Jason Bay's recent performance at the plate, along with impressive starting pitching

Jason Bay's recent performance at the plate, along with impressive starting pitching, has likely made coping with Jose Reyes' absence all the more easy on the New York Mets.

With Reyes unlikely to be available, the Mets look for a fourth consecutive victory Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who in contrast hope to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the year.

Reyes, who leads the majors with a .354 average, is expected to miss his fourth straight game as he continues to deal with a strained left hamstring suffered during Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Yankees.

"It's better than (Monday), but it's still not quite what it needs to be," he said Tuesday.

Reyes' injury creates a big hole atop the Mets' lineup, but New York (44-42) doesn't seem to have missed a beat thanks in large part to Bay's production.

Bay, who drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 10th inning Sunday, helped extend the club's winning streak to three by hitting two home runs and driving in a season best-tying four in a 6-0 win Tuesday.

"I try not to get too high or too low," said Bay, batting .367 with three homers and 12 RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak. "At times, it's easier said than done, but I'm happy lately with the way things have been going. A lot of it is a confidence thing and a preparedness thing."

While Bay has carried the offense, the starters have gone 2-0 and compiled a 1.59 ERA during the winning streak. Mike Pelfrey followed up Chris Capuano's solid effort in Monday's 5-2 victory with six strong innings Tuesday, a trend Jonathon Niese (7-7, 3.72) will try to continue.

Niese, who surrendered three runs and a season-high nine hits over six innings of Friday's 5-1 defeat to the Yankees, is likely looking forward to getting back on the road, where he's won three straight starts with a 2.29 ERA.

The left-hander gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings and didn't receive a decision in his only career appearance against Los Angeles, a 6-3 win May 6. Niese, however, could put up better numbers this time around against a Dodgers offense which hasn't done much of late.

Los Angeles, loser of 14 of 20, finds itself in the midst of a four-game skid during which its been outscored 21-4 while batting .195. The Dodgers (37-50) went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position Tuesday and dropped to 13 games under .500 for the first time since finishing 71-91 in 2005.

"If we're not able to plate a couple, we're going to have trouble winning," manager Don Mattingly said. "That's kind of been our story. We've been able to get guys out there, but we're having trouble getting that hit - or a number of hits - to put runs on the board."

Scheduled starter Hiroki Kuroda (6-9, 2.90) was 0-6 despite a solid 3.54 ERA over his previous seven starts before holding the Angels to three hits in seven innings during Friday's 5-0 victory.

The right-hander recorded a similar line during his last outing against the Mets, giving up five hits over eight innings of a 2-0 win July 22, 2010. Bay is 2 for 9 with a home run against Kuroda.

The Mets, winners of six of seven on the road, have taken four of five from the Dodgers this season. New York hasn't won three straight at Chavez Ravine in the same season since sweeping a three-game set Aug. 28-30, 1989.

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Paleontologists in Queensland say they have uncovered the world's biggest marsupial

Paleontologists in Queensland say they have uncovered the world's biggest marsupial, a wombat-like creature that weighed about three tons and roamed the earth some 2.5 million years ago.


The Australian scientists have labeled him "the beast."  One of the researchers, Dr. Sue Hand, told the Telegraph, "It was the biggest of them all--the biggest marsupial that ever lived on any continent." The creature, which became extinct about 55,000 years ago, resembled a wombat, but looked more like a rhinoceros, with a tiny brain and massive tusks.

The virtually complete skeleton of the plant-eating diprotodon was found on a remote cattle station in Australia, in an area rich in the remains of prehistoric mega-fauna. The discovery of the 14-foot fossil makes it one of Australia's most significant prehistoric discoveries

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Red-top outrage,Stop Rupert Murdoch now

We already know how unethical and sleazy Murdoch-owned media are — and now, if you're in the UK, you should be aware that he's making a grab to take control of an even larger slice of the media pie.

Murdoch already controls more of our media than is legal in many countries - and is notorious for using his power to skew our politics. The official consultation ends this Friday -- let's tell the government we don't want his media empire to control our largest commercial broadcaster. Send a message now -- using your own words to make it stand out -- calling on Jeremy Hunt and David Cameron to refuse Murdoch's BSkyB deal until there's a full Competition Commission review and a full public inquiry into phone hacking.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation already owns 40% of British newspapers and 40% of BSkyB, the UK's largest commercial broadcaster. In the US, Australia and elsewhere this degree of media dominance would not be allowed. News Corporation has admitted responsibility for hacking the phones of politicians and celebrities, and now stands accused of listening to messages of a murdered 13 year old girl. But our government wants to give Murdoch power over half of our media, allowing him to then squeeze out his rivals one by one.

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the tiny island nation of Bahamas has banned catching the killer fish in its waters and prohibited the sale, import and export of shark products.

(RTTNews) - As a measure to protect sharks, the tiny island nation of Bahamas has banned catching the killer fish in its waters and prohibited the sale, import and export of shark products.


The ban came into force on Tuesday after it was approved by Agriculture Minister Larry Cartwright.


Under a new law, those who venture out in the 630,000 square kilometer-wide national territorial waters for fishing shark will be fined $5,000.


The Atlantic Ocean archipelago is the fourth country to ban shark fishing after Honduras, the Maldives and Palau. Environmentalists estimate that about 73 million sharks are killed each year to cater to high demand for its fins in Chinese cuisine.


Neil McKinney, President of the Bahamas National Trust, told reporters that sharks played an "extremely important" role in balancing the ecosystem. Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette said the ban would not affect the country's relations with China, especially in trade.


Shark-diving adds $80 million a year in revenue to the country famous for its location of shooting for the epic movie series, Jaws.


by RTT Staff Writer

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