NEW YORK — It took Jose Bautista 1 [url=http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dante-pettis-jersey]http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dante-pettis-jersey[/url] ,727 major league games to hit a walk-off home run. It only seems like it has been that long since the New York Mets won consecutive games at home.

The Mets will hope Bautista’s long-awaited walk-off on Friday propels them to a rare winning streak on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field when they host the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle game of a three-game series.

The Mets’ Steven Matz (4-5, 3.46 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Rays ace Blake Snell (11-4, 2.24) in a battle of left-handers.

Bautista made his first walk-off homer a particularly memorable one when his grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Mets to a 5-1 win in the series opener.

“I guess sometimes it just takes awhile,” said Bautista, whose 336 homers without a walk-off before Friday were the most among active players.

The 37-year-old Bautista has proved to be a rare bright spot for the struggling Mets (35-49) by hitting .255 with four homers, 18 RBIs and a .432 on-base percentage since signing with New York on May 22, hours after he was released by the Atlanta Braves. He hit just .143 with two homers and five RBIs in 12 games for Atlanta.

“Top-tier production out of a guy that we got from Atlanta, who let him go, so that (performance is) surprising,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Friday night. “Now the guy himself [url=http://www.brownscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-baker-mayfield-jersey]Authentic Baker Mayfield Jersey[/url] , who has the body of a 25-year-old (and) stays in shape? Can never count those guys out. He’s been playing for a long time, had a lot of success.”

Success has been hard to come by for the Mets, especially at home, where they haven’t won consecutive games since a four-game winning streak from May 18 to May 21. New York is 3-15 in its last 18 games at Citi Field.

The task won’t be easy Saturday when Snell looks to continue his breakout season for the Rays (43-44) and further bolster his case for drawing the start for the American League in the All-Star Game on July 17.

Snell has limited opposing batters to a .179 average, the lowest in the AL. He is tied for second in the the league in wins and ranks third in ERA.

Snell has been particularly dominant in winning his last three starts, a stretch in which he has allowed just two runs in 21 1/3 innings while striking out 26 and allowing 20 baserunners. He surrendered one run and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings in beating the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said the success has emboldened Snell, who entered the seasons with just 11 wins and a 3.83 ERA in 43 career starts.

“We all know how talented he is and the stuff that he features — there aren’t many guys in baseball, 6-foot-5 left-handers that throw that hard — but the consistency has been probably the most eye-popping of all of it,” Cash said. “And I’m sure there’s a lot of reasons that go into that. But once he got some confidence and realized how talented he is, I think it carries over from start to start.”

Snell has never faced the Mets [url=http://www.steelerscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-mason-rudolph-jersey]Cheap Mason Rudolph Jersey[/url] , though he did pitch at Citi Field as a member of the “home” team last Sept. 12. In that game, he allowed one run and two hits in five innings for the Rays against the New York Yankees in a game relocated to Citi Field because of Hurricane Irma’s impact on the Tampa Bay area.

Matz also picked up the win in his most recent start Sunday when he gave up an unearned run in 5 1/3 innings as the Mets beat the Miami Marlins 5-2. He has never faced the Rays.

Ryan O’Reilly was unable to hide his dejection as he acknowledged that the Sabres‘ latest last-place finish led him to question his love for hockey.

If that wasn’t enough, the high-priced center accused the Sabres of adopting a mindset of ”being OK with losing.”

”It’s crept into all of our games. Yeah, it’s disappointing. It’s sad,” O’Reilly said Monday, two days after Buffalo closed one of its worst seasons in franchise history. ”I feel throughout the year I’ve lost the love of the game multiple times, and just need to get back to it because it’s eating myself up, and eats the other guys up, too.”

Losing is all O’Reilly knows in the three seasons since being acquired in a trade with Colorado, after which the Sabres signed him to a seven-year [url=http://www.billscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-trent-murphy-jersey]Cheap Trent Murphy Jersey[/url] , $52.5 million contract extension.

Rather than being part of a rebuilding plan, which included Buffalo selecting Jack Eichel with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, O’Reilly and company find themselves back at square one. They became the NHL’s first team to finish 31st – following this year’s addition of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights – after back-to-back 30th-place finishes in 2013-14 and 2014-’15.

This year’s collapse is considerably worse given that Buffalo’s trajectory was supposed to be trending upward under the new regime of general manager Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley. They took over last spring after the Sabres underachieved in finishing 26th under GM Tim Murray and coach Dan Bylsma

”We have to evaluate everything, coaching staff, the players. What are they willing to change?” Housley said. ”There comes a point in your career where you have to realize what’s important. Obviously, winning, what it takes to win, the commitment to win in this league. And that’s what we talk about change.”

Very little went right in a season Buffalo opened 1-5-2 and closed 2-9, extending the franchise’s longest playoff drought to a seventh straight year.

Buffalo matched a franchise low for home wins by going 11-25-5, including a 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers in the Winter Classic at New York City. The Sabres finished last in the NHL with 199 goals scored [url=http://www.washingtoncapitalsteamshop.com/authentic-riley-sutter-jersey]Riley Sutter Capitals Jersey[/url] , 91 goals at home and in being outscored by 81 goals.

Their best run was a three-game win streak, all on the road, while the Sabres went winless over four or more games seven times, including an 0-5-2 skid from Nov. 10-22.

The reality of how bad the Sabres were, set in at the midpoint of the season for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

”It was around Christmas and we were done, and we still had 40 games to play,” Ristolainen said. ”Everyone wants to make the playoffs so bad, and we weren’t even close.”

LIKING EICH

Eichel led Buffalo with a career-best 25 goals and 64 points in 67 games, despite missing 15 games with a sprained right ankle. Much more is expected next season when Eichel’s eight-year, $80 million contract kicks in.

”Things will get better and it starts with me [url=http://www.authenticsbaltimoreravens.com/cheap-lamar-jackson-jersey]Cheap Lamar Jackson Jersey[/url] ,” Eichel said. ”Everybody needs to look at themselves and figure out what they’re doing. Obviously, whatever I’ve been doing hasn’t been working. What we’ve been doing as a team hasn’t been working.”

DOWN ON THE FARM

While the Sabres are done, their AHL Rochester Americans affiliate qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four years. The Americans feature several Sabres prospects being counted upon to play in Buffalo full-time next season including forward Alexander Nylander, defenseman Brendan Guhle and goalie Linus Ullmark.

FREE AGENTS

The Sabres have a decision to make in goal with starter Robin Lehner set to become a restricted free agent and backup Chad Johnson eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. The team’s other pending unrestricted free agents include forwards Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Nolan, and defenseman Josh Gorges.

Forward Sam Reinhart, who scored a career-best 25 goals, completed his three-year entry level contract and eligible to be a restricted free agent.

OFF TO THE WORLDS

Rookie first-round draft pick Casey Mittelstadt accepted Hockey USA’s invitation to compete at the world championships in Denmark next month. Mittelstadt signed with Buffalo last month after completing his freshman season at Minnesota. The center won a bronze medal representing the U.S. at the World Junior hockey championships in January.

INJURIES

Lehner visited a specialist Monday to assess a lower body injury that forced him to miss the final five games. D Zach Bogosian expects to be cleared to skate by June after having season-ending hip surgery in January.

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