| H O M E P L A T E June 2006 Game Log | |||
| Can Anyone Play This Game? | |||
Five pitchers combined on a one-hitter, and Jason Giambi homered again in a rain-delayed 2-0 victory over the suddenly slumping Mets. Endy Chavez's leadoff single in the sixth inning against Ron Villone (2-1) was the only hit for the Mets as the crosstown rivals opened the second leg of their annual Subway Series. Chavez was picked off first base, and the Mets didn't manage another baserunner. Orlando Hernandez (4-8) pitched seven effective innings against his former team, returning to the mound following a 63-minute delay in the fourth. Still, he lost his third consecutive outing and fell to 0-3 in three starts against the Yankees the past two seasons. The Mets got Cliff Floyd back from the disabled list, but they were missing slugger Carlos Delgado (ribcage) and right fielder Xavier Nady (wrist) -- and it showed at the plate. Mike Mussina held the Mets without a hit for the first four innings before the rain delay cut his outing short after 53 pitches, costing him a chance at his 10th win. He struck out four, and the only baserunner he allowed came on a first-inning error by second baseman Miguel Cairo.
Florida's Dontrelle Willis tossed the previous one-hitter against the Mets, on June 16, 2003.
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| Boston Creme III, NO The Boston Massacre | |||
"That was one of the most exciting moments I've ever experienced on the baseball field," teammate Mark Loretta said. "One of the best catches I've ever seen when I'm pitching," said 16-year veteran Mike Timlin. Even the player who hit the ball marveled at the eighth-inning catch in left-center field that helped the Red Sox beat the New York Mets 4-2 Thursday night and stretch their winning streak to 12 games. "It was one of the best plays I've ever seen," David Wright said. "He got a great jump on it. That's what happens when you're playing well." The spectacular grab kept Boston ahead and preserved Curt Schilling's 10th win. David Ortiz homered for an insurance run and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 26 chances, tying Dick Radatz's club rookie record set in 1962. New York dropped its third straight -- the Mets had been the only team in the majors that hadn't lost more than two in a row. Boston also tied the major league record of 16 straight errorless games set by the St. Louis Cardinals from July 30 to Aug. 16, 1992. Schilling (10-2) became Boston's second 10-game winner, one day after Josh Beckett reached the plateau. New York starter Tom Glavine faltered after five strong innings, failing to extend his big league-leading win total to 12.
Heilman (0-3) and stole second. Alex Gonzalez put down a perfect sacrifice bunt, sending Crisp to third. Kevin Youkilis then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, making it 3-2.
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| Boston Creme II | |||
But after his worst performance in two seasons with the Mets, the right-hander who won two Cy Young Awards with the Red Sox and the hearts of their fans still flashed the charming smile they had seen so often during his seven seasons in Boston. Martinez (7-4) allowed eight runs, six earned, and admitted he was caught up in the emotion of the moment. His ERA rose from 3.01 to 3.45. The Mets scored on Carlos Delgado's 22nd homer in the fourth and Jose Valentin's eighth in the seventh. The eight runs were the most Martinez has given up since Sept. 19, 2004, when he allowed eight in an 11-1 loss at Yankee Stadium. The three innings were his fewest since Sept. 26, 2003, at Tampa Bay when he was pulled early from a playoff tuneup.
Martinez was hurt by two poor fielding plays in the first, one of his own making. Kevin Youkilis and Mark Loretta singled, putting runners at first and second. The Mets put on the drastic shift to right field that most teams use against lefty David Ortiz.
Manny Ramirez walked to load the bases before Trot Nixon's RBI single and Varitek's sacrifice fly. Mike Lowell then hit a ball to deep left field that bounced off Lastings Milledge's glove for a two-run, two-base error.
