Punchless Mets lose again
July 31, 2003 - Eddie Perez snapped an 0-for-17 slump with an RBI single that gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead in the eighth. He moved up on a sacrifice and scored from second when Edwin Almonte’s wild pitch caromed off catcher Jason Phillips’ mask toward the first-base dugout. Perez’s long journey around the bases helped the Milwaukee Brewers beat the New York Mets 4-3 Thursday.
The punchless Mets have lost five of six and 17 of 22. Rookie Aaron Heilman, the Mets’ first-round pick in the 2001 amateur draft, walked six in 5 2-3 innings in his seventh big league start. He gave up two runs, six hits and struck out a career-high seven.
Heilman (1-4) pitched out of trouble early, but began to run out of luck in the fifth. Hall led off with a single and advanced on Kinney’s sacrifice. Podsednik’s single and a walk to Royce Clayton loaded the bases.
After Geoff Jenkins flied out, Sexson walked to force in a run. Heilman struck out John Vander Wal for the third time to end the inning, then got into another jam in the sixth.
He walked Kinney, 1-for-36 this season, with two outs, and Podsednik followed with an RBI single that chased Heilman.
The Brewers won the season series, 6-3, for the first time since moving to the NL in 1998. Milwaukee is 15-31 all-time against the Mets, including 8-17 at Shea Stadium.
Rey Sanchez groomed for Seattle
July 29, 2003 - Jim Duquette finished his wheeling and dealing Tuesday, sending infielder Rey Sanchez to Seattle for a minor league outfielder.
The deal was Duquette's fifth in little less than a month and completed his housecleaning of veterans who likely wouldn't have been with the club next season.
Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, center, a former player with the New York Mets, waves to crowds during a ceremony honoring him before the Mets game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Tuesday, July 29, 2003, at New York's Shea Stadium. Watching the proceedings is Mets general manager Dave Duquette, second from left.
Carter honored at empty Shea
July 29, 2003 - Ben Sheets is becoming the ace for the Milwaukee Brewers the way the New York Mets hoped Tom Glavine would for them. Sheets benefited from a short outing by Glavine for the second time this season, and beat the Mets 6-3 Tuesday night. He has won three straight starts, and is one victory away from tying his career high of 11 wins.
And that’s what the Mets thought they were getting when they signed Glavine away from Atlanta in the offseason. Instead of consistent wins, all that Glavine is feeling is consistent angst.
Glavine had his second one-inning stint of the season against the Brewers, leaving this time because of a right ribcage strain. The injury occurred on a pitch that Richie Sexson hit for a single. Glavine threw 18 pitches—11 for strikes. That was the easy part. Glavine will be re-examined on Wednesday. His status for his next start is very much in question.
Both last-place teams are 43-63, but Milwaukee won at Shea Stadium for the fourth straight game—its longest winning streak there in franchise history. The game drew 22,846, a significant improvement over the 6,056 who watched Milwaukee win Monday night in a makeup from an earlier rainout.
Before the game, new Hall of Famer Gary Carter was honored with a ceremony attended by former manager Davey Johnson and several teammates from New York’s 1986 World Series championship team.
Rusch job at Shea
July 28, 2003 - Scott Podsednik stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the ninth inning and approached his at-bat with the confidence of a veteran. Podsednik delivered a tiebreaking two-run single off John Franco, leading the Brewers to a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets on Monday night.
Richie Sexson homered and drove in two runs for the Brewers, who stopped a three-game losing streak. Milwaukee won at Shea Stadium for the third straight game, the Brewers’ longest winning streak there.
With the game tied 2-2, Eddie Perez drew a one-out walk from David Weathers (1-5) and Royce Clayton bunted for a single that the Mets pitcher couldn’t field cleanly to put runners on first and second.
Pinch-hitter Keith Ginter followed with a grounder to shortstop that Jose Reyes fielded and flipped to second baseman Joe McEwing for the forceout. But McEwing then dropped the ball and couldn’t make a throw to first for a double play.
Weathers walked Eric Young to load the bases, and Franco came in and gave up Podsednik’s hit. Young was thrown out going from first to third on the hit, but the damage was already done for the Mets.
