There will likely be better days on the field for Lastings Milledge than his debut performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Shea last night. Recalled from Norfolk because of Xavier Nady's appendicitis, the heavily prized prospect went 1-4 with a double but couldn't do enough to help the Mets avoid a 7-2 loss.
Milledge's former minor league teammate Alay Soler was less effective than in his own major league debut a week earlier. He gave up seven runs and uncorked two wild pitches in his five innings of work. The last of those five was particularly damaging to the Cuban righthander as Eric Byrnes and Conor Jackson each took him deep to turn a 3-1 game into a rout. Arizona starter Miguel Batista went the distance for his fifth win.
Milledge got a standing ovation from the hometown crowd that has been marinating in lusty reports of his work in the bushes. It could be the first of many for Milledge who Omar Minaya hopes will join Jose Reyes and David Wright as the next generation of Met stars.
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