The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Frustrated by a season-long struggle to score runs, the New York Mets fired batting coach Denny Walling on Tuesday and replaced him on an interim basis with bench coach Don Baylor.

The Mets went into Tuesday night's game against Cleveland batting .246, next to last in the major leagues, trailed only by Montreal.

The team was particularly bad with the bases loaded, going just 6-for-59.

"I made the decision based primarily on results," general manager Jim Duquette said. "It had nothing to do with his work ethic or what we think of him as a person."

Walling came to the Mets a month after the team hired manager Art Howe in October 2002. Howe called him a close friend and was not happy with the firing.

Baylor has been a Mets bench coach for two seasons, sharing the job this year with Bobby Floyd. He has worked as a hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals and managed the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies.

BRAVES: Chipper Jones moved back to the infield, as expected. His position was the surprise. Braves manager Bobby Cox put Jones at third base for Tuesday night's game against the Kansas City Royals.

Jones, an everyday third baseman from 1995-2001, had been taking grounders at first in the past few weeks and was expected to play there since an injured right hamstring limited his mobility in left field.

Instead, Cox made the decision to leave Julio Franco at first, because Franco is one of the club's best hitters.

RED SOX: Trot Nixon will be activated from the disabled list and make his 2004 debut for Boston today against Colorado. The right fielder has been on the DL since the start of the season with a slight herniated disk and a strained left quadriceps.

MARLINS: Florida ace Josh Beckett, on the 15-day disabled list because of a blister on the middle finger of his right hand, will start Thursday night against the Chicago White Sox. Beckett threw another bullpen session Tuesday and reported no problems.

ASTROS: First baseman Jeff Bagwell sat out the Houston Astros' game against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night after receiving a cortisone shot in his chronically achy right shoulder.

Bagwell, who has played with a degenerative arthritic condition in his shoulder for much of the past three seasons, will miss only one game. He said he decided to have the shot Tuesday because the pain in his shoulder was too intense. It's the second cortisone shot Bagwell has had this year.

YANKEES: Pitcher Kevin Brown was put on the 15-day disabled list by the New York Yankees on Tuesday because of a strained lower back. Outfielder Bubba Crosby was recalled from Triple-A Columbus.

Jose Contreras was to start Tuesday night in Arizona, and Tanyon Sturtze was to pitch tonight against the Diamondbacks.

SHORT HOPS: The Cleveland Indians purchased the contract of outfielder Raul Gonzalez from Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday and designated catcher Sandy Martinez for assignment.

• Florida utilityman Wil Cordero had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday and will be sidelined at least another six weeks.

• The Anaheim Angels recalled right-hander Derrick Turnbow from Triple-A before beginning a three-game series in Pittsburgh Tuesday.