Glendon Rusch, who has lost his last 11 decisions, was locked in an unlikely pitchers duel with Jae Weong Seo in an empty Shea Stadium, which had just 6,056 in attendance. Both pitchers came in struggling, and Rusch took a shutout into the seventh before the Mets got on the scoreboard.
Rusch, who pitched for the Mets from 1999-2001 before being traded to Milwaukee, cruised through the first six innings. He allowed just a single to Roger Cedeno, and it appeared he might snap his losing streak.
Graeme Lloyd off to K.C.
July 28, 2003 - Graeme Lloyd, who led the National League in wins by a reliever two years ago, has had numerous injuries during his 11 Major League seasons, but when healthy he has usually been effective.
Lloyd's cut fastball and slider has made him a ground ball pitcher throughout his career and that trait should serve him well considering Kansas City's home park and the talented defense the Royals routinely put on the field.
Jeremy Hill, 1-3 with a 7.81 ERA at Triple-A Omaha, was once considered one of the top prospects in the organization. A former catcher, his mid-90s fastball and inability to hit minor league pitching (.197 at Class A Wilmington in 2000) convinced the Royals to move him to the mound.
Wilson beats Mets at Shea
July 27, 2003 - Winning at Shea Stadium made Sunday extra special for Paul Wilson. Wilson defeated his former team for the first time, and Jose Guillen hit a tiebreaking homer in the fifth inning to lead the Cincinnati Reds over the New York Mets 8-5.
Wilson (6-8) made his second start and third career appearance against the team that selected him with the first pick of the 1994 amateur draft. Traded by the Mets to Tampa Bay in July 2000, he signed with Cincinnati in January.
Wilson allowed five runs and eight hits in seven innings, falling behind 2-1 in the first.
Felix Heredia pitched the eighth, and Scott Williamson finished for his 21st save in 26 chances.
Guillen had three RBIs, Aaron Boone had three hits for the Reds and Adam Dunn hit his 26th homer of the season.
Steve Trachsel (9-7) gave up six runs—five earned—and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. Trachsel had an RBI grounder in the fifth that closed the Mets to 4-3, but the Reds added three runs the sixth.
With the score 2-all, Guillen hit a two-run homer off Trachsel, his 22nd of the season and second in three games. Guillen had watched Trachsel pitch for Tampa Bay three years ago.
Bob Murphy, a Mets’ broadcaster since the team began in 1962, received a lengthy standing ovation from fans and players in the middle of the sixth inning when it was announced that he intends to retire at the end of the season.
Acevedo latest nobody to beat Mets
July 26, 2003 - Jose Acevedo worries he might never get called up to the majors again. If he keeps this up, he won’t have to wait for that call at all.
Acevedo struck out a career-high 10 in his first complete game, and Adam Dunn had three hits and two RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds snapped a four-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over the New York Mets on Saturday night.
The 25-year-old Acevedo spent most of 2002 at Triple-A Louisville after going 5-7 with a 5.44 ERA for Cincinnati in 2001.
Acevedo (2-0) was overpowering. He threw 111 pitches—81 strikes—and struck out four straight in the fourth and fifth innings. He has won two in a row since being recalled from Louisville on July 18.
Acevedo, who threw seven scoreless innings and allowed only two hits at Milwaukee on July 21, gave up three runs and five hits while walking two.
The Reds, hurt by a 7.76 ERA in the first inning this season, finally had a big opening of their own. They scored three runs to shake up Mets rookie Aaron Heilman, who struck out five but gave up six runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Heilman (1-3), coming off his first major league victory, hit leadoff batter D’Angelo Jimenez with a pitch, setting up a big first inning.
Two outs later, Boone hit a two-run single. He scored on the next pitch when Ruben Mateo doubled to right-center.
Livan Hernandez is latest Met killer
July 24, 2003 - Livan Hernandez could be on his way to a career year. Hernandez won his fourth straight decision and Wil Cordero homered to lead the Montreal Expos to a 5-1 win over the New York Mets on Thursday night.
Hernandez (10-6) improved to 4-0 in five July starts, becoming the first Expos pitcher to reach double digits in wins.