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| Boston Creme | |||
Mike Lowell and Alex Gonzalez homered to back rookie Jon Lester on Tuesday night and the Red Sox beat New York 9-4 for their 10th consecutive victory -- all in interleague play. Martinez, who won two Cy Young awards and a World Series in Boston, will try to end his former team's streak on Wednesday when he starts at Fenway Park for the first time as a visitor. Lester (3-0) eked out five innings, allowing two runs and four hits with five walks -- one with the bases loaded. He struck out Chris Woodward with the bases loaded in the fourth and fanned David Wright on a 3-2 curveball with the bases loaded in the fifth, hopping off the mound and punching the air as he left the field. Alay Soler had only allowed four earned runs in his previous three starts before running into trouble from the start on Tuesday, throwing 42 pitches in the first inning. Kevin Youkilis doubled to lead off the first, Manny Ramirez walked with two outs and they scored on Jason Varitek's double. Gonzalez doubled and scored in the second, and Boston made it 5-2 in the fourth when rookie left fielder Lastings Milledge lost Ramirez's fly ball in the lights for a two-run double.
Carlos Beltran went 2-for-2 with two walks and a homer, and Carlos Delgado and Eli Marrero also homered for the Mets. Alay Soler (2-2) gave up eight runs and 10 hits and walked three in 4 1-3 innings.
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| Beltran and Reyes Homer Mets to Win | |||
The streaking Reyes went 4-for-5 for the second consecutive game and the third time in five days. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games and is on a 32-for-57 (.561) tear that's raised his batting average from .246 to .302. It was Reyes' fifth game this season with at least four hits, tying Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki for tops in the major leagues. Reyes also got his big league-leading 34th stolen base and scored twice. Steve Trachsel (6-4) won his fourth straight start, allowing four runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out two and walked three.
Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless ninth for his 15th save in 19 chances, striking out Lyle Overbay with two on to end it. | |||
| Wild El Pukee Gives Jays the Early Edge | |||
Jose Reyes tripled and went 4-for-5 for the Mets, who fell to 24-13 on the road. He has a 12-game hitting streak and is 28-for-52 (.538). Orlando Hernandez (4-7) was forced to leave his start early in the second inning after the Mets were charged with two trips to the mound. Pitching coach Rick Peterson went out to the mound in the inning and manager Willie Randolph made a trip after Hernandez almost ignited a bench clearing brawl by throwing a pitch high and tight to Troy Glaus -- after Wells hit his three-run homer a pitch before. Earlier in the inning, Hernandez plunked Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill. Glaus took a step toward the mound and his teammates were on the top step of the dugout as Hernandez waved his finger as if to say he didn't do it on purpose.
Randolph went out to the mound to calm Hernandez. After the umpires huddled, Hernandez was forced to leave. | |||
| Glavine Carves Them Up | |||
Lastings Milledge also homered for the Mets, and Glavine (11-2) pitched seven strong innings to win his ninth consecutive decision. But setup man Duaner Sanchez, a key part of New York's stellar bullpen, left after only two pitches with an injury. Sanchez said he felt a shock in his neck and felt the sensation all the way to his finger tips on a wayward pitch in the eighth inning. He crouched down behind the mound and came out of the game without even trying a test pitch. Xavier Nady hit an RBI triple with two outs in the first. Wright, who homered twice in Thursday's 6-2 victory over Cincinnati, gave New York 4-0 lead in the third with his 18th homer, a shot to left off starter Casey Janssen (5-6). Wright has 13 RBIs in the last six games and 63 for the season in 72 games. Lo Duca and Carlos Beltran singled in the third before Wright homered off the facing of the second deck. Milledge hit a solo shot off Janssen in the fourth, giving New York a 5-0 lead.
Glavine allowed just one run and eight hits, striking out four and walking one. The 40-year-old left-hander is 9-0 in 11 starts since losing to San Francisco on April 24. | |||
| Wright On The Money | |||
"MVP, MVP, MVP." And Pedro Martinez agrees with the crowd. "So far, yeah," Martinez said Thursday after Wright hit a pair of two-run homers in the New York Mets' 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. "The kid's done it all." Martinez (7-3) won for just the second time since April 28, thanks to Wright's bat. The Mets' third baseman connected in the fourth and fifth innings for his third two-homer game of the season, raising his batting average to .338. He has 10 RBIs in the last five games and 60 for the season in 71 games.
