Citi Field

Their new home was gorgeous, but the Mets looked lost in it. Jody Gerut christened Citi Field with a leadoff homer, Adrian Gonzalez also went deep, and the San Diego Padres spoiled New York's first regular-season game in its glittering new ballpark with a 6-5 victory last night. Pedro Feliciano balked in the go-ahead run and the Mets made several key mistakes, opening Citi Field the same way they closed Shea Stadium: with a dud. David Wright rallied New York from an early four-run hole with a tying three-run homer, but it wasn't enough.

CC Sabathia was in complete command, seeming to give the New York Yankees exactly what they needed at a time when they're struggling to score. Then suddenly, the game got away from him. The Cincinnati Reds rallied against the Yankees' ace in the seventh inning, turning a pair of solo home runs and three straight walks into a 5-2 victory Sunday that sent New York to its fifth loss in six games. "I felt like I let the team down. These guys are scratching and clawing and it's a great offense, but it's tough when you surrender the lead," Sabathia said.

While not exactly tearing down this wall, the New York Mets are putting up a new fence at Citi Field that's shorter and closer to home plate. In an effort to boost scoring at the pitcher-friendly ballpark, the Mets announced Monday they are cutting the field dimensions by as much as 12 feet next season, lowering the fence height to 8 feet all around and changing the fence color to blue with an orange line at the top. "We're targeting to...

Johnny Cueto pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Ryan Ludwick delivered two big hits and the Cincinnati Reds closed out their extended visit to New York by beating the Yankees 5-2 Sunday. The Reds rallied late against CC Sabathia, sending the Yankees to their fifth loss in six games. Aroldis Chapman closed it out as Cincinnati took two of three at Yankee Stadium, right after splitting a pair at Citi Field against the Mets. Cueto (5-1) gave up a two-run homer to Raul Ibanez in the sixth.

Citi Field revenues have dropped more than 30 percent since the New York Mets ballpark opened in 2009, and premium ticket sales are down by nearly 50 percent, according to financial records. Overall attendance declined 26 percent, to 2.3 million, and during that time, revenues for concessions and parking slipped. The financial documents obtained by Newsday ( http://bit.ly/xPvZQP) show that concession revenue dropped 28 percent since 2009, to $10.9 million in 2011. Newsday reported in its Sunday editions that parking was down 37 percent, to $7 million.

Eduardo Nunez did quite an impression of Derek Jeter. Filling in for the injured star shortstop, Nunez got the big hits, made a clutch throw — and navigated his first postgame session in the interview room. Nunez had an RBI single among his career-high four hits and threw out Jose Reyes at third base on a favorable call for the New Yankees in a 5-1 victory over the crosstown rival Mets on Friday night. “I know he’s coming back,’’ Nunez said of Jeter, who could return from the disabled list Monday.

Francisco Rodriguez returned to Citi Field with a new uniform, a new role and a new place in the standings. A month after the New York Mets traded him to Milwaukee, the former All-Star closer was back in town with the Brewers for a weekend visit. And, Rodriguez said he'd consider staying for even longer in the future. As in, Rodriguez would be OK with rejoining the Mets as a free agent after the season. "Definitely," he said Friday night. "The door is still open. " "I'm not the type of person that is going to burn bridges and say,...

Johnny Cueto pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Ryan Ludwick delivered two big hits and the Cincinnati Reds closed out their extended visit to New York by beating the Yankees 5-2 Sunday. The Reds rallied late against CC Sabathia, sending the Yankees to their fifth loss in six games. Aroldis Chapman closed it out as Cincinnati took two of three at Yankee Stadium, right after splitting a pair at Citi Field against the Mets. Cueto (5-1) gave up a two-run homer to Raul Ibanez in the sixth.

Mr. Met stood near the podium with baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, Mets owner Fred Wilpon and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Thanks for bringing your boss along," Bloomberg said to the mascot. "Does he pay you well?" After more than three years of trouble on and off the field, the Mets feel things are looking up. Major League Baseball finally announced Wednesday that the 2013 All-Star game will be hosted by the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 16 — the latest date for the game since 1985.

