Nymet31
08-22-2003, 12:42 PM
SAN DIEGO -- Ty Wigginton finally took the hometown jinx and tossed it in the trashcan.
The Mets have several players who grew up in or around the San Diego area, none of whom have fared particularly well in their return to Mission Valley.
Grant Roberts, who grew up in nearby El Cajon, Calif., was saddled with a loss after a shaky ninth inning on Tuesday. Jason Phillips, who starred at El Capitan High School and San Diego State, went 2-for-11 in his homecoming and was clearly pressing all week. Even the venerable Tony Clark, another El Cajon and San Diego State guy, has struggled, going 2-for-15 at Qualcomm Park.
As for Wigginton, he was 1-for-9 at The Big Q before coming to bat in the first inning Thursday afternoon. The bad run ended, though, when San Diego's Oliver Perez left an 0-1 fastball over the heart of the plate. Wigginton scooped up all the local guys and put them on his back, taking them for the kind of ride on which he sent that Perez fastball.
Wigginton rocked the offering, depositing it directly behind the 405-foot sign in centerfield, sparking the Mets to a 5-1 victory over the Padres in their final appearance ever at Qualcomm. The win snapped New York's two-game losing streak, sending the team to Los Angeles with seven victories in its last nine games and 11 in its last 16.
"Personally I would have liked to have had a better series than I did," said Wigginton, who went 2-for-11. "But [the homer] was nice. I don't think I was pressing at all. Perez has awesome stuff. I was just happy the ball got over the wall and we got the three runs on the board."
The blast, Wigginton's ninth of the season, gave him 63 RBIs and put him in solid position to catch Darryl Strawberry, who holds the club's all-time rookie RBI mark with 74 in 1983.
"Ty has juice," manager Art Howe said. "There's no doubt in my mind that he could be a 15 to 20 homer guy on a regular basis. He's still learning to drive the ball on a regular basis, though."
Roger Cedeño added a two-run homer in the second, reversing a trend that had established itself during the first two games of New York's road trip. The Mets had scored only three runs during the first two games of the series, leaving 15 men on base. It proved to be a frustrating situation for Howe, frustrating enough that he called his team together prior to the game in order to get them to focus more.
"We've been overanxious with men on base," Howe said. "I just wanted them to relax because when we get men on base, the pitcher is in trouble. We looked like we were a little more focused and did some damage."
But New York was more patient at the plate on Thursday and the early power surge provided more than enough offense for Jae Weong Seo (7-8), who earned his second consecutive victory after going through a nine-game winless slide. Mike Stanton and David Weathers combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief.
Seo went six innings, scattering six hits while striking out two and walking one. The Padres scored their lone run off him in the fourth when Marco Scutaro's error at second base allowed Ryan Klesko to score from third.
"If anything, getting the runs early gives me confidence, particularly when I'm behind on a hitter," Seo said. "It helps me to be more aggressive. I've shown that when we have one or two runs I tend to be passive. When I have more runs to work with I can attack hitters."
Perez (4-7) suffered the loss though he settled down after the first two innings. He struck out nine and retired the final 14 batters he faced.
"I can see why they want to hang onto him," Howe said of Perez, who has been mentioned in trade talks. "He has good stuff."
The Mets have several players who grew up in or around the San Diego area, none of whom have fared particularly well in their return to Mission Valley.
Grant Roberts, who grew up in nearby El Cajon, Calif., was saddled with a loss after a shaky ninth inning on Tuesday. Jason Phillips, who starred at El Capitan High School and San Diego State, went 2-for-11 in his homecoming and was clearly pressing all week. Even the venerable Tony Clark, another El Cajon and San Diego State guy, has struggled, going 2-for-15 at Qualcomm Park.
As for Wigginton, he was 1-for-9 at The Big Q before coming to bat in the first inning Thursday afternoon. The bad run ended, though, when San Diego's Oliver Perez left an 0-1 fastball over the heart of the plate. Wigginton scooped up all the local guys and put them on his back, taking them for the kind of ride on which he sent that Perez fastball.
Wigginton rocked the offering, depositing it directly behind the 405-foot sign in centerfield, sparking the Mets to a 5-1 victory over the Padres in their final appearance ever at Qualcomm. The win snapped New York's two-game losing streak, sending the team to Los Angeles with seven victories in its last nine games and 11 in its last 16.
"Personally I would have liked to have had a better series than I did," said Wigginton, who went 2-for-11. "But [the homer] was nice. I don't think I was pressing at all. Perez has awesome stuff. I was just happy the ball got over the wall and we got the three runs on the board."
The blast, Wigginton's ninth of the season, gave him 63 RBIs and put him in solid position to catch Darryl Strawberry, who holds the club's all-time rookie RBI mark with 74 in 1983.
"Ty has juice," manager Art Howe said. "There's no doubt in my mind that he could be a 15 to 20 homer guy on a regular basis. He's still learning to drive the ball on a regular basis, though."
Roger Cedeño added a two-run homer in the second, reversing a trend that had established itself during the first two games of New York's road trip. The Mets had scored only three runs during the first two games of the series, leaving 15 men on base. It proved to be a frustrating situation for Howe, frustrating enough that he called his team together prior to the game in order to get them to focus more.
"We've been overanxious with men on base," Howe said. "I just wanted them to relax because when we get men on base, the pitcher is in trouble. We looked like we were a little more focused and did some damage."
But New York was more patient at the plate on Thursday and the early power surge provided more than enough offense for Jae Weong Seo (7-8), who earned his second consecutive victory after going through a nine-game winless slide. Mike Stanton and David Weathers combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief.
Seo went six innings, scattering six hits while striking out two and walking one. The Padres scored their lone run off him in the fourth when Marco Scutaro's error at second base allowed Ryan Klesko to score from third.
"If anything, getting the runs early gives me confidence, particularly when I'm behind on a hitter," Seo said. "It helps me to be more aggressive. I've shown that when we have one or two runs I tend to be passive. When I have more runs to work with I can attack hitters."
Perez (4-7) suffered the loss though he settled down after the first two innings. He struck out nine and retired the final 14 batters he faced.
"I can see why they want to hang onto him," Howe said of Perez, who has been mentioned in trade talks. "He has good stuff."