Vladimir Guerrero, who returned from a herniated disk Monday, went 2-for-3 with a walk, including a two-run single off Tom Glavine (6-11) in the first.
After Cliff Floyd’s run-scoring grounder in the fourth cut Montreal’s lead to 2-1, Cordero hit a two-run shot in the sixth to put the Expos up by three.
Hernandez allowed seven hits and one run in 7 2-3 innings, leaving after consecutive singles by Jose Reyes and Jason Phillips.
Left-hander Eric Knott walked Floyd to load the bases before Luis Ayala came on to get Ty Wigginton on a grounder back to the mound, bringing a loud cheer from the crowd of 9,337.
Glavine lost for the eighth time in his last nine decisions, allowing eight hits and four runs in six innings. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has a 7.06 ERA over his last 11 starts, raising his overall ERA from 3.41 to 5.15.
Gary Carter Night
The Mets will host “Gary Carter Night” on Tuesday. Carter will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with Eddie Murray, who played for New York in 1992-93.
Prior to their game against Milwaukee, the Mets will honor Carter, who helped lead them to their last World Series title in 1986.
Vasquez puts on pitching clinic
July 23, 2003 - Javier Vazquez’s aggressive approach is yielding winning results. Vazquez struck out 11 in eight innings and Ron Calloway hit a two-run single in a five-run first, leading the Montreal Expos to a 5-2 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday night.
Vazquez (8-6), who pitched his first complete game of the season in Philadelphia on Friday, allowed five hits and two runs, reaching double-digits in strike outs for the fifth time in 22 starts this season.
Montreal, which began a 12-game homestand, ended a four-game losing streak after building a 5-0 lead against Jae Weong Seo (5-7) with one out in the first.
Seo allowed hits to six of the first seven batters he faced, including consecutive run-scoring doubles by Edwards Guzman and Orlando Cabrera, and Brad Wilkerson’s one-out RBI single.
Calloway’s two-run single followed Brian Schneider’s bloop double.
Seo allowed eight hits and five runs, falling to 0-5 in his last six starts. He has an 8.19 ERA over that span.
Mets rookie Jason Phillips extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI single in the sixth.
Injured Mets catcher Mike Piazza took batting practice prior to the game. It was the first time he faced live pitching on the field since suffering a severely strained right groin that landed him on the 15-day disabled list on May 17.
Braves beat Mets again
July 20, 2003 - Javy Lopez was sad to see the New York Mets leave town. Lopez’s pinch-hit, three-run homer keyed an eight-run rally in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves beat New York 11-8 Sunday to finish a four-game sweep.
Lopez’s fifth career pinch-hit homer was his 24th this year and first since June 24 against Philadelphia. In 29 at-bats against the Mets this season, Lopez is batting .448 with three homers and 11 RBIs. He has a .292 average, 21 homers and 56 RBIs in 322 career at-bats against New York.
The Braves, winners of five straight, are 13-1 since July 3 and have the best record through 97 games, 65-32, in franchise history. Atlanta’s 1998 team went 64-32 before losing its 97th game.
New York, which traded Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz and Armando Benitez in the past three weeks, has dropped 10 of 11.
New York reliever Edwin Almonte was handed an 8-3 lead to begin the eighth, but he allowed consecutive singles to Vinny Castilla, Blanco and Bragg before Howe brought in Mike Stanton (2-4).
Lopez hit Stanton’s 2-0 pitch over the left-field fence to make it 8-7. Rafael Furcal reached on a bunt single and advanced to third when Stanton’s wild throw to first went into right field for an error. After DeRosa drove in Furcal to make it 8-8, Gary Sheffield flied out before Andruw Jones’ single moved DeRosa to second.
Giles, batting for pitcher Ray King (3-0), singled to left to drive in DeRosa for a 9-8 lead. Castilla’s fielder’s choice made it 10-8 when second baseman Rey Sanchez booted the grounder for an error that scored Jones.
Stanton was pulled for Pedro Feliciano, who allowed Blanco’s RBI single that ended the scoring. Stanton allowed five hits and five runs—four earned—in one-third of an inning.
The eighth-inning meltdown spoiled a solid start by New York’s Al Leiter, who came off the disabled list before the game.
