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Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell and Wilson Ramos are hoping they both get selected to the American League All-Star team. Saturday afternoon’s performance at Citi Field may have strengthened the batterymates’ chances.

Snell blanked the Mets over a career-high-tying 7 1/3 innings Saquon Barkley Color Rush Jersey , Ramos drove in a pair of runs and the Rays downed New York 3-0 on Saturday.

”I’d be pumped,” Snell said about the possibility of playing in the Midsummer Classic. ”I’d be stoked.”

A late afternoon start under clear blue skies featured two young left-handers at the top of their game in recent weeks, both successfully dodging a slew of baserunners early.

Ranked among the league leaders in several categories, the 25-year-old Snell was as advertised- keeping the Mets off the board despite allowing the leadoff runner to reach in six out of eight frames including each of the first four.

Snell (12-4) struck out nine, scattering six hits and three walks while lowering his AL-leading ERA to 2.09.

”Blake has been tremendous for us. He’s been the workhorse.” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ”We’re talking about a potential All-Star candidate.”

The lanky lefty has yielded two runs or fewer in nine of his last 10 starts and is 4-0 with an 0.63 ERA over his last four outings, two against the Astros.

”He deserves to be in the All-Star Game because he’s had an awesome year,” Ramos said of the Rays starter. ”There’s nothing better than being with your teammates in the All-Star Game.”

The feeling is mutual.

”He needs to go,” Snell said, rallying for his backstop. ”It would be even cooler if I did go and pitch to him. I think that would be special for the both of us.”

After being held scoreless in 34 of their previous 36 innings, Tampa Bay finally broke through in the fifth. Matt Duffy lined a leadoff double down the right-field line, the fourth two-bagger surrendered by Mets starter Steven Matz to that point, advancing to third on a groundout.

Ramos followed with a sharp grounder to shortstop. A charging Amed Rosario booted the ball before recovering and throwing to first for the out. With Duffy running on contact, Rosario likely would have cut down the run at home had he fielded the ball cleanly. Instead, the Rays took a 1-0 lead.

”He just came in on it hard,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. ”He looked up just to see where the runner was and it hit off his heel.”

Matz (4-6) continued his recent surge, charged with one run on five hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings- striking out five. The Long Island native has allowed four earned runs across his last three starts, a span of 18 2/3 innings.

He escaped trouble early by getting Adeiny Hechavarria to fly out, ending a bases-loaded threat in the first. The Rays left seven men on in the first four innings and were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position during that stretch.

”I get in situations throughout the game where I can crumble Leighton Vander Esch Color Rush Jersey ,” Matz said. ”But I think just realizing what I’ve got to do out there, and just the task at hand, has really helped.”

Tampa Bay was 2 for 25 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series, stranding a total of 18.

The Rays added some insurance in the eighth on a bloop single by former Met Carlos Gomez, scoring Daniel Robertson. Ramos singled home a run in the ninth.

Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save in 13 chances.

Neither Snell nor Matz had faced the opposing team before.

Jose Bautista was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts after hitting a game-ending grand slam in the series opener Friday night.

LOOSE LUMBER

Both starting third basemen lost the grip on their bats an inning apart. Todd Frazier swung at a fastball in the bottom of the fourth, fouling it off and also sending his bat deep into foul territory down the third base line. Duffy had a similar experience in the fifth, letting go of his lumber and causing it to fly towards the Rays’ on-deck circle.

CLOSE CALL

The Rays had a brief scare in the second when Snell’s pitching hand was grazed by a 92-mph sinker. The southpaw took his base and did not appear to be in pain.

”I’m happy that it didn’t really hit me hard,” Snell said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: Rookie infielder Willy Adames was scratched from the starting lineup. ”He’s just under the weather,” Cash said. ”He was battling a bug last night and I think he woke up this morning a little bit worse.” … RHP Jake Faria (strained left oblique) was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with high-A Charlotte Saturday night. … INF Christian Arroyo (strained left oblique) could play for Charlotte on Monday but the club is not fully committed to that plan, according to Cash.

Mets: LF Yoenis Cespedes (right hip) is continuing baseball activities including running straight sprints, although he has yet to begin turning the bases to simulate a double. ”Trying to figure out that schedule as we go along,” said Callaway about when his club’s top slugger might play in a rehab game. ”All that’s going to be based on how he bounces back day-to-day.”

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-3, 3.92 ERA) pitches in the rubber game on Sunday. He has allowed just two runs over his last two starts, a span of twelve innings in which he fanned 14 batters.

