Mets News Articles From Thursday June 1, 2006

[GaryMrMets]

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Mets triumph in plucky 13th
Valentin, Chavez deliver

BY ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Pedro Martinez matched Brandon Webb zero for zero last night. In the end, neither ace had anything to show for his dominating effort - a fate Martinez is suffering with regularity.

At least Martinez could take comfort in this: Endy Chavez's 13th-inning single to right-center on a sinker from Jason Grimsley scored Jose Valentin from third base and lifted the Mets to a 1-0 win against the NL West-leading Diamondbacks last night at Shea.

The Mets (32-20) won the rubber game of the three-game set and now hold a 4 1/2-game lead in the NL East over second-place Atlanta, which leapfrogged Philadelphia.

"Just the fact that I had them in that position to actually win it at any moment was actually my win for today," said Martinez, who went winless in May, the first month of his career with at least five starts that he failed to notch a victory.

"I'll just settle for that any time. I know I'm going to win a lot more games than I'm going to lose, or that I'm going to have no-decisions."

Valentin, 7-for-16 with two homers and six RBI in four straight starts since Willie Randolph stripped Kaz Matsui of the everyday second-base job, had led off the 13th with a double. He advanced to third on pinch-hitter Ramon Castro's groundout. Duaner Sanchez, who tossed three scoreless relief innings, requiring only 27 pitches, improved to 3-0.

"Championship teams have to win some games like this," Valentin said.

The victory was the second 1-0 win by the Mets this season, the other coming when Tom Glavine outdueled John Thomson in Atlanta on April 29, which happened to be the day after Martinez last won a game.

Martinez tossed eight scoreless innings, delivering 106 pitches before turning the ball over to Billy Wagner (two scoreless innings). The ace remained winless in a six-start span during which he's 0-1 with five no-decisions despite posting a 2.14 ERA. Martinez's six straight starts without recording a victory is the longest stretch since he went winless in his final seven starts of the 2001 season with the Red Sox, a four-month span that included a lengthy disabled list stint for shoulder soreness. The Mets entered last night having lost Martinez's last four starts.

Webb, who entered last night off consecutive complete-game shutouts against the Braves and Reds that improved his record to 8-0, ran his scoreless-innings streak to 25 before departing for a pinch-hitter in the eighth. He owns the longest scoreless streak in the majors this season, surpassing the 21 tossed by Sanchez to open the season.

"When you come out and throw 20-something innings without letting up a run, that's letting you know you're probably going to have a good year," Sanchez said. "You have to enjoy it when it's going on because you never know when it's going to end."

Valentin continued to take charge of the up-for-grabs second-base position. He did it with his bat and his glove. Valentin dived to his right to snare Webb's hard second-inning grounder, then tossed to Jose Reyes covering second to force out Orlando Hudson for the inning's final out - preventing Johnny Estrada from scoring. With two out, right fielder Lastings Milledge had Estrada's liner to right glance off his glove for an error to prolong the inning, but no damage ensued.

Milledge, starting only his second major-league game, struck out twice and went 0-for-4 before being lifted on a double-switch, but he made amends for his fielding lapse. The rookie gunned out Craig Counsell trying to go first-to-third on Chad Tracy's sixth-inning single. Martinez was among the players waiting to high-five Milledge in front of the dugout once the ace got Luis Gonzalez on a flyout to end the inning.

"Who knows, probably that base hit could have made the score 2-0, or 1-0," Valentin said of his second-inning fielding play. "It could be a lot different ballgame."

Originally published on June 1, 2006

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Endy Chavez shows Mets are No. 1 as his hit in 13th inning tops Arizona.

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Pedro Martinez salutes rookie Lastings Milledge for gunning down Craig Counsell at third, ...

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... helping to keep duel with Brandon Webb scoreless.

[GaryMrMets]

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Month later, Pedro the ace still looking for winning hand

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It was a welcome piece of timing, almost too good to be baseball the way it's played in this pumped-up century. A pitching duel - you remember, two special starters on the same field - between the undefeated Brandon Webb and the unlucky Pedro Martinez, a night before the wide-body that is Barry Bonds lands on the back page. Bonds? Bonds? We don't need no steenkin' Bonds.

The pitchers were as good as advertised. They lowered their already ridiculously low earned-run averages and, when they were done, Webb after seven, Martinez an inning later, a total of nine singles allowed between them, the scoreboard was a string of zeros.

The quiet bats continued into the 13th inning, when a double seemed like a nice idea. Jose Valentin hit it into the left field corner and came home on the one-out walk-off single by Endy Chavez. That was it, the only run.

Webb came into the game with a 2.18 ERA. His last start he gave up seven hits and won. That same day Martinez allowed five hits and was a loser. Six days earlier, each pitcher allowed four hits. Another no-decision, another unlucky piece of work for Martinez. The man deserves a break and, instead, he draws the 8-0 Webb. The man needs runs and all the Mets give him is not quite enough. He's 5-1, but if the stars had lined up the right way during his 11 starts, he could be 11-0. No kidding, 11-0.

