GaryMrMets
06-02-2004, 03:10 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/8815505.htm
Posted on Wed, Jun. 02, 2004
Wacky, but not wonderful
Bizarre events lead to Mets' victory in 10 innings
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
THE FULL MOON was in full effect last night.
A balk, a botched pitchout and an unlikely pinch-hit homer marked a night when former Phillies haunted the current ones in an odd, 4-1, extra-inning loss last night to the visiting Mets.
Todd Zeile (1996) smacked a homer off Rheal Cormier to tie it in the eighth and laced a 10th-inning RBI single off Tim Worrell for the winning run. It was made possible by Ricky Bottalico (1994-98, 2001-02), who provided 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. That included a nifty ninth-inning escape with two on and one out, coaxing a popup from Bobby Abreu and striking out Jason Michaels looking.
"I was happy as hell to get out of that jam," Bottalico said.
The Phillies, toothless offensively for the last eight games and 3-5 because of it, are anything but happy.
Last night they assured themselves of a series loss for the first time in seven sets, the last coming when the Cardinals visited May 4-6. They stranded 12 runners and went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Each of the first eight slots in the batting order failed at least once. They are 7-for-71 in the last eight games.
The full moon had nothing to do with that. They remain second worst in the National League in the category.
"We had our opportunities," manager Larry Bowa said. "We just didn't come up with the hit to break it open."
Vance Wilson added a pinch-hit home run that drove in Zeile - odder still since Wilson was pinch-hitting for Bottalico, who occupied Phillies killer Mike Piazza's spot. Piazza, a lousy first baseman at this stage of his conversion from catcher, had been double-switched after he batted in the eighth. It also was the first pinch homer of Wilson's 6-year career.
"When you don't get a lot of playing time, you feel like if you don't do something you'll get buried more and more," said Wilson, freshly exhumed.
Zeile's game-winning RBI came after Kaz Matsui led off the 10th with a single and stole second - on a pitchout from Worrell to Todd Pratt. Zeile swung through the pitchout, losing his bat, but the blatant attempt at protecting Matsui was ruled neither illegal (despite Pratt's protests) nor effective. Matsui simply beat Pratt's throw, thanks to Worrell baiting Matsui a bit too well.
"I made the decision to be a little slower so he would go," Worrell said. "I sold it so well, he made it easily."
All Zeile had to do then was poke one back up the middle.
"When I first hit it, I wasn't sure," he said. "He came at me hard in and I kind of threw my bat at it. I got it past [Worrell] and that's all I really wanted. To get it through was a bonus."
That's what the two starters got - bonuses in the forms of poor opposing offenses.
The Mets' Al Leiter needed a team to help him ease back into his groove after spending 3 weeks on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Flu-ridden Kevin Millwood, meanwhile, sought a similarly unimposing foe in his first start with a revamped delivery - that is, one in which his left foot lands pointing toward home plate instead of Philadelphia International Airport.
Talk about right place, right time.
The Phillies, a team that had scored just 15 earned runs in their past seven games, hosted Leiter, who was pitching for the first time since May 11. He shut them out through five innings on three hits. He walked four but stranded all seven runners, four of them in scoring position.
The Mets, meanwhile, entered as the second-worst hitting team in the National League...and proceeded to score none against Millwood, who gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six in seven innings.
Pat Burrell saved him a run with a diving catch of Karim Garcia's sinking liner in the sixth (he also saved a run with a diving snag to rob Mike Cameron in the ninth) before Millwood, spent, left the lineup for pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee in the bottom of the seventh.
Ledee's insertion provided the first effective offense. He singled, moved to second on David Weathers' balk, went to third when Jimmy Rollins grounded to first and scored on Doug Glanville's single to right for a 1-0 lead.
Cormier surrendered the lead when Zeile led off the eighth with a homer to left that tied it; it was Cormier's third blown save of the season.
"He did exactly what he was supposed to do with that pitch," admitted Cormier, who, 6 days earlier, retired Zeile in a splendid faceoff that pulled the Phillies to a win. "He hit it over the wall. It was a horsebleep pitch at the wrong time."
There was more questionable timing.
With one out and runners on first and second in the ninth, the score tied, Bowa chose to pinch-hit Abreu for centerfielder Glanville. Glanville, the team's best outfielder, was 2-for-3 with that RBI, a walk and was 4-for-4 against Bottalico, who had gotten Abreu all three times they'd faced each other. Abreu, the team's best regular with runners in scoring position (.348), flied to center.
"I had a chance to win the game there," Bowa said.
"He went with his instincts on that one," Glanville philosophized. "You have to be disappointed. I was ready to rock."
Just imagine how he would have howled.
Posted on Wed, Jun. 02, 2004
Wacky, but not wonderful
Bizarre events lead to Mets' victory in 10 innings
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
THE FULL MOON was in full effect last night.
A balk, a botched pitchout and an unlikely pinch-hit homer marked a night when former Phillies haunted the current ones in an odd, 4-1, extra-inning loss last night to the visiting Mets.
Todd Zeile (1996) smacked a homer off Rheal Cormier to tie it in the eighth and laced a 10th-inning RBI single off Tim Worrell for the winning run. It was made possible by Ricky Bottalico (1994-98, 2001-02), who provided 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. That included a nifty ninth-inning escape with two on and one out, coaxing a popup from Bobby Abreu and striking out Jason Michaels looking.
"I was happy as hell to get out of that jam," Bottalico said.
The Phillies, toothless offensively for the last eight games and 3-5 because of it, are anything but happy.
Last night they assured themselves of a series loss for the first time in seven sets, the last coming when the Cardinals visited May 4-6. They stranded 12 runners and went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Each of the first eight slots in the batting order failed at least once. They are 7-for-71 in the last eight games.
The full moon had nothing to do with that. They remain second worst in the National League in the category.
"We had our opportunities," manager Larry Bowa said. "We just didn't come up with the hit to break it open."
Vance Wilson added a pinch-hit home run that drove in Zeile - odder still since Wilson was pinch-hitting for Bottalico, who occupied Phillies killer Mike Piazza's spot. Piazza, a lousy first baseman at this stage of his conversion from catcher, had been double-switched after he batted in the eighth. It also was the first pinch homer of Wilson's 6-year career.
"When you don't get a lot of playing time, you feel like if you don't do something you'll get buried more and more," said Wilson, freshly exhumed.
Zeile's game-winning RBI came after Kaz Matsui led off the 10th with a single and stole second - on a pitchout from Worrell to Todd Pratt. Zeile swung through the pitchout, losing his bat, but the blatant attempt at protecting Matsui was ruled neither illegal (despite Pratt's protests) nor effective. Matsui simply beat Pratt's throw, thanks to Worrell baiting Matsui a bit too well.
"I made the decision to be a little slower so he would go," Worrell said. "I sold it so well, he made it easily."
All Zeile had to do then was poke one back up the middle.
"When I first hit it, I wasn't sure," he said. "He came at me hard in and I kind of threw my bat at it. I got it past [Worrell] and that's all I really wanted. To get it through was a bonus."
That's what the two starters got - bonuses in the forms of poor opposing offenses.
The Mets' Al Leiter needed a team to help him ease back into his groove after spending 3 weeks on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Flu-ridden Kevin Millwood, meanwhile, sought a similarly unimposing foe in his first start with a revamped delivery - that is, one in which his left foot lands pointing toward home plate instead of Philadelphia International Airport.
Talk about right place, right time.
The Phillies, a team that had scored just 15 earned runs in their past seven games, hosted Leiter, who was pitching for the first time since May 11. He shut them out through five innings on three hits. He walked four but stranded all seven runners, four of them in scoring position.
The Mets, meanwhile, entered as the second-worst hitting team in the National League...and proceeded to score none against Millwood, who gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six in seven innings.
Pat Burrell saved him a run with a diving catch of Karim Garcia's sinking liner in the sixth (he also saved a run with a diving snag to rob Mike Cameron in the ninth) before Millwood, spent, left the lineup for pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee in the bottom of the seventh.
Ledee's insertion provided the first effective offense. He singled, moved to second on David Weathers' balk, went to third when Jimmy Rollins grounded to first and scored on Doug Glanville's single to right for a 1-0 lead.
Cormier surrendered the lead when Zeile led off the eighth with a homer to left that tied it; it was Cormier's third blown save of the season.
"He did exactly what he was supposed to do with that pitch," admitted Cormier, who, 6 days earlier, retired Zeile in a splendid faceoff that pulled the Phillies to a win. "He hit it over the wall. It was a horsebleep pitch at the wrong time."
There was more questionable timing.
With one out and runners on first and second in the ninth, the score tied, Bowa chose to pinch-hit Abreu for centerfielder Glanville. Glanville, the team's best outfielder, was 2-for-3 with that RBI, a walk and was 4-for-4 against Bottalico, who had gotten Abreu all three times they'd faced each other. Abreu, the team's best regular with runners in scoring position (.348), flied to center.
"I had a chance to win the game there," Bowa said.
"He went with his instincts on that one," Glanville philosophized. "You have to be disappointed. I was ready to rock."
Just imagine how he would have howled.