Martinez overcame some unusual wildness to throw six innings for the victory. He allowed just two hits but walked five batters -- he is averaging only two free passes per game this season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out eight, including his final four batters. | |||
| Reyes Rocks, Wagner Flops | |||
Phillips instead got a pitch he could handle, driving a two-run single into center field in the ninth inning to help the Cincinnati Reds overcome Jose Reyes' cycle in a 6-5 victory over New York. Wagner retired the first two batters easily but then walked Austin Kearns and pinch-hitter David Ross. Pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia reached on an infield single to third and Phillips followed with a sharp single to center. "I just tried to hit the ball hard and drive it somewhere," Phillips said. "He threw me a fastball inside, a pitch high, another pitch high. If he threw me one more time a high pitch, I would've struck out." Phillips took a strike, fouled one off and took another strike before he hit a lower fastball back up the middle to drive in Kearns and pinch-runner Quinton McCracken, putting the Reds in front 6-5. Wagner (3-1) blew his fourth save in 18 opportunities. Reyes hit his fourth career leadoff homer to extend his hitting streak to nine games. He doubled in the third, tripled into right-center in the fifth and grounded a single into center field in the eighth. The Shea Stadium crowd cheered wildly as Reyes stood on first in the eighth and the scoreboard in right-center recognized the accomplishment. "It feels good for me but it would have felt even better if we had won that ballgame," Reyes said. "I still enjoy it but I would've liked to win that ballgame also."
The last player to hit for the cycle for the Mets was Eric Valent, who did it on July 29, 2004, in New York's 10-1 win over the Montreal Expos. Reyes went 4-for-5 and is batting .489 (23-for-47) over his last 11 games.
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| The Mets Bats Wakeup | |||
"It's nice to get back," he said. "The first two at-bats, I felt I made some adjustments in my swing and my leg kick, maybe spread out a little more and got started a little earlier. "Being out because of your health, it's not fun on the couch, wondering when you'll get back, wondering why it happened." Steve Trachsel pitched six effective innings and hit the third home run of his career, and Carlos Delgado added a two-run homer for his 20th drive of the season. Trachsel (5-4) won his third straight decision, allowing six hits. He weakened in the seventh inning, giving up hits to Austin Kearns and Brandon Phillips sandwiched around a walk to load the bases with none out.
Duaner Sanchez relieved for New York and allowed a sacrifice fly to Javier Valentin to cut the Mets' lead to 4-2, but then got pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia to hit into an inning-ending double play.
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| Met Bats Fall Asleep Again | |||
Griffey tied Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt on the career home run chart and Bronson Arroyo pitched a complete game to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the New York Mets 4-2 Monday night for their eighth straight victory on the road. Griffey's 548th homer spoiled Orlando Hernandez's strong start and put the 12-time All-Star in 11th place alongside Schmidt. Bronson Arroyo (9-3) gave up a run in the first and Carlos Beltran's 19th homer leading off the ninth. He struck out five and walked one in his third career complete game, second this season. Arroyo (9-3) gave up a run in the first and Carlos Beltran's 19th homer leading off the ninth. He struck out five and walked one in his third career complete game, second this season. Orlando Hernandez (4-6) yielded two runs and eight hits over seven innings. He struck out seven, including Griffey the first two times up, and walked two.
The NL East-leading Mets also have looked more comfortable on the road recently. They've dropped three of four at Shea Stadium since winning eight in a row to close a 9-1 road trip. | |||
| David Goes Deep at the Wright Time | |||
Wright hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, Tom Glavine became the first 10-game winner in the major leagues and New York beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-4 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. "I think that this was important for us," Wright said. "I think it's important to not get complacent." The Mets, who own a 9 1/2 -game lead in the NL East, haven't lost three straight all season. They are 18-8 in their last 26 games. Reserve catcher Ramon Castro also homered and knocked in two runs for the Mets, who won the final eight games of a 9-1 road trip before dropping the first two in this series to Baltimore. Substitute outfielder Eli Marrero also came through with an excellent all-around game, as did 47-year-old first baseman Julio Franco. "It's phenomenal when you can plug in guys off our bench and we don't feel like we lose too much," Wright said.
Glavine (10-2) lasted six-plus innings, improving to 8-0 in his past 10 starts and earning his 285th career win. Detroit's Kenny Rogers also got his 10th victory and Boston's Curt Schilling went into his scheduled start with nine.