"I've never seen him blame nobody," Valentin said before the game. "We got to help him with runs. Make it easy for him. But it's not gonna be easy because he's our ace and most of the time he faces the other team's ace."

If Webb is a star on the rise, Martinez, 34, is already on the road to Cooperstown. One sad stretch won't stop him: he hasn't won since April 28.

"When they go out there, you're confident they'll win," said Arizona manager Bob Melvin. "That's what No. 1 guys do. The Mets feel the same way when Pedro takes the mound."

Sure, but nobody thought the faucet would turn off April28, or that the Mets would lose his four starts before this one. They Mets were six games ahead in first place back then and have lost only 1-1/2 games off that lead. No telling where they'd be now if Pedro was getting the good bounces.

"We won," he said later. "That's all that matters. I kept us in a position to win. That was my win today."

The second inning, two out, Martinez got Johnny Estrada to hit a routine fly to right. Routine, that is, until the ball flopped in and out of Lastings Milledge's rookie glove. Orlando Hudson followed with a single and it was first and second. Martinez left them there.

And when he headed into the dugout, Martinez patted Milledge on the back. "We're all gonna make mistakes," the pitcher said. "He made one. That's all."

Milledge is so new - he came up Tuesday - it's as if he's getting on-the-job training. "The game's so crazy," the outfielder said. "It's not always offense. A defensive play can save the game."

Why, yes, that can happen. And to prove it to himself, Milledge made a defensive play in the sixth inning that is, until further notice, The Great Throw of 2006.

Craig Counsell led off the inning with a single and one out later Eric Byrnes added another single to right. Counsell probably understood that this game might be decided by a run, maybe less, and so he kept going until he reached third.

Where David Wright was waiting with the baseball - shot like a cannon from Milledge's talented right arm. Not even close.

"Every fly ball, every out is crucial here," Milledge said. "It's not like the minors where you think, 'Oh, we'll get it back,' or 'It ain't on TV.'"

He struck out twice in his only two chances against Webb, and treated those at-bats like a veteran. "Two strikeouts against the best ERA in the league. I wasn't too upset about that."

Nothing should be upsetting these Mets, who have won their last four series. So when Willie Randolph was asked if Pedro was getting frustrated - the answer, of course, was going to be no, not a bit - but the manager had something better for us. "Just the opposite," he said. "He's been as jolly as anyone on our team. He knows that's part of the game."

Thirteen innings, and one extra-base hit. Pitching and defense. It doesn't get any jollier than that.

Originally published on June 1, 2006

[GaryMrMets]

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Milledge turns boos into oohs

BY SEAN BRENNAN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

It certainly is not taking long for Lastings Milledge to experience all the highs and lows of being a major leaguer.

One day after the euphoria of stroking his first big-league hit, Milledge got his first taste of Met-fan wrath when he botched a Johnny Estrada liner to right in the second inning for his first major-league error last night.

It was followed quickly by his first major-league boos.

"My parents were there," Milledge said. "They'll probably kill me for making an error. But it was a bad play on my part and (the fans) let me know about it. I didn't get upset about it. I would have booed myself. I didn't feel bad about them booing me on the play. But it was kind of like they had a short memory."

That they did, because four innings later, the rookie right fielder made what could have been a game-saving play in what turned into a 1-0 Mets win in 13 innings.

Arizona shortstop Craig Counsell was on first with one out in the scoreless game when Chad Tracy singled through the hole at second base into right field. Counsell, trying to be aggressive, never broke stride and motored on to third base. But Milledge played the ball flawlessly, charging it before firing a bullet to David Wright at third, well in front of a sliding Counsell. It left Arizona with a runner on first with two out instead of runners on the corners with one out.

And all was forgiven by the Shea fans.

"It was a good thing for him to get his first few boos," Willie Randolph said of the early error. "I guess now he's officially a New Yorker. It keeps him humble. But he made an outstanding throw and David put a good tag on him. It was a big, big play at the right time."

Milledge said he had Counsell in his sights all along.

"The whole time between catching the ball and throwing the ball I was like, 'You know what, if this guy goes I'm going to get him.' And as soon as it left my hand I knew I had him."

While Milledge's parents may give him an earful for the error, Pedro Martinez made sure he talked to Milledge after the miscue to show him some support.

"He's a young kid and he's going to make mistakes," said Martinez, who greeted Milledge at the dugout after the second inning. "I wanted to show support and tell him I'll pick him up anytime."

Of Milledge's throw, Martinez said, "It was great. It was exactly what he needed after making the error."

Said the 21-year-old Milledge: "It means a lot to me for a veteran to stay in there with me to encourage me so I can go out and make more plays."

Milledge is hitting .125 through two games, after going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts last night. But it's not always about what he does with the bat.

"Sometimes a defensive play can save the game."

Like last night, for example.