CC Sabathia was in complete command, seeming to give the New York Yankees exactly what they needed at a time when they're struggling to score. Then suddenly, the game got away from him. The Cincinnati Reds rallied against the Yankees' ace in the seventh inning, turning a pair of solo home runs and three straight walks into a 5-2 victory Sunday that sent New York to its fifth loss in six games. "I felt like I let the team down. These guys are scratching and clawing and it's a great offense, but it's tough when you surrender the lead," Sabathia...

Mr. Met stood near the podium with baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, Mets owner Fred Wilpon and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Thanks for bringing your boss along," Bloomberg said to the mascot. "Does he pay you well?" After more than three years of trouble on and off the field, the Mets feel things are looking up. Major League Baseball finally announced Wednesday that the 2013 All-Star game will be hosted by the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 16 — the latest date for the game since 1985.

Miguel Batista pitched seven shutout innings of four-hit ball and Daniel Murphy supplied the offense, sending the surprising New York Mets to a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. Given a vote of confidence by manager Terry Collins before the game, struggling closer Frank Francisco bounced back from a pair of rough outings to earn his ninth save. Murphy extended his recent tear at the plate by hitting an RBI single and scoring on a suicide squeeze — a play the Brewers failed to execute earlier.

Heath Bell kept throwing, hoping he could find the one pitch that would let him escape. He never did. Miami's All-Star closer faltered again, walking four batters in the ninth inning and helping the New York Mets rally for a 3-2 win Thursday that sent the Marlins to their fifth straight loss. "When you in this game for a little while, you got a lot of different ways to lose," Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen said. "You look at stats and say, 'Why we lose the game? What we do wrong?"

Jose Reyes went hitless in his return to Citi Field and Lucas Duda lined a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning that caromed off reliever Edward Mujica, sending the New York Mets to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Marlins on Tuesday night. Johan Santana and Josh Johnson zipped through the first six innings in a crisp pitchers' duel between healthy-looking aces. Santana, coming off the shortest start of his career, struck out 11 for the Mets while Johnson whiffed nine. Both working on six days' rest, each pitcher was charged with one run and three...

Jeremy Hefner certainly enjoyed his whirlwind visit to the big city. Major league debut, three scoreless innings. That was about all that went right for the New York Mets. Behind Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum and several home runs, the San Francisco Giants swept a doubleheader, finishing it off with a 7-2 win Monday night. Summoned from Triple-A shortly before noon, Hefner arrived at Citi Field soon before gametime. "This is my first time in New York City, first time seeing the Statue of Liberty, so it was really cool," the...

Johan Santana wanted to get back on the mound immediately after his fiasco in Atlanta last week. Thanks to the weather, he'll have to be extra patient. The game between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets was postponed because of rain Sunday and rescheduled as part of a single-admission doubleheader Monday beginning at 4:10 p.m. Rather than have Santana start one of those games, the Mets pushed him back a day to Tuesday against Jose Reyes and the Miami Marlins. "It's about the whole staff, not just Johan," manager Terry Collins said.

Miguel Batista pitched seven shutout innings of four-hit ball and Daniel Murphy supplied the offense, sending the surprising New York Mets to a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. Given a vote of confidence by manager Terry Collins before the game, struggling closer Frank Francisco bounced back from a pair of rough outings to earn his ninth save. Murphy extended his recent tear at the plate by hitting an RBI single and scoring on a suicide squeeze — a play the Brewers failed to execute earlier.

■ B.J. Upton walked to become the Rays' career leader with 375. Carlos Pena held the record with 373. ■The Orioles need to go 5-11 the rest of the way to avoid the third 100-loss season since the team moved from St. Louis in 1954. ■ The Nationals' Davey Johnson made his first appearance as a manager at Citi Field. The skipper of the World Series champion 1986 Mets, when they played at Shea Stadium, was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in August. ■The Reds' Juan Francisco's homer in the second inning went 502 feet, the second-longest...

Hector Sanchez hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning off Frank Francisco, and the San Francisco Giants came back after blowing the lead in the ninth and just hung on to beat the New York Mets 4-3 Friday night. Angel Pagan homered in his return to Citi Field as San Francisco built a 3-0 lead in the third for Barry Zito, but solo home runs by Jason Bay in the fourth and rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis in the fifth started New York's comeback. With closer Brian Wilson out for the year following elbow surgery, Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez combined to allow the Mets to send the game to...