Making his first start since going on the DL on July 7 with an inflamed right knee, Leiter allowed three hits and two runs in five innings. Two of his four walks were intentional, and the left-hander struck out five.
Braves beat up Glavive
July 19, 2003 - Russ Ortiz labored through five innings, throwing 101 pitches and never finding a comfort zone. Still, he fared better than Tom Glavine.Ortiz earned his NL-leading 13th victory as the Atlanta Braves roughed up former teammate Glavine again and beat the New York Mets 7-4 on Saturday.
Andruw Jones went 2-for-3 with a home run, Javy Lopez added two hits and Vinny Castilla drove in two runs for the Braves, who won for the 12th time in 13 games.
Ortiz (13-4) hardly was sharp, but he pitched out of jams in the third and fifth and won his sixth straight. He gave up three runs on four hits, struck out five and walked four.
Glavine (6-10), facing the Braves for the fourth time this season, lasted only 4 1-3 innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits. He fell to 0-4 against Atlanta, and he’s allowed 23 earned runs in those games.
Braves do it to Mets again
July 18, 2003 - Gary Sheffield went 5-for-5 with two homers, and Mike Hampton won his third straight start to lead the Atlanta Braves past the New York Mets 11-4 on Friday night.
Sheffield broke out of a 1-for-14 slump by tying a career high for hits, and his homer in the fifth inning was his first since June 27, a span of 58 at-bats. He added a three-run shot in the eighth off Graeme Lloyd and scored four runs.
Jae Weong Seo (5-6) struggled for the second straight start against Atlanta and left after only four innings. He gave up five runs—four earned—on five hits and three walks. Last week in New York, he gave up six runs in six innings in a 7-3 loss to the Braves.
Atlanta jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first, helped by Floyd’s errors. With one out, Mark DeRosa walked, moved to second on a single by Sheffield, then scored on a single by Jones.
Andruw Jones singled to drive home Sheffield, and when Floyd bobbled the ball, Chipper Jones moved to third. After Robert Fick walked, Lopez brought home Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones with a single to left, and again, Floyd had trouble fielding the ball cleanly.
This time, Fick moved to third on the error, but Seo got Vinny Castilla to hit into a double play.
No closer? Same results
July 17, 2003 - Mark DeRosa ended two rallies by hitting into double plays. Given another chance, he won the game with a ball that went about 80 feet.
His check-swing infield single in the ninth inning scored Vinny Castilla from third and gave Greg Maddux and the Atlanta Braves a 3-2 victory over the New York Mets on Thursday night.
With the Mets playing their first game without closer Armando Benitez, the Braves loaded the bases with one out against John Franco (0-2). DeRosa then hit a dribbler to second baseman Joe McEwing, who couldn’t come up with the ball as Castilla scored the winning run.
Maddux (8-8) pitched an eight-hitter for his first complete game of the season, just the second for the Braves. Rookie Horacio Ramirez had the first complete game against the Mets last week in New York.
Armando in Pinstripes
July 16, 2003 - Armando Benitez went to the All-Star Game but will return to the Bronx instead of Queens. The Mets sent their much-maligned closer to the Yankees on Wednesday for reliever Jason Anderson and two minor leaguers, Anderson Garcia and Ryan Bicondoa. Benitez saved 160 games in 4 1/2 seasons for the Mets.
This is the 12th time the Mets and Yankees have made a deal. The last trade between the two clubs was on December 7, 2001, when the Mets acquired outfielder David Justice in return for third baseman Robin Ventura.
Anderson will report to Norfolk (AAA) of the International League, while Garcia will report Capital City (A) of the South Atlantic League and Bicondoa will join the Mets St. Lucie (A) team of the Florida State League.
Benitez will become the 80th player to perform for both the Mets and the Yankees. He was 3-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 45 games with 21 saves this year for the Mets. In 49.1 innings, he has given up 41 hits, 18 runs, 17 earned, with 24 walks and 50 strikeouts.
Mets trade Burnitz to Dodgers for three prospects
Jeromy Burnitz
Burnitz hit .274 with 18 home runs, 18 doubles, 45 runs batted in and 38 runs scored in 65 games with the Mets, missing 27 games between April 22 and May 23 with a broken hand.
