Wright and Hairston continued their two-man offensive in the fifth

Scott Hairston then flared a double down the right-field line, sending Wright home.

Wright and Hairston continued their two-man offensive in the fifth. Wright walked, checking his swing on a high fastball, and stole second base. Hairston followed with a hard grounder through a hole on the left side of the infield, and Wright raced home, narrowly beating the throw with a foot-first slide.

With the luxury of increased playing time this year, Hairston has become a valuable piece of the Mets' offense, and that in turn has made him the subject of trade speculation before the deadline Tuesday.

"It's kind of hard to ignore them," Hairston said of the rumors. "I'm a Met now, I'm happy to be a Met, and I'm enjoying my time here." 

The 6-foot-8 Evans is a 10-year veteran

By using the midlevel exception on Teletovic, the Nets effectively eliminated themselves from contention for Jason Kidd. More significantly, under the N.B.A.'s new cap rules, a team that uses the full midlevel must adhere to a $74 million cap for that season. That limit will make any trade for Howard even more challenging, and perhaps impractical.

The 6-foot-8 Evans is a 10-year veteran known for his defensive rebounding and an enforcer's mentality. He was voted the N.B.A.'s dirtiest player in a Sports Illustrated player poll this year.

Teletovic, who is 6-foot-9 and 242 pounds, played for Caja Laboral in Spain, averaging 22 points and 6 rebounds in Euroleague play last season. A skilled shooter, he converted 43.8 percent of his 3-point attempts.