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| Kris and Anna Get Their Revenge | |||
Benson celebrated his return to Shea Stadium throwing eight effective innings and retiring the last 15 batters he faced in the Baltimore Orioles' 4-2 victory over the Mets, the team that traded him away last January after he pleaded to stay in New York. He had suspected the Mets would be contending for a championship this season and wanted to be part of that effort. New York had other ideas, dealing him to the Orioles for pitchers Jorge Julio and John Maine. Julio has since moved on to Arizona and Maine spent six weeks on the disabled list.
Still there was special satisfaction, especially with his third-inning home run, the first of his life and the first by a Baltimore pitcher since Roric Harrison hit one in 1972, the year before the designated hitter rule was adopted by the American League. | |||
| Heilman Stinks It Up At Shea | |||
Erik Bedard, who had not won in a month, pitched six strong innings to earn the victory and Melvin Mora hit a two-run homer against his ex-team, capping a four-run seventh inning rally. Cuban defector Alay Soler limited Baltimore to four hits over six innings and turned over the 3-2 lead to Aaron Heilman (0-2), who relieved at the start of the seventh. Heilman got in trouble immediately, walking Kevin Millar and Nick Markakis to start the inning. Pinch-hitter Howie Clark bunted the runners to second and third. First baseman Carlos Delgado then bobbled Brian Roberts' grounder but recovered in time to make the putout at first, Millar scoring to tie the game at 3-3.
Then Brandon Fahey looped a single to left, just beyond the reach of Reyes to score Markakis and put the Orioles in front. Mora followed with his ninth homer of the season for a 6-3 lead. | |||
| Mets Sweep Phillies | |||
David Wright hit a three-run homer and the Mets won their eighth straight game, getting off to another fast start to beat the fading Phillies 5-4 Thursday. Steve Trachsel pitched six effective innings and the NL East-leading Mets (42-23) extended their lead to 9 1/2 games over second-place Philadelphia by completing a three-game sweep. They finished 9-1 on their road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Phillies. New York set a major league record by winning its eighth consecutive game on the road when scoring in the first inning. The 1939 Yankees did it seven consecutive games. The Mets' streak of eight straight games scoring in the first is a team record, and the eight consecutive wins are their most during any road trip. "If you would've told me in spring training that we'd have a 9 1/2 -game lead at this time of year, it would've been a good dream," general manager Omar Minaya said. "But there's a lot of baseball left. You sleep a little better 9 1/2 games up. You give yourself a cushion."
Trachsel (4-4) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings. Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez followed with perfect innings, and Billy Wagner finished for his 14th save in 17 chances. | |||
| Mets Keep Rolling and Beat Phillies | |||
This looked like a game at Shea Stadium and sounded like a game at Shea. Home or away, one other crucial part has remained the same: The Mets are rolling atop the NL East. David Wright homered, Delgado knocked in three runs and the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 on Wednesday night for their seventh straight win. "I have to say we're playing as well as we can right now," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. The NL East-leading Mets (41-23) have won nine of 11 and hold a commanding 8 1/2 -game lead over the bumbling Phillies in second place. Only two teams in Mets history reached 40 wins faster: the 1986 World Series champions and the 1988 team that lost in the league championship series. Jose Reyes had four of the Mets' 16 hits. Each starter had a hit and scored. Darren Oliver (3-0) earned the win with one-run ball in three innings of relief. Mets starter Orlando Hernandez gave up two runs in three-plus innings, but did not return after a 1 hour, 5 minute rain delay. I feel bad for El Duque, that should have been his win," Randolph said. "He was kind of cruising a bit. I didn't want to take a chance of setting him back."
Hernandez would have easily recorded his fifth win of the season had he pitched two more innings. The Mets led 7-2 after four innings. Delgado had run-scoring hits in the first and fourth, and a sacrifice fly in the eighth that made it 9-3. | |||
| Mets Beat Phillies in Battle of Long Ball | |||
David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado each homered to lead the New York Mets over the Philadelphia Phillies 9-7 on Tuesday night. But the offensive production was overshadowed by Wright's diving stab in the ninth inning that helped Billy Wagner earn his first save in Philadelphia since leaving the Phillies as a free agent last offseason. Wagner got the final five outs for his 13th save in 16 chances. Wright helped the Mets' closer with a backhanded catch on a ball hit down the line by Pat Burrell to start a double play. Wagner ended it by striking out Aaron Rowand with a man on. Tom Glavine failed to win his 10th game and allowed four homers for just the second time in his career, but the NL East-leading Mets overcame the left-hander's shortest outing of the season to win their sixth straight game. Glavine allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings. He was coming off his worst outing of the season in which he allowed six runs in 5 1-3 innings against Los Angeles, but still got his ninth win.
