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NEW YORK -- Faster was better for Daisuke Matsuzaka. In a turn-back-the-clock performance, Dice-K allowed two hits over seven innings and the New York Mets got back-to-back homers from Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda to beat the Miami Marlins 3-1 on Saturday night for a doubleheader split. "I think in general all my pitches are improving," Matsuzaka said through a translator before acknowledging he made an effort to pick up his pace on the mound. "Trying not to give the batter an opportunity to think about whats going on or to analyze the situation." In the opener, Donovan Solano exacted some payback after he was hit by two pitches, launching a home run and making two terrific defensive plays that sent Henderson Alvarez and the Marlins to a 3-0 victory. Matsuzaka (1-3) plunked Placido Polanco twice in the nightcap, but other than that the Japanese right-hander was in complete control en route to his first major league win in more than a year. "Honestly, hes really easy to work with," catcher Anthony Recker said. "His location tonight was right on point." Pitching one day after his 33rd birthday, Matsuzaka suddenly was a model of efficiency. Working much quicker than before, he threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 26 batters and needed only 73 pitches to get through six innings. Coming into the game, the former Red Sox star was averaging 20.6 pitches per inning -- second-most in the majors -- while racking up an 8.00 ERA over four starts with the Mets. His snail-slow pace annoyed opponents and fans alike. "Obviously, hes got enough experience to know what it takes to pitch here, but hed spent most of the year in the minor leagues and I think he was trying to nibble," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He was just off the plate, he was using a lot of pitches and a lot of 3-2 counts, and therefore every hitter was seeing every pitch. And now theyre not." The only hits Matsuzaka gave up were Justin Ruggianos 17th homer in the fourth and Adeiny Hechavarrias two-out single in the seventh. After a visit from pitching coach Dan Warthen, Matsuzaka threw a called third strike past Rob Brantly with runners at the corners. When the Marlins opened the eighth with a pinch hitter, Matsuzaka walked off to a warm ovation and tipped his cap to the few fans remaining. It was his first big league win since Aug. 27, 2012, with Boston against Kansas City. He entered 1-10 in his past 16 major league starts. New York signed Matsuzaka last month to fill a hole in its injury-depleted rotation. He spent most of the season in Clevelands farm system. Pedro Feliciano and Vic Black combined on a one-hit eighth. LaTroy Hawkins got three outs for his 10th save. Murphy and Duda homered to start the third against Jacob Turner (3-7), who fell to 0-6 in his last 11 starts. Duda also hit a three-run shot Friday night that put the Mets ahead to stay. "That was probably the best Ive thrown the ball in a while," Turner said. Murphy singled in the first and stole second before Wilmer Flores snapped a 1-for-26 slide with an RBI single. Logan Morrison drove in two runs during the first game, one on a line drive off Frank Franciscos right hand that knocked the oft-injured reliever out of the game. "It swelled up pretty fast and pretty big," Collins said. Francisco left in obvious pain and was sent for X-rays. The team said he had a bruised hand. The right-hander had been out all season following elbow surgery until he was activated last weekend. "I thought it was broke for sure," Francisco said. "Just hope that it goes away soon and Ill be able to throw as soon as possible." Alvarez (4-4) pitched four-hit ball over seven innings for his second win against the Mets this year. The defeat ensured New Yorks fifth straight losing season since Citi Field opened. Steve Cishek struck out three in the ninth for his 30th save in 32 attempts. He has converted 25 in a row. Carlos Torres (3-5) hit Solano with pitches in his first two plate appearances, the first one near his wrist and the next time on the left shoulder. Solano looked pretty irritated by the second one, but catcher Travis dArnaud and plate umpire Tim Welke quickly stepped in front of him and there was no trouble. "Part of the game," Solano said. He got the best sort of revenge with a leadoff homer against Torres in the sixth to make it 2-0. The second baseman also robbed Omar Quintanilla twice, making a diving play to thwart a fifth-inning rally and a sliding stop to save a run in the seventh. "Long days with doubleheaders, you need somebody to step up and be the hero. And today Alvarez and Solano gave us a big lift," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. Torres struck out a career-high eight in six innings and gave up only three hits. Still, he lost his third consecutive start. The traditional doubleheader was scheduled to make up a June 7 rainout. NOTES: Mets reliever Jeurys Familia was activated from the DL. ... Alvarez has allowed a major league-low one home run in 14 starts this season. Kevin Labanc Sharks Jersey .com) - The Atlanta Hawks have stepped up to every challenge during their 14-game winning streak and will face another daunting task Friday with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in town. Barclay Goodrow Jersey . MacIntyre stopped 49 shots and the Marlies defeated the Texas Stars 5-1 in Game 1 of the American Hockey Leagues Western Conference final. "I felt in control, so that was nice," MacIntyre said. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/antti-suomela-jersey/. -- Phil Mickelson came to the St. Evander Kane Jersey . -- Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, shot a 2-under 69 on Tuesday to finish first in stroke-play qualifying at the Womens U. Marcus Sorensen Jersey . Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was also taken to three sets but emerged with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over Tobias Kamke of Germany, while second-seeded David Ferrer joined Murray in making an early exit after a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Daniel Brands of Germany.DORAL, Fla. -- The new Doral in raging wind looked a lot like an old U.S. Open on Friday. Matt Kuchar played out of the rough to tap-in range for birdie on the 18th hole for a 2-over 74 that allowed him to join an exclusive group at the Cadillac Championship -- one of only four survivors to par. The Blue Monster gobbled up just about everyone else. Dustin Johnson bogeyed three of his last six holes for a 74. Patrick Reed made only two birdies in his round of 75. Hunter Mahan atoned for a triple bogey with a 4-iron into 5 feet for eagle on the eighth hole, giving him a 74. They joined Kuchar atop the leaderboard at 1-under 143. "I felt stressed all day, because I knew every shot had big penalty written all over it," Mahan said. "It was a really tough day. There wasnt an easy shot out there. One of those rounds where it could go south pretty fast, so youve got to grind it out and find a way to get a number up there and get to the weekend." Only three players broke par in the second round. No one shot in the 60s. The average score was a fraction under 76. "I dont think Ive played in conditions this difficult in the U.S.," Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland said after a 71 that left him one shot behind. "Its an Open Championship day. Its a real Friday afternoon at St. Andrews in 2010 before they called it. It was hard out there -- really, really hard." Rory McIlroy (74), Francesco Molinari (75) and Jamie Donaldson of Wales (70) also were one behind at even-par 144. Tiger Woods hit three balls in the water and scraped out a 73, thanks in part to a 90-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth hole. Phil Mickelson made back-to-back double bogeys, and then laid on his back along the bank of the fourth tee during a long wait. He got up, hit into the water and made another double bogey. Lefty shot 75. Both were still in the mix, only six shots behind. "Its a tough golf course as it is," Reed said. "And with how hard the wind is blowing, it made it even tougher. Almost felt like we were playing at a major today." At times, it looked even worse. Fist pumps were replaced by players stretching out their arm to take a penalty drop from the water -- 113 balls in the water, which is everywhere on the course that Gil Hanse redesigned under the direction of new owner Donald Trump. Trump described it as bold. It turned out to be brutal. And just like a U.S. Open, there were plenty of complaints. The greens were always going to be firm because the course was built in under a year. There was always going to be concern about the sharp edges of fairwayss and greens that sent balls down the bank and into the water.dddddddddddd Throw in gusts that topped 30 mph, and any score was possible on any hole. "The setup is horrendous," Webb Simpson said after a 78 that included a bunker shot that went onto and over the seventh green and into the water. "Even if we had a 10 mph wind, it still would have been bad. I played terrible. I want to get that out there. But when you have conditions like this, and a setup like this, so much luck comes into play." Henrik Stenson prefaced his comments by saying, "How do you say something you might regret the rest of your life?" So he didnt. Stenson, part of the Nos. 1-2-3 grouping from the world ranking, had a 76 and joined Woods at 5-over 149. Masters champion Adam Scott, the other member of that illustrious trio, had a 73 and was at 4-over 148. The group was a combined 14-over par for the tournament. Stenson was walking off the 15th green Friday morning while finishing up the rain-delayed first round. Spotting a small group of reporters, he said, "Are you having fun watching?" And then as he walked away, he smiled and said, "Because its sure as hell not any fun to be playing." Johnson managed for the longest time. Even as everyone was succumbing to par, he was at 3 under with a birdie on No. 12. But he dropped a shot on the par-3 13th. His short iron into the 15th hit the green and rolled over the back and into the water. And on the 18th, his fairway bunker shot came out too strong and over the green, and he missed a 6-foot par putt that would have given him the outright lead. The forecast is for less wind on the weekend, and surely a sigh of relief from the players. And this World Golf Championship is wide open. "Weve all got a shot at it now," Woods said. "No one is going anywhere." Woods, like so many other players, could have gone south. He was 7 over for the round after a wedge tumbled into the water on No. 3. But he made the long birdie on No. 4 and hit wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the next hole, and then managed to avoid bogeys the rest of the way. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., finished the day in a tie for 34th place. McIlroy went out in 40, but he made three birdies on the back nine. A 74 was enough to move up the leaderboard on this day. "It was a day where you obviously couldnt win the golf tournament, but you could let it get away from you, and you could rack up a few big numbers and play yourself out of contention," McIlroy said. Luke Donald did just that with an 82. So did Victor Dubuisson, who had an 81. ' ' '