Take 2 Roundup: Games of Tue, 1/1/08

[bernieh]

[size=24:60e89bdd1b][b:60e89bdd1b]GWYNN, AND BEAR IT[/b:60e89bdd1b][/size:60e89bdd1b]
[size=18:60e89bdd1b]1st Place Padres Deal 1st Place Mets 5th Straight Loss[/size:60e89bdd1b]

<img src="http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/images/baseball/stratomatic/1986/story_photos/tony_gwynn_3_150x224.jpg" align="left" border="1" width="150" height="224" style="margin-right: 10px;" /> It's a tale of the two 1st place NL teams moving in opposite directions. San Diego rightfielder Tony Gwynn went 4-for-5, leading the Padres to [url=http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/1986/scores/boxscore.php?id=643][b:60e89bdd1b]a close 5-4 victory[/b:60e89bdd1b][/url] over the Mets on Tuesday night. San Diego now stands at 33-18 (.647), good for the NL West lead and the 2nd-best record in the entire Major Leagues (to the Blue Jays, at 35-17 (.673)). Gwynn, interestingly enough, has the 5th best batting average [i:60e89bdd1b]on his own team[/i:60e89bdd1b], at .301.

Meanwhile, this loss marked the Mets' 5th straight, despite catcher Gary Carter's return to the lineup after two weeks on the DL. New York has also lost 9 out of their last 10, and have seen 3 teams creep to within 5 games of their lead in the NL East. They'll sure be glad to have Carter back, but will they be able to turn it around?

[b:60e89bdd1b]Also in the NL:[/b:60e89bdd1b] Chalk one up for speed. St. Louis speedster Vince Coleman stole 5 bases, directly leading to both runs in the Cardinals' [url=http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/1986/scores/boxscore.php?id=647][b:60e89bdd1b]2-1 squeaker over the Astros[/b:60e89bdd1b][/url]. Coleman now has 37 SB on the year, easily leading the Majors, and on pace for 120.

[i:60e89bdd1b]photo: SN Archives[/i:60e89bdd1b]