Burnitz is a lifetime .253 hitter with 225 homers, 703 RBIs and 679 runs in 1,212 games over 11 MLB seasons with the Mets, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers.
New York re-acquired Burnitz in a three-way transaction involving the Brewers and Colorado Rockies on Jan. 21, 2002.
Mets reliever Armando Benitez walks off the field to a chorus of boos after blowing a save in the ninth inning at Shea Stadium. Benitez, who is headed to his first All-Star game, was saved by the Mets batters in the bottom of the ninth. It was the seventh blown save in 28 chances for Benitez.
Armando blows another game, Mets end losing streak
July 13, 2003 - The New York Mets were happy to see their young players pull them out of a slump.
Rookie Jason Phillips hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Sunday to snap a six-game losing streak.
Phillips also had an RBI double and finished with three hits. Rookie shortstop Jose Reyes also had three hits, including a key double in the ninth.
Tom Glavine pitched six solid innings for the Mets, who overcame another blown save by Armando Benitez and ended the Phillies’ five-game winning streak.
Former New York and Philadelphia reliever Tug McGraw, always a fan favorite at Shea Stadium, threw out the ceremonial first pitch as the Mets honored their 1973 NL championship team before the game. McGraw, recovering from surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor, got a warm ovation from the crowd of 31,630.
Benitez, far less popular among Mets fans than McGraw was, entered in the ninth with a 3-2 lead and got the first two outs. But Nick Punto singled, Jim Thome walked and Mike Lieberthal singled past a diving Ty Wigginton at third base to tie it, bringing a chorus of boos.
It was the seventh blown save in 28 chances for Benitez (3-3), who is headed to his first All-Star game. He retired Jason Michaels to get out of the inning, and the Mets won it in the bottom half.
Rey Sanchez singled with one out off Terry Adams (1-3), and Reyes followed with a line drive to right that was misplayed into a double by Bobby Abreu.
Pinch-runner Roger Cedeno barely made it to third and, after an intentional walk to Jeff Duncan, Phillips got ahead 2-0 and hit a drive to right over the drawn-in outfield to win it.
After the game, the scoreboard flashed “You Gotta Believe,” the motto of the 1973 Mets popularized by McGraw.
The Mets won in their final at-bat for the seventh time this season.
Mets lose in extra frames
July 12, 2003 - Placido Polanco’s sacrifice fly scored Jason Michaels with the go-ahead run in the 11th inning Saturday, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 4-2 for their fifth straight victory.
Michaels singled with one out in the 11th off John Franco (0-1) and went to third on Marlon Byrd’s single to left.
Jeff Duncan homered for the Mets, who have dropped six in a row—all at home—since a three-game sweep in Cincinnati last weekend.
With the Mets out of healthy position players, pitcher Tom Glavine stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter for reliever Graeme Lloyd with two outs and a runner on third in the 11th. Glavine grounded out to shortstop to end the game.
Jae Weong Seo., who has lost three straight decisions since June 17, allowed seven hits and two runs in six innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
Burrell buries Mets again
July 11, 2003 - Pat Burrell homered to cap a four-run first inning, and Mike Lieberthal drove in two runs in Philadelphia’s six-run fifth as the Phillies cruised to a 10-3 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.
The Phillies jumped on rookie Aaron Heilman (0-2) early, sending the Mets to their fifth loss in a row—all at home. In the first, Jimmy Rollins hit a one-out single, and Bobby Abreu drove him in with an RBI double one out later. Lieberthal, who had three RBIs, followed with a soft, looping single to center to make it 2-0.
Burrell, who’s had remarkable success at Shea Stadium, hit an 0-1 pitch from Heilman into the first deck in left field to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. It was Burrell’s 11th career homer at Shea, and third against the Mets this year. Heilman allowed eight runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings in his fourth major league start—by far his worst.
Philadelphia broke it open in the fifth, scoring six times. Byrd hit a leadoff single and Rollins and Jim Thome walked to load the bases. Abreu drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Lieberthal followed with a two-run double— ending Heilman’s night.