New York (40-23) has the best record in the NL and leads second-place Philadelphia by 7 1/2 games. | |||
| Mets Sweep D-Backs in the Dessert | |||
It turned out to be a showcase for the Mets, who completed a four-game sweep with a 15-2 rout Sunday, knocking the Diamondbacks out of the NL West lead. "It's a big-time sweep," said Met manager Willie Randolph, whose team won its fifth straight game and 39th overall, most in the NL. "We've done a great job this year of winning series. Every once in a while it's nice to sweep it and go four in a row. That's even sweeter." Carlos Beltran drove in four runs and Carlos Delgado had three RBIs as the Mets scored a season-high 15 runs. The Mets batted around in the fourth and fifth innings to chase Arizona starter Russ Ortiz (0-5). No Met has been hotter than Beltran, who went 9-for-17 in the series with three doubles, three homers and 10 RBIs. On Sunday, Beltran singled, doubled and stole a base. Beltran scored 10 runs in the series. Arizona scored nine.
New York starter Pedro Martinez (6-2) allowed one run in five innings to earn his first victory since April 28. | |||
| Soler Throws Complete Game Shutout | |||
Both pitchers made it to the major leagues from Cuba, and both shut down the Diamondbacks this week. Two nights after Hernandez tossed a three-hitter in a 7-1 victory, Soler threw New York's first complete-game shutout of the season. It was the first shutout by a Mets rookie since Jason Jacome beat Los Angeles 3-0 on July 7, 1994.
The Mets improved to 38-23, the most wins in the NL. They have won four straight and are 5-1 on their 10-game road trip. They'll go for a four-game sweep Sunday with Pedro Martinez facing winless Russ Ortiz. | |||
| The Two Carlos's Are Double Trouble | |||
"We're capable of that kind of offense," Randolph said after the Mets won their league-high 37th game. "I still think we haven't even scratched the surface on offense yet." Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado each homered twice and David Wright added a solo shot as the Mets won their eighth straight game at Chase Field. Beltran also doubled and singled to tie a career high with four hits. A year ago, Beltran signed a $119-million, seven-year contract with the Mets. His first-year numbers -- .266 with 16 homers and 78 RBIs -- didn't seem to justify the enormous deal. Steve Trachsel Trachsel (3-4) went 5 1-3 innings, giving up five runs, for his third win in four starts. Trachsel worked out of trouble all night, allowing at least two base runners in every inning.
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| Hernandez Throw A Rare Complete Game | |||
"I have respect for every team," Hernandez said. "I have nothing special for Arizona." Maybe not. But Hernandez removed his cap and pumped his fist after throwing a three-hitter and beating the Diamondbacks 7-1 Thursday night, his first complete game in six years. In a showdown of division leaders, Hernandez (4-5) took a shutout into the ninth and finished with his ninth career complete game and first since Sept. 16, 2000, for the Yankees against Cleveland. The 36-year-old Cuban struck out three and walked two on 114 pitches. Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer, his 15th, and Endy Chavez drove in three runs with two singles to back El Duque. The NL East leaders acquired Hernandez from Arizona for reliever Jorge Julio on May 24 to help plug a starting rotation beset by injuries. Claudio Vargas (6-3) took the loss for the Diamondbacks, who have lost four straight after returning from a 7-3 road trip. The NL West leaders have been outscored 24-5 in the three games since they learned that federal agents had searched the home of reliever Jason Grimsley in a steroid investigation. The club released Grimsley on Wednesday.
