Hilfestellungen » and he ceded his setup role to Brad Ziegler in 2

NEW YORK -- In their first game since trading longtime catcher Carlos Ruiz, the Philadelphia Phillies looked like a team without its quarterback.Wilmer Flores launched a grand slam, Asdrubal Cabrera homered from both sides of the plate and even Bartolo Colon had two helpful hits while pitching the New York Mets to a 9-4 victory over the Phillies on Friday night.Hours before the game, there was a message from Ruiz to his ex-teammates written on the white grease board in Philadelphias clubhouse, signed with his nickname:I will miss all of you guys. Good luck the rest of the season. Love you all, Chooch! Gracias.Ruiz was sent with cash to the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, a day off for the Phillies. In exchange, they received veteran catcher A.J. Ellis, minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named.The 37-year-old Ruiz spent 11 seasons with the Phillies and helped them win five straight NL East crowns (2007-11), two pennants (2008-09) and the 2008 World Series championship. He had been in the organization for more than 17 years since signing out of Panama in 1998.Its tough. Im trying to think of the right words. The thing about Chooch, he was the quarterback, in a sense, said first baseman Ryan Howard, now the only remaining player from Philadelphias 2008 title team.The way he handled the pitching staff, the way he prepared himself for games with the pitchers from a defensive standpoint, and just kind of knowing different situations, Howard added. And then just the way he played the game. He was a fireball. He was a fireball out there. Im definitely going to miss him.Ellis is expected to join the Phillies in time for Saturday nights game against the Mets. Cameron Rupp started behind the plate Friday and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.Jose Reyes and Cabrera opened the Mets half of the first inning with consecutive home runs, just the second time the franchise has accomplished that feat.The 43-year-old Colon (12-7) carried a two-hitter into the eighth and took over the team lead in wins as New York began a pivotal 10-game homestand by winning for the fifth time in its past six.Colon is different than any pitcher you see nowadays. You dont see too many guys throwing 88 (mph), just fastballs, just sinking it, Phillies outfielder Peter Bourjos said. Hes kind of a rare bird.He does a good job of locating the ball, changing speeds on his fastball and working quick.At the plate, the pudgy pitcher lashed two sharp hits that delighted the crowd, a leadoff double in the fifth and a line-drive single in the sixth. He scored both times, first ahead of Flores third career slam and then in front of Cabreras second homer of the night.The switch-hitting shortstop became the first Mets player to go deep from both sides in one game since Carlos Beltran at Colorado on May 12, 2011.A tiring Colon gave up four straight hits to start the eighth but walked off the mound to a warm ovation. The only other time he got two hits in a game was in August 2002 with the Montreal Expos against Milwaukee.Colon just seems to own us, Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin said. We cant square the ball up off of him.Phillies starter Adam Morgan (1-8) gave up two homers on his first five pitches but soon recovered. He was trailing 2-1 when Neil Walker worked a nine-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs in the fifth.Flores reached down and lofted the next delivery over the fence in left-center.Morgan, who has dropped eight straight decisions, allowed eight hits and matched a career high with eight strikeouts in five innings. He was unable to build on a strong outing his last time out against St. Louis.Itll happen. Im definitely not giving up on myself or this team, Morgan said.The left-hander was fortunate to avoid a serious injury, too, when he barely ducked out of the way of Yoenis Cespedes screaming line drive.Morgan, hit by a liner earlier this season, spun around and crouched in front of the mound as he caught his breath. The crowd let out a trio of collective groans as the big video board showed three replays of the ball whizzing just above Morgans head.I just know that Im learning. I see improvements. Sure, the home runs and the numbers will tell you different, but I see improvements, Morgan said.QUICK LOOKBefore the game, the Phillies called up touted catching prospect Jorge Alfaro from Double-A Reading. Alfaro, acquired from Texas last year in the trade for Cole Hamels, did not play and probably wont stay long. He is expected to be sent back down when Ellis arrives.UP NEXTPhillies RHP Jeremy Hellickson (10-7, 3.60 ERA) starts the middle game of the series Saturday night against Noah Syndergaard (11-7, 2.61). Hellickson, set to make his fourth start this season against the Mets, has won four consecutive decisions overall and six of his last seven. 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Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later.Free-agent reliever Junichi Tazawa has agreed to a two-year deal with the Miami Marlins, the team announced Friday.?The deal is worth $12 million, with Tazawa earning $5 million next season and $7 million in 2018, according to The Associated Press.Fox Sports was first to report news of the deal Thursday.?The Marlins designated right-hander Nefi Ogando to make room for Tazawa.?Tazawa, a right-hander, had the fourth-longest tenure of any Red Sox player in 2016, trailing only David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz.?Since 2013, Tazawa has made 256 appearances, fourth-most among American League relievers after Bryan Shaw (299), Cody Allen (290) and Kelvin Herrera (273).The workload appeared to catch up with him the past two seasons. Tazawa needed to be shut down late in the 2015 season because of concerns about fatigue, and he ceded his setup role to Brad Ziegler in 2016.ddddddddddddHe endured the worst full season of his career in 2016, finishing with a 4.17 ERA in 53 appearances, and was relegated to mostly low-leverage situations after the All-Star break.Tazawa entered free agency for the first time after making $3.375 million in arbitration this year.The addition of Tazawa comes after the Marlins fell short in their pursuit of high-priced closers Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen. Tazawa will help replace left-hander Mike Dunn, who agreed Thursday to a $19 million, three-year contract with Colorado after six seasons with the Marlins.ESPN Red Sox reporter Scott Lauber and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '