit Friday to Coors Field and issued a tepid statement of support for Randolph to reporters. Randolph, however, said his boss gave him no similar assurances behind closed doors.
The Mets have dropped six of seven and nine of 13. They averaged only 2.4 runs in their past seven games.
The Rockies know all about spoiled expectations. After winning their first pennant last year, the Rockies expected a strong start in 2008, but they’ve been foiled by poor pitching, lousy hitting and an injury bug that keeps claiming victims.
Before Sunday’s game, the Rockies placed slugger Matt Holliday on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He joined a crowded list of injured players for the defending NL champions, who put shortstop Clint Barmes (knee) and right fielder Brad Hawpe (hamstring) on the DL on Saturday.
Barmes was the team’s leading hitter at .343 after taking over for Troy Tulowitzki, out until midseason with a torn left quadriceps tendon.
To make matters worse, third baseman Garrett Atkins was out of the lineup for the second straight day Sunday with a stiff neck, as was center fielder Willy Taveras (knee).
Maine (5-4) handled the makeshift lineup with ease at first, allowing no hits until Smith sent a 2-2 fastball over the right-field wall in the fourth following a walk and an error by shortstop Jose Reyes. Smith’s drive gave Colorado a 3-1 lead.
Maine, who also gave up a sacrifice fly to Yorvit Torrealba in the sixth, allowed four runs, three earned, and three hits in six innings. He struck out a season-high eight batters.
The Mets’ run came on Reyes’ RBI single in the third. Otherwise, Cook was nearly untouchable. He walked one and struck out three in the first complete game by a Rockies pitcher since Jeff Francis did it last Aug. 29 against San Francisco.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.