NEW YORK -- The team meeting New York Mets manager Terry Collins called following Thursday afternoons lopsided loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks had the desired effect in terms of the Mets effort, if not the on-field result, Friday night.Perhaps the combination of a stirring offense and an ace pitcher on the mound Saturday will allow New York to stop the losing streak that threatens to ruin its season.The Mets, losers of four straight and six of seven, will look to begin climbing back into contention when they host the San Diego Padres in the middle game of a three-game series at Citi Field on Saturday night.The Padres hit four homers in the first three innings Friday night and hung on for an 8-6 win. With the loss, the Mets (57-58) fell to 10-20 since July 8 and slipped under .500 for the first time since April 17.Still, the Mets took some solace in how they came back from deficits of 5-0 and 8-2 to send the tying run to the plate in the sixth as well as from the relief work of Seth Lugo, Erik Goeddel and Hansel Robles.The trio of right-handers combined to retire the final 19 Padres batters after Logan Verrett was torched for eight runs in 2 2/3 innings.We feel that the turning around is on its way, second baseman Neil Walker said of the Mets, who fell to 24-1 this season when scoring more than five runs. We hit some balls really hard tonight and did some pretty good things when we got some traffic on the base paths. And after the first several innings, we did a good job of keeping them off the board.Another positive for the Mets should be the presence of Jacob deGrom on the mound. DeGrom has allowed one run or fewer in six of his last eight starts to lower his ERA to 2.35, the fourth-best mark in the National League.DeGrom is scheduled to be opposed by Padres right-hander Jarred Cosart, who will be looking for his first major league win in almost 11 months.Cosart will be making his third start for San Diego, which acquired him from Miami on July 29. He has not won since Sept. 17. 2015.While deGrom appears to have the edge over Cosart, the Padres (50-65) will hope to draw on the chemistry and confidence theyve built over the last two months.San Diego, which fully embarked upon a rebuilding plan by trading veterans such as James Shields, Matt Kemp, Fernando Rodney, Andrew Cashner and Drew Pomeranz this season, has the second-best record in the NL West (23-23) since June 18.Its a different team, said Padres second baseman Ryan Schimpf, who hit a grand slam in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third inning.(Not to) take away anything with the other guys, we enjoyed our time with them. (Trades are a) part of baseball. Weve got a good clubhouse here. Its fun to come to work with the guys everyday and battle it out and try to get some wins. Jahlani Tavai Youth Jersey . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Jarrad Davis Lions Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions-t-j-hockenson-black-jersey/ . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Barry Sanders Youth Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. T.J. Hockenson Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. LAS VEGAS -- Tayler Persons scored 19 points, including a game-winning 3-point play, and had 10 assists to help Ball State defeat Coppin State on Monday.Keith Shivers basket with 43 seconds left gave Coppin State (0-6) its only lead of the game at 77-76 before Persons converted his 3-point play with 28 seconds remaining.Trey Moses then blocked a shot by Shivers and the Cardinals Sean Sellers got the rebound and was fouled. However, Sellers missed two free throws giving the Eagles a final chance but Dejuan Claytton missed a contested, left-handed layup as time ran out.ddddddddddddAll of Persons points came in the second half. Moses pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to go with five assists, four blocks and four points. Sellers added 16 points for Ball State (3-2).The game was part of the MGM Grand Main Event middleweight division.Shivers scored a career-high 26 points with nine rebounds. ' ' '