| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
CINCINNATI (AP) -- The New York Mets exchanged exuberant
high-fives on the field, then headed for the clubhouse and
celebrated some more. The prolonged laughs and whistles said this
wasn't just another win.
|  | | Todd Zeile was not sure his 10th-inning shot was going to clear the left-field wall Tuesday, but it did, giving the Mets a 3-2 win over the Reds. |
For once, the Mets were celebrating a last-inning homer instead
of lamenting one.
Todd Zeile's solo shot in the 10th inning gave New York a 3-2
victory Tuesday night over the Cincinnati Reds and snapped the
Mets' excruciating four-game losing streak.
After losing all three games over the weekend in St. Louis by
one run in the final at-bat -- two of them on homers by Jim Edmonds
-- the Mets survived another close call and turned the trend.
"I'm sure when we were going into the ninth and 10th, a lot of
guys were thinking, 'Oh, geez,' " Turk Wendell said. "It did cross
my mind."
Wendell (7-4) made the Mets think, "Oh, no!" for a second in
the bottom of the ninth, when he went to a 1-2 count on Ken Griffey
Jr. and left a fastball over the plate.
Griffey hit it a long way but never left the box, craning his
neck sideways as he watched it hook foul before landing in the
second deck in right field.
"To me, it looked like it went foul by a foot, maybe less,"
said Wendell, who hopped from the mound and drifted toward the foul
line as he watched the ball hook.
Given the reprieve, Wendell struck him out with a slider. A few
minutes later, the Mets' turnaround was complete, keeping them one
game behind Atlanta in the NL East.
Zeile's 18th homer off Scott Sullivan (2-6) barely cleared the
wall in left-center and gave the Mets a good feeling for a change.
"It was a long time coming, really," said Zeile, who was only
2-for-12 on the trip before the homer. "I wasn't sure it was going
to go out."
Sullivan figured the line drive was going beyond the wall, one
way or another.
"The ball was carrying well to the gaps tonight, but that was
an absolute rocket," Sullivan said. "He squared it up pretty
well. If that ball hadn't gone over the fence, it might've gone
through it."
Armando Benitez pitched the 10th for his 37th save, one shy of
John Franco's team record from 1998.
The Reds fell 10 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central for
the first time since July 5, matching their biggest deficit of the
season.
Rick Reed, who got the Mets' only win in their six previous
games, turned a 2-1 lead over to the bullpen in the seventh and
watched it quickly slip away.
Rick White, who gave up Edmonds' 11th-inning homer in St. Louis
on Sunday, relieved with a runner on second and gave up Chris
Stynes' two-out single that tied it.
Reed and Pete Harnisch kept it close through seven innings by
avoiding big innings -- neither team scored more than one run at a
time, and neither starter wound up with a decision.
There was nothing remarkable about another low-scoring game for
the Mets, who have been in a deep slump.
Run-scoring singles by Benny Agbayani in the third and Zeile in
the fourth put the Mets up 2-0, but they failed to get another
runner to second until Zeile rounded the bases in the 10th.
The Reds got their first run off Reed with a little hustle.
Chris Sexton stretched a hit to right-center into a double to open
the fifth and scored on Pokey Reese's two-out single, only the
Reds' fourth hit to that point.
Reed pumped his fist and twice pounded it into his glove after
Sexton flew out to the warning track in right field with two
runners aboard in the sixth, preserving the 2-1 lead. He slowly
walked off the field with head down after White was summoned in the
seventh.
Two batters later, Stynes tied it with his soft liner to left.
Harnisch, who took a liner off his leg in the third inning last
Thursday during a start in Atlanta, held the Mets to four hits in
seven innings and ran hard in all three plate appearances.
Game notes
The Mets called up utility player Joe McEwing from
Triple-A. Norfolk coach Howie Freiling also joined the Mets. ...
Reed threw 100 pitches. ... Reds SS Barry Larkin will have
arthroscopic surgery to clean out his left knee Friday and most
likely will miss the rest of the season. ... C Eddie Taubensee,
also will have surgery Friday for a bulging disc in his back. ...
The Reds called up INF Brooks Kieschnick and RHP Keith Glauber from
Triple-A Louisville.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
NY Mets Clubhouse
Cincinnati Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 10
Oakland 3
Cleveland 7
Tampa Bay 4
Detroit 7
Anaheim 5
Seattle 4
Toronto 3
Texas 2
Chi. White Sox 1
NY Yankees 10
Kansas City 5
Baltimore 6
Minnesota 5
NY Mets 3
Cincinnati 2
Atlanta 5
Arizona 2
Houston 9
Florida 5
St. Louis 7
Montreal 6
Colorado 10
Chicago Cubs 2
San Diego 3
Milwaukee 1
Pittsburgh 8
Los Angeles 0
San Francisco 8
Philadelphia 5
|