In the third, New York stretched its lead to 3-0 when Jose Reyes doubled and scored on Beltran's home run, a 428-foot blast into the right field seats on an 0-2 pitch from Vargas. One out later, David Wright singled and Jose Valentin doubled, setting the table for Chavez, who singled home both runners to make it 5-0. | |||
| Tom Glavine Become Baseball's First Nine-Game Winner. | |||
Thanks to the New York Mets' offense, he was good enough. Glavine pitched 5 1-3 shaky innings in his shortest and least effective outing of the season and Carlos Beltran and David Wright each had three hits for the Mets in a 9-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. Rookie Lastings Milledge tripled and homered, drove in three runs and made a key defensive play for the Mets, who won two of three in the series and are 13-5 with two ties in their 20 series this season. Glavine (9-2) allowed seven hits and six runs before being relieved by Chad Bradford with one on and one out in the sixth and the Mets leading 7-6. Glavine walked three, struck out one and gave up three homers -- two by Rafael Furcal. But he earned his 284th career victory, moving him into a tie for 26th on baseball's all-time list. Glavine, lifted after 93 pitches, gave up a total of 23 earned runs in his first 12 starts. He started on three days' rest for the 25th time in his career and the first since Aug. 19, 2003. He was 7-6 with a 3.29 ERA in such situations.
Billy Wagner, the Mets' fifth pitcher, worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 12th save. | |||
| Pedro Tosses Batting Practice in L.A. as Injuries Mount | |||
Gagne struck out two in a perfect inning for his first save since June 12, 2005. The 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner returned May 30 from his second elbow surgery in an 11-month span. Garciaparra, who spent parts of nine seasons as Martinez's teammate in Boston, drove the right-hander's first pitch into the left-field pavilion in the opening inning after a single by Kenny Lofton. Rookie Matt Kemp homered for the fourth time in his last six games for the Dodgers, who took advantage of two errors and a wild pitch to score six runs in the sixth inning -- four of which were charged to Martinez. Derek Lowe (5-3) won his fourth straight start in his first matchup against the three-time Cy Young winner, who was Lowe's teammate with Boston in 2004 when the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918. Lowe gave up two runs and five hits over six innings on the ninth anniversary of his first big league victory. He struck out three and walked four while pitching with a sinus problem. Martinez (5-2) was charged with seven runs -- six earned -- and eight hits in five-plus innings. He struck out six but remained winless in his last seven starts -- the longest stretch since he went winless in his final seven outings of 2001. The two runs in the first equaled the number Martinez allowed in his previous 24 innings combined, but the Dodgers got only one hit over the next four innings.
The NL East-leading Mets, who scratched shortstop and leadoff hitter Jose Reyes right before the game because of a sore left wrist, lost left fielder Cliff Floyd to a sprained left ankle in the second. Floyd was injured pulling into third base standing up on Valentin's RBI double. Endy Chavez ran for Floyd and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lastings Milledge, who has five RBIs in his first seven big league games. | |||
| Soler Wins First Game | |||
Soler allowed one run in seven innings for his first major league victory, Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado homered in the first, and the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 Monday night. "I was more relaxed today, especially when the team gave me those three runs and it was 3-0 in the first inning," Soler said through a translator. "My concentration was much better and I had a better rhythm than the two times before. I was more focused and thinking about every pitch." Soler (1-1) scattered six hits, struck out seven and walked one in his third big league start. The 26-year-old right-hander, who defected from Cuba in November 2003 and made the jump from Double-A to the Mets on May 22, shut down the NL's highest-scoring team after giving up nine earned runs over 11 innings in his first two outings. He also singled in the fourth for his first hit in the majors. Soler avoided the first-inning problems that plagued him in his first two starts, although Nomar Garciaparra singled his first time up to stretch his streak of reaching base to 29 games. The Dodgers managed four hits until the sixth, when rookie Willy Aybar extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his second homer of the season.