Dan Wheeler came in and got one out, but Perez drove in another run on a play that was indicative of the type of night the Mets had.
Second baseman Jay Bell dashed out to right as Roger Cedeno came charging in after Perez’s blooper. Bell tried to make the play, but the ball hit off the top of his glove and fell to the ground as Bell and Cedeno fell over each other and Perez ended up on second with a double.
The starting lineups were announced before the game in both English and Spanish as part of the Merengue Night festivities, and Cedeno received a smattering of boos both times.
The Mets have allowed 11 total runs in the first inning oftheir last three games.
Cedeno, the Mets MVP?
July 10, 2003 - Mets fans derisively chanted “MVP!” each time Roger Cedeno batted.
A night after Philadelphia went hitless for six innings, Thome and Mike Lieberthal capped a four-run first with back-to-back homers as the Phillies beat the New York Mets 7-2 Thursday night.
Second-place Philadelphia has won three straight and remains 8 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the NL East. The Mets have lost four in a row and are 20 games back in last place. The last time New York was this far out of first so early in the season was June 9, 1993, when they fell 20 1/2 back.
For the second straight day, the Mets were in a deep hole before coming to bat. Tom Glavine allowed three of his first four batters to score against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.
Trachsel (8-6) had been the Mets’ most consistent pitcher recently, winning four of five starts—including a one-hit shutout at Anaheim on June 15— before his shortest outing of the season. In 1 2-3 innings, he allowed eight hits, seven runs and two walks—one intentional.
Glavine allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings and tied a season high with five walks.July 9, 2003 - Tom Glavine thinks a machine is ruining baseball. Especially for him. The two-time Cy Young Award winner lost to his old team for the third time this season as the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 6-3 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep and make Russ Ortiz the National League’s first 12-game winner.
Glavine blamed the loss partly on the machine used to evaluate umpires, saying it’s caused them to shrink his strike zone to an impossibly narrow width. At Shea Stadium, where the Questec system is used, Glavine is 2-7. On the road, he’s 4-2.
He says umpires have told Mets catchers that they will not call pitches on the corners at Shea because they don’t want the machine to give them poor grades.
Glavine said he’s heard throughout his career complaints that his strike zone “was 24 inches wide and everyone else’s was 10.” Echoing to the complaints of Arizona’s Curt Schilling, he says it’s no longer possible to know in advance what’s a ball and what’s a strike. And because of that, Glavine says only power pitchers can be successful. Finesse guys who work the corners are out of luck.
Many Braves are quite familiar with Glavine, who spent 16 seasons with Atlanta before signing with the Mets in December. New York expected the two-time Cy Young Award winner to lead the Mets back into the playoffs.
Instead, the eight-time All-Star heads into the All-Star break with a losing record for just the third time in his major league career. Still, even if he had known the machine would be at Shea Stadium, he wouldn’t have changed his mind about coming to New York.
Glavine allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings and tied a season high with five walks. He dropped to 0-3 against Atlanta this season and has allowed 16 runs in 15 2-3 innings against the Braves—a 9.19 ERA.
Reynolds wraps Mets
July 8, 2003 - Except for a late twist, Shane Reynolds could’ve been pitching for the New York Mets instead of beating them.
Reynolds shut down the team that tried to sign him earlier this season and Jung Keun Bong provided timely relief as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Mets 5-3 Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.
Abruptly cut by Houston on March 27, Reynolds was courted by several clubs. The Mets nearly had him, but the deal came apart when they wanted him to start at Triple-A Norfolk.
Vinny Castilla homered and drove in three runs for the Braves. Chipper Jones went 0-for-3 with two walks, ending his career-best streak of two straight multihomer games.
The Mets broke out their blue hats for the first time this year, but they did not bring much luck. Rookie Jason Roach, pitching in place of injured Al Leiter, fell behind after three batters and New York never led.
Reynolds (6-4) reversed a recent slide that saw his lose three starts in a row, getting tagged for 16 runs and 24 hits in 15 innings. He escaped two early jams, with shortstop Rafael Furcal making a smart play to end one and snaring a bases-loaded liner to halt the other.
