NEW YORK -- The New York Mets didnt have to do a thing Thursday in order to take sole possession of the second wild card in the National League. On Friday, the Mets will begin taking playoff destiny into their own hands.The Mets open up their final homestand of the regular season Friday night, when the Minnesota Twins visit for a three-game interleague series at Citi Field. New York (77-69) was off Thursday following a 1-0 loss to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday while the Twins (55-92) beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1, at Comerica Park Thursday afternoon.While the Twins are hoping to avoid 100 losses, the Mets will enter Friday with a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals (76-70) in the race for the NLs second wild-card spot by virtue of the Cardinals 6-2 loss Thursday night to the top wild card, the San Francisco Giants (78-68).The Mets, the defending NL champions, appeared finished four weeks ago Friday, when an 8-1 loss to the Giants dropped them to 60-62 and into fifth place in the wild-card race, 5 1/2 games behind the second wild card Cardinals.But the Mets have the best record in baseball (17-7) since Aug. 19 and will play their final 16 games against a quartet of teams -- the Twins, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins -- that enter Friday a combined 88 games under .500.We have caught up a lot in the last couple of weeks, Mets manager Terry Collins said. We have a chance to do some damage if we take care of our own business.The Mets have done damage of the past month thanks largely to strong pitching from three unexpected contributors: Rookies Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman as well as wise old sage Bartolo Colon. The trio is a combined 9-1 with a 2.58 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) during New Yorks run.Colon, the oldest player in baseball at age 43, is scheduled to start Fridays opener while Lugo is expected to pitch Saturday.At this time of year, (with) where were at, and you see the young guys stepping up and doing their job, you can tell how good stuff they have, Mets catcher Rene Rivera said after Gsellman threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday.The Twins, meanwhile, will look to continue playing spoiler as they try to avoid the franchises first 100-loss season since 1982. Minnesota, which needs to go 8-7 the rest of the way to finish with fewer than 100 losses, just split a four-game series with the AL wild card-contending Tigers and will play the next 12 games against four teams -- the Mets, Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals -- who are currently over .500 and within six games of a playoff spot.Rookie right-hander Jose Berrios, who has a 9.27 ERA in his first 11 big league starts, is scheduled to oppose Colon on Friday night.Were trying to finish and at the same time construct a little bit in our brains going forward, what people are in our mix, Twins manager Paul Molitor told reporters Thursday afternoon. Supply Air Jordan 1 Retro . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. Air Jordan 1 Retro Outlet . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. http://www.cheapairjordan1retro.com/ . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Air Jordan 1 Retro Womens . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Discount Air Jordan 1 Retro . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. ATHENS, Ga. -- Derek Mason finally picked up the sort of victory that should ease some of the heat on the Vanderbilt coach.Just the opposite for Georgias Kirby Smart, who is facing plenty of scrutiny after a stunning loss to the Commodores.Sickening, Smart said.Vanderbilt claimed its first Southeastern Conference road win in Masons three seasons as coach, upsetting Georgia 17-16 on Khari Blasingames 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and a huge fourth-down stop late in the game Saturday.The victory set off a wild celebration as the Vanderbilt players raced over to Sanford Stadiums famous hedges to celebrate with a small group of black-and-gold-clad fans.I told our young men this morning that if we wanted to do something epic, we needed to make sure we took the fight to them, Mason said.For Vanderbilt (3-4, 1-3), it was only the third win over Georgia in the last 22 meetings between the SEC East rivals. Mason had dropped his first nine league road games.You saw a football team committed to doing one thing, and thats going on the road and getting a win, Mason said. We also talked about a new season, the second half of the season. We cant do anything about whats behind us, but we could do something about what is in front of us.The Bulldogs (4-3, 2/3 SEC) held a commanding lead in total yards, 421-171, but special-teams blunders doomed the home team. Not exactly what Georgia was expecting when it fired longtime coach Mark Richt and brought in Smart , who had been Nick Sabans defensive coordinator at Alabama.Its embarrassing, and Im sick to my stomach, Smart said. I take full responsibility for it.Georgia went ahead for the first time early in the third quarter on Jacob Easons 17-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Nauta. The Bulldogs added their third field goal, stretching the lead to 16-10 with just under 14 minutes remaining.But Vanderbilt responded with its only extended drive of the game, going 75 yards on eight plays to reclaim the lead when Blasingame powered over with 9:43 to go. The big play was a screen pass on third-and-12 that Ralph Webb took for a 37-yard gain to the Bulldogs 11.It wasnt pretty, Vandy quarterback Kyle Shurmur, but that just isnt our style, I guess.Georgias final drive was extended by Easons 23-yard pass to Terry Godwin on fourth-and-13, but the Bulldogs couldnt convert wheen facing fourth-and-1 at the Vandy 41.dddddddddddd In a puzzling move, the Bulldogs didnt go with either of their star runners -- Nick Chubb and Sony Michel -- and instead pitched the ball to receiver Isaiah McKenzie after he dropped back into the tailback position.McKenzie was thrown down about a foot shy of the first-down marker by Vandy linebacker Zach Cunningham, who finished with a staggering 19 tackles.We felt good about the play, McKenzie said. A guy came from the blind side and tackled me. He made a good play.THE TAKEAWAYVanderbilt: The victory will take some of the heat off Mason, but the Commodores have yet to address their anemic offense. Other than one impressive drive, they barely moved the ball against Georgia.Georgia: The offensive play-calling will surely come under scrutiny after the Bulldogs rushed for only 75 yards against Vanderbilt and didnt turn to their top runners when the game was on the line.SPECIAL TEAMSVanderbilts first 10 points were set up by special teams.Darius Sims returned the opening kickoff 95 yards, setting up Webbs 1-yard TD run that gave the Commodores a 7-0 lead just 22 seconds into the game. On the second-half kickoff, Georgias Reggie Davis made the catch along the sideline and inadvertently stepped out of the bounds at the 3. The Bulldogs went three-and-out, Kalija Lipscomb returned the punt 17 yards and Vandy didnt even need to make a first down to set up Tommy Openshaws 38-yard field goal.Smart called it a comedy of errors.BOUNCING BACK.Eason threw for a career-high 346 yards on 27-of-40 passing, just six days after the freshman turned in a 29-yard performance against South Carolina that was Georgias fewest passing yards in a game since 1990.UP NEXTVanderbilt: The Commodores return home next Saturday to face Tennessee State. It will be only the second home game in six weeks for Vanderbilt.Georgia: After the off week, the Bulldogs return to action Oct. 29 against Florida in the annual Cocktail Party showdown at Jacksonville, Florida.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . 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