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Citi Field fans wait out a rain delay during the sixth inning of the game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Loney dropped against Santana; Johnson and Carroll start over young lefties
Dodgers at Mets (Game 1), 1:10 p.m.

  • Rafael Furcal, SS
  • Reed Johnson, LF
  • Andre Ethier, RF
  • Matt Kemp, CF
  • Casey Blake, 3B
  • James Loney, 1B
  • Russell Martin, C
  • Jamey Carroll, 2B
  • Hiroki Kuroda, P

Spontaneously delivered to us by Coach Nature, Hiroki Kuroda vs. Johan Santana is a pretty great matchup for the first game of today’s doubleheader. But the Dodger press notes point out that the last time the Dodgers played a straight doubleheader in New York, on August 14, 1990, the Game 1 matchup was Dwight Gooden vs. Ramon Martinez. Final score of that one? Mets 9, Dodgers 8, with both starting pitchers allowing seven runs.

Howard Johnson was right … on with a three-run homer in the first inning, giving the Mets a lead they never quite relinquished despite three hits and four RBI by Dodger leadoff-hitting third baseman Lenny Harris.

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Vicente Padilla has an irritated radial nerve in his right forearm. The Dodgers say they have not set a timetable for his return; True Blue L.A. has more details about the injury, including a reference point with Tampa Bay’s Matt Garza, who spent 16 days on the disabled list with it in 2008 but came back strong.