aid. The energy is just different in the room right now.Syndergaard (12-7) chipped in with a long double and is 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in his last th

NEW YORK -- On a pitching staff packed with young arms, Jeremy Hellickson has been the one experienced starter Philadelphia could count on all season.Not this time against the hot-hitting New York Mets.Yoenis Cespedes clocked a three-run homer off Hellickson, and Kelly Johnson had a pinch-hit grand slam as the Mets routed the Phillies 12-1 on Saturday night behind Noah Syndergaard.Bad pitching, manager Pete Mackanin said. Tonight was embarrassing.Asdrubal Cabrera homered for the third time in two games, a two-run drive that put New York ahead against Hellickson (10-8). Neil Walker added his 23rd of the season to match a career high, giving the Mets four homers for the second consecutive night in a blowout of Philadelphia.The Mets have won 12 of their past 14 series with the Phillies.Its like they know whats coming, Mackanin said. They just seem to feast on our pitching.Hellickson, who had won four straight decisions and six of his last seven, allowed a three-run shot to Cespedes that made it 5-1 with two outs in the fourth inning.Johnsons drive off Michael Mariot in a six-run seventh was his fourth pinch-hit homer this season. It gave the Mets grand slams in consecutive games for the first time since Carlos Beltran hit both in July 2006.Philadelphia had won Hellicksons previous six starts.Theyre an aggressive lineup. Theyre hot right now. Theyre not missing too many mistakes, the 2011 AL Rookie of the Year said. Just one of those nights. Didnt really have much.Syndergaard tossed two-hit ball over seven innings and Alejandro De Aza hit a two-run double for the Mets, who won for the sixth time in seven games as they attempt to make a push in the NL wild-card chase.Jose Reyes and Cabrera each had three hits, once again providing a spark from the top two spots in the lineup since both came off the disabled list. Mostly healthy at last after lagging through much of the summer as one of baseballs weakest offenses, the Mets have totaled 31 runs while winning their past three games.New York has posted at least nine runs in three straight for the first time since June 2012 -- and scored nine or more in successive home games for the first time since September 2008.It looks like a completely different team, manager Terry Collins said. The energy is just different in the room right now.Syndergaard (12-7) chipped in with a long double and is 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in his last three starts.The only damage against him came on Freddy Galvis homer in the third, and the big right-hander improved to 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four career outings against the Phillies.No offense to talk about, other than Freddys home run. Nice to see that. But after that, nothing, Mackanin said.THE NEW TEACHERA.J. Ellis joined the Phillies before the game, caught a couple of bullpens and asked reporters how to pronounce the name of new teammate Jerad Eickhoff. Ellis is set to make his first start for Philadelphia on Sunday when he catches struggling young right-hander Vince Velasquez. The 35-year-old backstop, obtained Thursday from the first-place Dodgers in a surprising trade for longtime Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz, was brought in to mentor the teams developing pitchers.The waves of emotion are getting farther and farther apart, which is a good thing, Ellis said. Ive started feeling re-energized, filled with a sense of purpose as to why Ive been placed here and why this is where I need to be at this time, so Im excited about that. And Ive got huge shoes to fill, I know that.SHORT STAYTo open a roster spot for Ellis, the Phillies optioned touted catching prospect Jorge Alfaro back to Double-A Reading after he spent one day in the big leagues on the bench.UP NEXTPhillies: Velasquez (8-6, 4.31 ERA) has lost three straight starts and is winless in seven outings since July 8.Mets: RHP Robert Gsellman makes his first major league start in the series finale Sunday. He won his debut Tuesday at St. Louis with 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of injured Jonathon Niese. Shaquille ONeal Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Steve Nash Jersey . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/shaquille-oneal-suns-jersey/ . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Deandre Ayton Suns Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Kevin Johnson Jersey . 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. BALTIMORE -- Although the Baltimore Ravens rarely bring out players in tandem to the podium, a notable exception was made after Sundays 13-7 win over Buffalo.Former high school teammates Shareece Wright and Jimmy Smith stood side by side, discussing their part in an outstanding defensive effort against elusive quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Bills.Wright made 11 tackles and Smith put the clamps on Buffalo standout receiver Sammy Watkins.Asked if he ever envisioned sharing a podium with Wright after an NFL game, Smith said, This is the first time for this, ever. But, I mean, this is a unique situation. Hopefully we can get the film one day and watch it when were old, sitting somewhere.Backed up by safeties Eric Weddle and Lardarius Webb, Wright and Smith helped Baltimore limit Taylor to a mere 111 yards passing. Weddle was signed as a free agent and Webb has been shifted to free safety from cornerback.Eric Weddle, hes a different kind of guy back there, Wright said. Hes like a defensive coordinator.Wright was burned several times last season after being signed in October. But on this day, he was exceptional.Big time, is how Weddle described it. Everybody got an eye-opener today of what hes all about.It happened quickly. Three plays into their season, the Bills were already digging out of negative territory.One 2-yard pass completion over the middle was all the positive yardage the Bills couldd muster.dddddddddddd. Running back LeSean McCoy was stuffed for a 6-yard loss and Taylors pass to the left was caught by Mike Gillisee for a 4-yard loss.Wright penetrated into the backfield to make the tackle on both losses, setting the tone for Baltimores defensive renaissance.A year ago, the Ravens repeatedly failed to come up with a big stop in the fourth quarter, one reason why they went 5-11 and lost nine games by eight points or fewer.Our corners played elite football out there, coach John Harbaugh said. If we can play like that in the back end, were going to have a chance to win some games.The pass defense was impressive, but Baltimore was also impenetrable against the run, allowing only 65 yards on 24 carries.Us keeping them to 60-plus yards was great, but obviously we can do better, defensive tackle Brandon Williams said. We want to hold them to zero.Lofty expectations, indeed, but the Ravens would like to think this is only the beginning.Today was just a glimpse of what we can become, Weddle said. Its still a work in progress. We still have areas we need to get better in, but when we needed to get a stop, we got it.And that gives our defense some confidence for the future.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '