NEW YORK -- The term next man up is most often associated with the NFL. But the injury-plagued New York Mets are winning with the mantra as they pursue a National League wild-card berth.The next next man up is left-hander Sean Gilmartin, who tries to nudge New York closer to the playoffs when he makes his first start of the season Saturday night in the third contest of a four-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.The Mets won the first two games of the series including Friday, when they used six pitchers to piece together a 10-5 victory.New York (82-72) moved one game ahead of the San Francisco Giants (81-73) in the race for the NLs first wild card by virtue of Giants 7-2 loss to the San Diego Padres late Friday night.The St. Louis Cardinals, who lost 5-0 to the Chicago Cubs earlier Friday, are a half-game behind the Giants.Gilmartin is taking the rotation spot usually occupied by ace right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who was supposed to start Saturday but was pushed back at least a couple days because of a bout with strep throat.Gilmartin made 18 starts this season at Triple-A Las Vegas, but has not pitched more than two innings or thrown as many as 20 pitches since he was recalled by the Mets on Aug. 25.Got to turn to Sean Gilmartin (and) say Hey look, youve got to step up, heres your chance, Mets manager Terry Collins said.Syndergaards illness is the latest roadblock encountered by the Mets, who expected right-hander Jacob deGrom (right elbow) and left-hander Steven Matz (left shoulder) to return to the rotation this week but instead learned they are done for the season.The Mets have three rookies in their rotation -- Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo and Gabriel Ynoa, the latter of whom started Friday in place of Matz and allowed two runs in two innings.Youre numb to it now, its happened so much, Collins said of the constant upheaval.The Phillies, meanwhile, send rookie right-hander Alec Asher to the mound as Philadelphia (69-85) looks for the consistency it lacked the previous two nights. The Mets came back from ninth- and 11th-inning deficits to win Thursdays series opener 9-8 and trailed 3-1 after four innings Friday.The next step is for all these guys to get better, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Thats how you win. Youve got to have consistency.Gilmartin is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 10 career appearances against the Phillies, who were the opponent for his lone previous career start last Oct. 1. He took the loss after giving up two runs over five innings in Philadelphias 3-2 victory.Asher gave up five runs over a career-low two-thirds of an inning in his lone previous start against the Mets last Sept. 30.Wholesale Vans Authentic .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Black Vans Old Skool Cheap . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. http://www.cheapoldskoolwholesale.com/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Black Vans Old Skool Sale .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Vans Toy Story Discount .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago.JOLIET, Ill. -- Richard Childress Racing has hired Daniel Hemric to drive full-time in the Xfinity Series next season.Childress made the announcement at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, a day after Hemric finished second in the Truck Series race to earn a spot in the Chase for the championship.The 25-year-old Hemric has no wins and eight top-five finishes in 42 races over parts of four seasons in the Truck Series. Hell enter the playoffs next wweek as the No.dddddddddddd. 7 seed in the eight-team Chase field.Childress said Ty Dillon would almost run a full season in the Xfinity Series next season and other announcements would follow. Its possible Dillon will move to the Sprint Cup.RCR said a primary sponsor and crew chief for Hemric will be announced later. ' ' '