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NEW YORK -- When the New York Mets need a big hit, Yoenis Cespedes is their man.Thats why his health is so critical to the defending NL champs.Cespedes homered with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give New York a 2-1 win over the slumping Miami Marlins in the first game of a pivotal series between National League playoff contenders Monday night.It was a rousing triumph for the Mets, who appeared overmatched on the mound in the opener of a four-game set. New York was shut out for six innings by Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, but Rafael Montero also put up zeros in his first major league start since April 2015.It was one of those games that you dont expect to go win, Mets manager Terry Collins said.Jose Reyes dashed home to score the tying run in the eighth on a dangerous collision at the plate, and the Mets pulled even with Miami for second place in the NL East. With its seventh victory in nine games, New York remained 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the leagues second wild card.Recalled from Double-A Binghamton before the game, Montero went five innings and worked around a career-high six walks -- most by a Mets starter since May 2014. The right-hander yielded only two hits while subbing for Jacob deGrom, skipped in the rotation to rest and regroup following two poor outings in a row.Rookie left-hander Josh Smoker (1-0) struck out two in a perfect inning against the meat of Miamis struggling lineup for his first major league win. Smoker, who pitched for the third straight day and fourth in the past five, was all fired up coming off the mound.I think everybody had something to do with that win tonight, he said. I think theres going to be a lot more to come and Im excited to see where this team ends up.Cespedes, who sat out Sundays loss to Philadelphia after his nagging right quadriceps flared up, launched a no-doubt drive to left-center on a 1-1 pitch from Nick Wittgren (4-3).He crushed it. It was one of those, the minute he got it off, you knew it was gone, Smoker said. I was ecstatic. It was unbelievable.Cespedes tossed his bat high in the air and then chucked away his helmet as he neared home plate. He paused for effect along the third base line, then stepped right into a swarm of jubilant teammates.It wasnt planned. Reyes was telling me to take it easy because I was coming off of an injury. Just played itself out, Cespedes said through a translator.The slugger had three hits and is batting .388 with five homers and nine RBI in nine games since coming off the disabled list.They say one bad pitch can change anything, and it happened, Wittgren said. I completely messed up on that pitch and put it right down the middle for him.It was the latest offensive flop for the Marlins, who have totaled two runs while losing three straight games. Theyve dropped five of seven overall and mustered only 20 runs in their last nine.We know how close we are, and we know what we can accomplish, and were giving everything on the field, Fernandez said. Its just unfortunate that its not happening for us right now.Miami broke a scoreless tie in the eighth when Ichiro Suzuki and Xavier Scruggs hit consecutive two-out doubles off Addison Reed.Reyes opened the bottom half with a double that scooted by a sliding Suzuki in right field as he tried to cut the ball off. Reyes tagged up and went to third on Alejandro De Azas long fly to left field, then raced to the plate after A.J. Ramos wild pitch.With the count 0-2 on Cespedes, Ramos threw a high fastball that glanced off the mitt of catcher J.T. Realmuto and went to the screen behind home. Reyes scored with a headfirst dive as Ramos crashed into him hard in the dirt while going down to his knees and reaching for Realmutos throw.Reyes rolled around in discomfort for several seconds, dyed-orange hair visible to all after his helmet popped off. But after Collins and a trainer came out to check on him, Reyes walked back to the dugout with the crowd of 32,188 chanting his name. He remained in the game.New York could ill afford to lose him -- with second baseman Neil Walker and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera ailing, the Mets did not have a healthy infielder on the bench.KIDS IN THE HALLThe 42-year-old Suzuki had two hits, increasing his career total to 3,011 and passing Hall of Famer Wade Boggs for 27th place in major league history.TRAINERS ROOMMarlins: RHP Andrew Cashner (finger blister) is scheduled to start Friday at Cleveland after he was scratched Sunday. If he cant go, Cashner would likely be placed on the DL and replaced again by LHP Justin Nicolino, manager Don Mattingly said.Mets: Walker missed his second consecutive game with a stiff back. Cabrera (left knee) struck out as a pinch-hitter to end the seventh. Before the game, Collins said Walkers status for Tuesday was uncertain.UP NEXTMarlins RHP Tom Koehler (9-9, 3.85 ERA) pitches Tuesday night against rookie RHP Seth Lugo (1-2, 2.51), set to make his third career start. Koehler grew up in nearby New Rochelle and is 2-6 with a 4.13 ERA in 19 games, 16 starts, against the Mets. Lugo tossed five shutout innings last Thursday in St. Louis to earn his first major league win. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. Cheap Soccer Jerseys .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Stitched Soccer Jerseys . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Heres a secret about table tennis. The worlds most prestigious tournament, the Olympics, is also one of the easiest.The reason for this paradox, like much about the modern version of the sport, can be linked to a single force: China.In whats widely seen as an attempt to keep China from complete domination, table tennis officials have allowed each nation at the Olympics only two entries in mens singles and two entries in womens singles.This levels the playing field, giving other countries a chance for a medal -- because of Chinas perennial strength, its likely to be bronze this year, as in past Olympics. But it also waters down the competition, keeping hard-to-beat players out of the mix and filling what should be the sports showcase tournament with weaker players.The quality is very low, said Massimo Costantini, a former Olympian who coaches the U.S. table tennis team. I understand. It gives others chances. But its fake. Its not the reality.Table tennis officials are sensitive about the matter.They point out that other sports also restrict the number of athletes from each nation. Other countries also dominate particular sports, as China does table tennis; the Americans in certain track events, for instance. But high-level table tennis, outside Asia and parts of Europe, is less popular, and so theres worry about Chinese domination killing interest in other parts of the world.The Olympics are not only for the best players, said Thomas Weikert, president of the International Table Tennis Federation, but must work to have the whole family here.Other countries have to get a medal chance, so for the image of table tennis its not so bad, Weikert said.Of course, its not sso good for the high-level players who dont make the Olympics from European and Asian powers, but it is China that feels the most pain.ddddddddddddMaking the two-person singles Olympic team for China is hard because there are so many world-class players who could compete for gold if given the chance.Perhaps the most glaring example this year is the current No. 1 for women, Liu Shiwen, who wasnt chosen for Chinese singles, though shell play in the team competition. But the mens No. 2, Fan Zhendong, and No. 3, Xu Xin, also both missed out on Chinese singles.Competition, especially in the later rounds at the Olympics, is still fierce, but the two-player-per-nation rule usually gives an easier path to the sports stronger players who manage to make their national teams.Without lots of strong players from the traditional powers, theres more easy prey; if those players can be dealt with in the middle rounds, top players can put themselves on the brink of contending for a medal.Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the No. 5-ranked German and bronze medalist in London, acknowledges that its much tougher to win the world championships, for instance, which is filled with Chinese and Japanese stars, than to be Olympic champion. But, he said, most fans dont know and dont care.If you are Olympic champion you are Olympic champion. Nobody cares how many Chinese you played, Ovtcharov said. Its about the title, and the Olympic title is more prestigious than the world championship title.---Online:AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org/---Follow Foster Klug at www.twitter/apklug ' ' '