Chipper still killing Mets
July 7, 2003 - For Chipper Jones, it’s all so simple.
“I’m seeing the ball really good right now. I’m just making contact,” Jones said after homering twice for the second straight day to help the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 7-3 Monday night.
Jones hit a three-run homer in the first inning and added a solo shot in the eighth for his 28th multihomer game.
He hit two home runs in the Braves’ 7-5 win over the Montreal Expos on Sunday for his first multihomer game this season. It is the first time in his career that he’s hit two or more in consecutive games.
While Jones provided the offensive spark, rookie Horacio Ramirez shut down the Mets by throwing his first complete game as a major leaguer. The left-hander, making his 15th career start, gave up one earned run and four hits in winning his seventh consecutive decision since losing to Florida on April 11.
Ramirez (8-2) struck out seven and walked two in throwing Atlanta’s first complete game since Kevin Millwood last Sept. 6 against Montreal. The Braves were last team in the major leagues to throw a complete game.
The public address announcer mistakenly announced injured shortstop Jose Reyes was starting and batting eighth. When he corrected himself and said Rey Sanchez would be in Reyes’ place, there was a smattering of boos from fans.
Mets blow lead and get blown out
July 2, 2003 - The way the first three innings went for Montreal, manager Frank Robinson thought he was in for another long night.
Then the New York Mets got sloppy and Livan Hernandez got stingy, sending the Expos to Atlanta on a winning note.
Brian Schneider and Edwards Guzman had two RBIs apiece as Montreal used a pair of five-run innings to beat New York 11-4 Wednesday night.
Hernandez (7-6) settled down after a shaky start, holding New York scoreless over his final five innings to salvage the finale of the three-game series.
The Expos start a four-game series against the first-place Braves on Thursday night. Montreal is in third place in the NL East, seven games behind Atlanta.
The Mets broke out to a 4-0 lead after three innings but fell apart after that. They committed four errors and failed in an attempt for their first series sweep of the season.
Jae Weong Seo (5-4) faced the minimum nine batters in the first three innings before Montreal capitalized on the porous fielding and poor pitching to score five runs each in the fourth and fifth.
The Expos batted around both innings, sending 22 batters to the plate, and every starter scored in one of the two frames, with Brad Wilkerson coming across twice.
The Mets committed three errors, walked four batters—including two with the bases loaded—and had a balk in the two innings.
The crowd of 35,547 that came to see the postgame fireworks let the Mets have it all night for their poor play. Cliff Floyd dropped a routine fly in the sixth inning and Clark misplayed another grounder in the eighth that was scored a hit. Clark also struck out all four times he batted.
Jeromy Burnitz hit a solo homer in the first for the Mets and Phillips hit a leadoff shot in the second inning. Phillips added a two-run single in the third to make it 4-0.
Alomar dealt to White Sox, Benitez blows save, but wins
July 1, 2003 - Interim GM Jim Duquette continued the overhaul of the Mets' roster when he dealt second baseman Roberto Alomar to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. In exchange for the 12-time All-Star, the Mets received prospects Royce Ring, Edwin Almonte and Andrew Salvo.
Alomar was traded to the Chicago White Sox ending a disappointing 1 year stay in New York in which he failed to live up to his elite billing. Phillips started New York’s winning rally with a one-out single off Julio Manon (0-2). One out later, Jose Reyes hit a grounder up the middle that second baseman Jose Vidro bobbled before throwing too late to get pinch-runner McEwing.
With the Mets ahead 6-3 in the eighth, Graeme Lloyd allowed Orlando Cabrera’s sacrifice fly. Benitez (2-3) came in with two outs and a runner on and gave up a game-tying homer to Vidro.
It was the sixth blown save in 25 chances for Benitez, who was booed even as he retired the next four batters.
Aaron Heilman also showcased his baserunning in the fourth to tie the game at 2. After drawing a walk to start the inning, he went to third on Timo Perez’s single and scored on Rey Sanchez’s sacrifice fly, both times arriving just ahead of the throw.
Heilman allowed just one earned run in six innings in his debut last Thursday, but was done in by New York’s four errors. Against the Expos, it was the Mets’ bullpen that cost him a win, but the rookie remains patient.