Originally published on June 1, 2006

[GaryMrMets]

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Valentin & Chavez give depth charge

BY CHRISTIAN RED
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Both Jose Valentin and Endy Chavez had seen enough of journeyman pitcher Jason Grimsley to know what to expect last night when they came to the plate in the bottom of the 13th inning.

"He throws the sinkerball and you've just got to be patient," Chavez said of the Diamondbacks' sixth pitcher of the evening.

After Valentin stroked a leadoff double and advanced to third on a Ramon Castro groundout, Chavez had to be patient all of two pitches; on the second, he drove a 1-0 sinker into a wide open patch of center field for the game-winning RBI single.

"I saw the outfielder and nobody was there," Chavez said, referring to Arizona center fielder Eric Byrnes, who was playing shallow with Valentin on third base and only one out. Byrnes had earlier robbed Carlos Delgado of an extra-base hit with a great catch, but this time he was far from Chavez's hit.

And while there will probably be many more nights for stars like Carlos Beltran or Delgado to be the heroes at the plate, the Mets have plenty of faith in their bench players to come through in the clutch as well.

"How 'bout that? What a team effort," said Willie Randolph. "It was an unbelievable job by everybody."

He wasn't kidding. In addition to the regular starters, Randolph used all five reserves available to him as the game crept closer to this morning. Chavez was inserted in right field in the top of the 11th on a double switch, replacing starter Lastings Milledge. Chavez later switched to center in the 12th and Chris Woodward came in to play right after Carlos Beltran had to leave the game with a bruised right knee.

Valentin, meanwhile, made his fourth straight start at second base, though displaced starter Kaz Matsui was a pinch-runner for Julio Franco after Franco hit a pinch-hit single in the eighth. But it was Valentin's and Chavez's clutch at-bats that finally ended the three-hour, 19-minute drama. Chavez was 2-for-2 on the night.

"I don't want to say we're good enough to win it all. There's still a lot of baseball left," said Valentin, who went 2-for-5, upping his average to .264, and collected one of four hits off Arizona starter Brandon Webb. "But sooner or later you're going to have to battle like today later in the season. To win a World Series, a championship series, you have to win one-run games. This is a team that won't give up."

Originally published on June 1, 2006

[GaryMrMets]

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Beltran bruised, but not battered

By ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Carlos Beltran, who fouled a ball off the inside of his right knee in the 11th inning, suffered a bruise that still hurt after the game, but X-rays were negative.

Beltran limped, then settled on the grass behind the plate, where trainer Ray Ramirez and Willie Randolph attended to him. He completed the at-bat, striking out to strand Endy Chavez at second base. Beltran then left the game, forcing Chris Woodward to play right field and moved Chavez to center.

"When it happened I felt it was going to be something worse," said Beltran, who hopes he'll be available to play after today's off day. "The pain I was feeling was unbearable. I felt like my leg shut down, and my quad, I didn't have strength to get up on my own."

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STOCK IN BONDS: Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth on the all-time homer list last weekend, but his arrival tomorrow in Flushing still figures to create quite a stir.

"I think we should celebrate it rather than have a cloud over his head," Paul Lo Duca said. "When you hit 715 home runs, I don't care what league you're in, that's a lot of home runs. I'm going to give him a handshake and congratulate him. To me, I think we should celebrate him, because we might be watching the best player to ever play the game."

CROSS TO BEAR: Randolph instructed Lastings Milledge to tuck in the large cross the rookie wore around his neck during his major-league debut. ... Alay Soler gets another start Monday in Los Angeles, Mets brass said. Soler allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings Tuesday.... John Maine is scheduled to make a rehab start tonight for Triple-A Norfolk. Maine, on the disabled list with middle finger inflammation, tossed five scoreless innings Saturday for high-A St. Lucie.... The Mets signed catcher Mike DiFelice and outfielder Jacob Cruz. The former major-leaguers will be assigned to Norfolk....Xavier Nady, who had an emergency appendectomy Tuesday morning, was released from the hospital yesterday. He's expected to attend tomorrow's game. ...Jorge Julio, who tossed a scoreless 12th against the Mets, visited his former team's clubhouse after the game.

REMEMBER WHEN? Last night marked the most innings before a run was scored since a 1-0 win against Philadelphia in 14innings on Opening Day in 1998. ... Brandon Webb got a no-decision to remain 8-0. The last time the Mets faced a pitcher with that record, they beat Pedro Martinez, 7-0, when he was with the Expos on May 28, 1997 behind a four-hit shutout from Bobby Jones.

PITT CREW: Lo Duca leads NL catchers in the first voting results released for the July11 All-Star game in Pittsburgh. Lo Duca (273,059) is narrowly ahead of ex-Met Mike Piazza (264,787). Carlos Beltran (341,769) ranks second among outfielders, and would start with Andruw Jones (420,462) and Jim Edmonds (334,027) if balloting ended today.

Originally published on June 1, 2006