Mets: RHP Chris Flexen (0-1, 10.80 ERA in 3 relief appearances) will make his first start of the season.

Christian Hackenberg spent his final day with the New York Jets much as he did in his first two seasons.

As a spectator.

The Jets traded the 23-year-old quarterback to the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday for a conditional seventh-round draft pick next year, ending Hackenberg's tenure with the team before he ever took a regular-season snap.

"Some players, it takes a while for them to get going," said coach Todd Bowles http://www.patriotsauthorizedshop.com/authentic-trent-brown-jersey , who announced the trade after his post-practice news conference was delayed for two hours as the deal was being completed.

"We did everything we could to try to help him as best we could," Bowles added. "Sometimes it just works out somewhere else."

Hackenberg was a second-round pick out of Penn State in 2016, but never played a regular-season snap for the Jets. The 23-year-old quarterback was clearly No. 4 on New York's depth chart, behind veterans Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater and first-rounder Sam Darnold.

"We've got three quarterbacks and obviously we drafted Sam in the first (round)," Bowles said. "We like Teddy and we like Josh. We just had one too many to get all of them reps."

After zero regular-season snaps in two years with the #Jets, QB Christian Hackenberg is heading to the #Raiders for a 2019 7th-round draft pick. More from @DWAZ73: s://t.co/qXV4vtOVHu pic.9pnWgNQ375

鈥?AP NFL (@AP_NFL) May 22, 2018

Hackenberg stood back and merely watched as McCown, Bridgewater and Darnold took their snaps during 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 team drills during the first practice of organized team activities. Hackenberg threw during position drills, but that was it 鈥?and, as it turned out, that was by design.

"We held him out today because we had things in the works," Bowles said, "in case something happened."

Hackenberg joins a quarterbacks room with the Raiders that includes Derek Carr, EJ Manuel and Connor Cook. Oakland coach Jon Gruden worked with Hackenberg for his "Gruden's QB Camp" series before the 2016 draft, so he has some familiarity with the young signal caller.

With the Jets, Hackenberg was considered a project when he entered the league and has been an enigma so far in the NFL. His mechanics have been the subject of much debate and criticism.

So, he went back to the basics this offseason, working on shortening his motion and trying to become more efficient. After two years with no results Cheap Braden Smith Jersey , Hackenberg was asked a few hours before the trade why it took so long to take that step.

"I don't know," he said. "I think there were some times where I threw it really good throughout my first two years here. That was the frustrating part for me, is the ups and downs and not knowing why, if that makes sense, and not really getting any information from anybody on how to fix that and how to address it."

That immediately raised some eyebrows, and came off as a veiled shot at the Jets' coaching staff.

"No, I don't put the blame on anyone," Hackenberg said. "I think my thing is I'm happy I got the opportunity and someone stepped up outside of me to help me give me the tools to do it. So, being able to take that by my control, if that makes sense, being able to handle that and do it myself, I think is really cool."

Bowles insisted that Hackenberg's critical comments had nothing to do with the deal.

"No, Hack's a great guy," Bowles said. "He's 23 years old 鈥?he should want to play. He's a competitor, so I understand."

After last season ended, Hackenberg sat down with Jeremy Bates, the Jets' quarterbacks coach and new offensive coordinator, about things the youngster needed to work on. Hackenberg acknowledged that he developed "some inefficiencies Authentic Ryan Goins Jersey , some bad habits" and discussed shortening his throwing motion.

Hackenberg met with former NFL quarterbacks coach David Lee and went over several things before Lee pointed him in the direction of personal coach Jeff Christensen. The two worked together for 60-plus sessions since the end of January in Chicago, Los Angeles and Kansas City with other NFL QBs such as EJ Manuel and Kevin Hogan.

"For the first time in a long time, right now, I feel that I have a solid foundation from a fundamentals standpoint," Hackenberg said. "And the cool thing is, it only started about two months ago and it's only going to keep on getting better and better and better. So, I'm excited about it."

But it won't be with the Jets, and Hackenberg will go down as one of the biggest draft disappointments in recent team history. New York spent a second-round pick on a player who never took a snap 鈥?and one who was considered, at one time, a possible future franchise quarterback.

"Any time a pick doesn't work out, I guess you can look at it as a waste," Bowles said. "But when a pick does work out, it's not a waste. You learn lessons from everything you do in life. It's not just football and draft picks, so if anybody's got a four-leaf clover up their butt and that's going to work out every time, please let me know that person because it didn't work out here."

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