Lastings Milledge, who made a lasting impression among the fans at Shea Stadium on Sunday when he high-fived a bunch of them following his first major league home run, made it 4-0 in the sixth with an RBI single. Milledge, the Mets' first-round draft pick in June 2003, is 6-for-19 with four RBIs in six games since his promotion from Triple-A Norfolk on May 30. | |||
| Milledge's Big Game Goes to Waste | |||
Ahh, the exuberance of youth. Turns out, the celebration was premature -- and it irked a few folks in both dugouts. Pedro Feliz hit an RBI single in the 12th inning and the San Francisco Giants finally held off the Mets 7-6 Sunday, overcoming a breakout performance by New York's prized prospect. With the Mets down to their final strike in the 10th, Milledge hit his first career homer off All-Star closer Armando Benitez to tie it at 6. The 21-year-old rookie raised his index finger toward the sky as he rounded first and came out for a curtain call. Then, as he jogged out to right field for the 11th, he slapped hands with dozens of fans leaning over the railing. "Oh, boy. He has a little growing up to do," outfielder Cliff Floyd said. "I'll just mention to him the consequences that come along with that. If that's what you want to do, you do that. But at the same time, if you want guys throwing at your head constantly, you proceed to do it that way. "He has the talent and everything, but you have to understand the game at this level. At Triple-A they're going to treat you like a king, and what's wrong with that? When you come here, without losing your mojo, you've got to bring the mentality down. If you can do that, you'll earn the respect of a lot of people." Milledge heard it from his manager, too. "I had a little conversation with him about that. I told him to tone it down a little bit," Willie Randolph said. "He got excited about his first big home run. Wouldn't you? I talked to him about it -- it won't happen again."
Milledge also hit a go-ahead double and made a sliding catch in right field in his fifth major league game, quickly winning over New York fans who have been reading about the gifted youngster for a while now.
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| Mets Win in Extra Innings | |||
Lastings Milledge got there first. The fleet-footed rookie scored with a nifty slide on Woodward's shallow sacrifice fly, and the New York Mets edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2 Saturday night to split a soggy, dragged-out doubleheader. Paul Lo Duca singled leading off the 11th in the nightcap against Brian Wilson (0-1), and Carlos Delgado doubled just over a leaping Jason Ellison in left to snap a 3-for-44 skid. After David Wright was intentionally walked to load the bases and Cliff Floyd popped out against Jonathan Sanchez, Woodward hit a shallow fly to right field. Randy Winn's throw was up the third base line and pinch-runner Milledge dove headfirst around Alfonzo, ending a draining day of baseball 9 hours, 14 minutes after the scheduled first pitch. Duaner Sanchez (4-0) pitched a hitless 11th for the win. The Mets have 17 one-run victories this season and nine walk-off wins, both most in the majors. Trying to become baseball's first nine-game winner, Tom Glavine gave New York another strong start before a sparse crowd in the nightcap -- a makeup of Friday night's rainout. He yielded only solo homers to Jose Vizcaino and Winn before leaving for a pinch hitter in the seventh with the score tied at 2. The left-hander had won six consecutive starts. "I was just trying to go out there and have a quick game for the boys after being here all day long," he said. "We're not good at that apparently. We like extra innings." Glavine's sacrifice bunt helped set up consecutive RBI singles by Jose Reyes and Lo Duca with two outs in the third.
San Francisco starter Jamey Wright was just as good, allowing five hits in eight sharp innings.
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| El Pukue Chokes in Game One | |||
Alfonzo then drove a 1-0 pitch from Hernandez (3-5) just over the left-field fence for his first career hit and a 5-4 lead. Not a bad memory to take from one's big league debut -- even if his name was misspelled "Alfonso" on the back of his jersey. "Alfonzo can hit, we know that," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. The 27-year-old catcher was recalled Friday from Double-A Connecticut because four-time Gold Glove winner Mike Matheny was put on the disabled list with a concussion. "It was unbelievable," said Alfonzo, who pumped his first as he rounded first. "I'm so happy to be here. ... I was so excited." His homer made a winner of the 21-year-old Cain (4-5), who went five innings for his second victory over the Mets this year. He beat Glavine 6-2 on April 24 in San Francisco for his first win this season. Kevin Correia, Steve Kline and Jeremy Accardo combined for three innings of perfect relief to set up Benitez for his fourth save. After two walks, he retired pinch-hitter Julio Franco and Reyes for his 14th career save against the Mets.
Bonds had a two-out RBI single in the ninth and finished 2-for-3 with a pair of walks. Playing for the first time since Monday, he was booed all afternoon. Several fans held up critical signs, but the diminished crowd was tempered by the wet weather. | |||
