SEATTLE - Jacob deGrom allowed five hits and a run in seven impressive innings, Lucas Duda hit a mammoth home run and the New York Mets beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1 Tuesday night. Paulo Dybala Jersey . DeGrom (4-5) walked one and struck out seven to improve to 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA over his last six starts. Travis dArnaud drove in a run with a gift triple off Erasmo Ramirez (1-5), who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma for the start, and scored on Ruben Tejadas soft single in the second inning to help New York end a three-game skid. Duda hit his 15th home run, a 446-foot drive off the second deck scoreboard in right field in the eighth. Jeurys Familia worked an easy eighth and Jenrry Mejia picked up the save — his 12th in 14 chances. Endy Chavez led off the bottom of the first with a single then deGrom retired the next 11 batters. With one out in the fifth, Willie Bloomquist broke through with a single to right. Dustin Ackley then doubled into the right-centre gap, scoring Bloomquist. Ackley advanced to third when Daniel Murphys relay to the plate sailed past the catcher but Ackley was left stranded. Ackley, who was 2 for 3, is hitting .377 in July after hitting just .214 in the first three months of the season. Ramirez went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He walked two and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts. He also hit two batters. It is his fifth straight loss. He has not won since April 1. Over his previous four starts — all no-decisions — Ramirez had a 0.90 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 16 walks. Ramirez was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma before the game for his fourth stint with the big club. He likely will be sent back down after the game to make room for Wednesdays starter, Taijuan Walker. Duda gave the Mets a two-run cushion with his drive off the second-deck facade on a 3-1 pitch from Tom Wilhelmsen. NOTES: Walker was sent to Tacoma just before the All-Star break with an emphasis on working on his control. "I think hes better," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He has worked out some things down there, from a mechanical standpoint." Another top prospect, LHP James Paxton, had a second rehab start for Tacoma Tuesday. He likely will get one more before a decision will be made on his status. . The Mariners, 53-47, have not had better than a .500 record after 100 games since they were 52-48 in 2009. . Chavez is 12 for 27 (.444) leading off. . Mets LHP Scott Rice, who made the big league roster last season after 14 years in the minors, will have elbow surgery Wednesday in New York to remove bone spurs in his left elbow. "For Scott, hes got to be very disappointed," manager Terry Collins said. "He spent 15 years in the minor leagues, finally get to the bigs, have success then have it squashed like he has." . Bartolo Colon, the Mets starter Wednesday, is 12-1 with a 2.10 ERA at Safeco Field. Gianluigi Buffon Juventus Jersey .com) - The New York Islanders will try to solve their issues against Central Division opponents when they visit the Minnesota Wild for Tuesdays battle at Xcel Energy Center. Joao Cancelo Juventus Jersey .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Wojciech-Szczesny-Jersey/ . - Tom Brady and the Patriots routed the Bengals and quieted the doubters.The Edmonton Oilers traded for the rights to a free agent defenceman, and got him signed to a two-year deal, paying a premium for a shorter term contract. Numbers Game looks at the Oilers inking Nikita Nikitin. The Oilers Get: D Nikita Nikitin. Nikitin, 28, played a career-high 66 games last season, an indication that hes still trying to establish his place in the league. A couple of years ago, in 2011-2012, Nikitin contributed a career-best 32 points in 54 games for Columbus (after seven scoreless games with St. Louis to start the year), playing a career-high 23:12 per game for the season putting up strong relative possession numbers while facing high-quality opposition, while frequently paired with veteran Fedor Tyutin. Thats the Nikitin that the Oilers have to hope they are acquiring. In 2012-2013, Nikitins role was decreased somewhat, and while he still logged 21:12 per game, Nikitin was then surpassed on the depth chart last season by rookie Ryan Murray, leaving Nikitin to play 17:07 per game on the third pair. Playing on that third pair didnt bring ideal results, as Nikitin was a little below break-even in possession terms, but if there is reason to hold out hope for Nikitin, it may be that his with-or-without you numbers arent bad over the past three seasons. Among the 16 skaters with whom he played at least 300 5-on-5 minutes over those three seasons, Nikitin had better possession numbers apart than 11 of those skaters, but that relative effectiveness has decreased in the past two seasons, to the point that in 2013-2014, Nikitin had better possession stats apart from just three of the 13 skaters with whom he played more than 150 5-on-5 minutes. What this would seem to indicate is that Nikitin, who has good size, can skate and handle the puck a bit, isnt necessarily one to carry the play. He could be a useful complementary player and presumably Oilers Senior VP of Hockey Operations Scott Howson (who acquired Nikitin as GM in Columbus) is a fan, but there is risk in bringing in a player with falling possession numbers to a team that already ranked 28th in Fenwick Close (unblocked shot attempts during 5-on-5, score within one goal in first two periods and tied in third period). Its not aas though Nikitins play in the past couple seasons indicates that he would improve the results no matter with whom he is partnered and its reasonable to wonder if the Oilers have the right personnel to get positive results with Nikitin on the ice. Carlo Pinsoglio Juventus Jersey. . If the Jeff Petry and Martin Marincin pairing goes ahead, then perhaps Nikitin gets a chance alongside Andrew Ference. Maybe that somehow works out and allows the Oilers some time to develop their young defencemen. Its entirely possible that it wont work out, though, and the short-term nature of the contract suggests that both sides recognize that risk. Signed to a two-year, $9-million deal, Nikitin will be well-compensated, particularly if he cant stick in the Oilers top four, but the downside of a two-year deal is limited compared to the longer term that will be available to other free agent defencemen. The Blue Jackets Get: A fifth-round pick. Since the Blue Jackets werent going to bring Nikitin back, getting any asset in return is a plus. The fifth-round pick, 137th overall, belonged to Columbus originally and was traded to Edmonton last season to acquire D Nick Schultz. A fifth-round pick doesnt bring a lot of value, but its something. From 1990 through 2009, just under 15% of the picks between 121 and 150 played at least 100 NHL games, so there is a little better than a one-in-seven chance of netting an NHL player. While its reasonable for the Oilers to have hope Nikitin can perform in a top-four role, it could be telling that the Blue Jackets would let Nikitin depart as a free agent. Mabye they simply didnt want to pay that kind of money to a third pair defenceman, when they have younger, cheaper options (David Savard, Dalton Prout, Tim Erixon) available and thats fair, but current Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was the Blues Director of Scouting when St. Louis picked Nikitin in the fifth round in 2004. Lots can change over time and the Blue Jackets arent likely to regret letting Nikitin go, even if he works out well for the Oilers. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '