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Friday, October 6, 2000
Another SAN FRANCISCO -- There's one more amazin' chapter in the New York Mets' wild playoff history.
amazin’ game
for Mets
New York stuns San Francisco
in an extra-inning thriller
to tie series at 1-1By Greg Beacham
Associated PressJay Payton's RBI single in the 10th inning and John Franco's game-ending strikeout of Barry Bonds lifted New York to a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants yesterday.
But the Mets didn't even their National League division series at 1-1 without another dose of the postseason theatrics that seem to follow them everywhere in October.
From the '69 Mets' miracle title run to Robin Ventura's grand slam "single" last year in the NL championship series against Atlanta, New York can't seem to simply win in the postseason.
Closer Armando Benitez caused much of the drama when he allowed J.T. Snow's pinch-hit homer off Pacific Bell Park's brick wall in right field, blowing a three-run New York lead in the ninth.
"Stuff like this seems to happen to the Mets," said Darryl Hamilton, who scored the go-ahead run.
Starter Al Leiter dominated the Giants for eight excellent innings, but was reduced to a cheerleader in the 10th after Benitez failed yet again in the postseason. Leiter was one of the first players out of the dugout when Franco got the first postseason save of his 16-year career.
"I feel bad for Armando. He's been there for us all year," Leiter said. "Doesn't seem like we do it easy, but that will hopefully build momentum for Game 3."
The series continues tomorrow at Shea Stadium.
With Bonds and Jeff Kent on base and New York leading 4-1 with one out in the ninth, Snow launched the first pinch-hit homer of his career. The ball hit the facing of the walkway over right field and landed maybe 2 feet to the left of the foul pole.
"When I hit it, I just hoped it stayed fair," Snow said. "Of course, none of that matters right now."
As the Giants' fans went wild, Benitez's shoulders sagged into an all-too-familiar pose. He allowed three game-deciding hits the 1997 AL championship series while he was with Baltimore, including a game-winning, series-ending homer by Cleveland's Tony Fernandez that broke up an 11th-inning scoreless tie.
Felix Rodriguez, one of the game's top setup men for San Francisco this season, had a night that made Benitez's look good. He allowed a two-run homer by Edgardo Alfonzo in the ninth that looked like nothing more than insurance at the time.
Rodriguez was still on the mound in the 10th when Hamilton, who missed nearly four months of the season with an arthritic left toe, lined the ball to right-center for a double. Payton followed with a short single that brought home Hamilton.
"We knew we were going to get another chance to go up there and swing the bats," Payton said.
10 innings METS 5, GIANTS 4
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO ab r h bi ab r h bi Perez rf 5 1 3 2 CMurray cf 4 0 1 0 Alfonzo 2b 5 1 1 2 Benard ph 0 0 0 0 Piazza c 4 0 2 0 Mueller 3b 5 0 1 0 Zeile 1b 5 0 0 0 Bonds lf 5 1 1 0 Ventura 3b 3 0 0 0 Kent 1b 4 2 2 0 Agbayani lf 2 0 1 0 Burks rf 3 0 1 1 McEwing lf 0 0 0 0 REMrtinez 2b 3 0 0 0 Hamilton lf 1 1 1 0 Snow 1b 1 1 1 3 Payton cf 5 1 1 1 Aurilia ss 4 0 0 0 Bordick ss 4 1 1 0 Estalella c 4 0 0 0 ALeiter p 4 0 0 0 Estes p 0 0 0 0 Benitez p 0 0 0 0 Rueter p 0 0 0 0 JFranco p 0 0 0 0 DHenry p 0 0 0 0 Crespo ph 1 0 0 0 FARdriguez p 0 0 0 0 Rios ph 1 0 1 0 Totals 38 5 10 5 Totals 35 4 8 4
New York 020 000 002 1--5 San Francisco 010 000 003 0--4 DP--New York 1, San Francisco 2. LOB--New York 9, San Francisco 5. 2B--Piazza (1), Hamilton (1), Bonds (1), Burks (1). HR--Alfonzo (1), Snow (1). SB--Kent (1). S--Benard.
New York
ip h r er bb so ALeiter 8 5 2 2 3 6 Benitez W,1-0 1 3 2 2 0 0 JFranco S,1 1 0 0 0 0 1
San Francisco
ip h r er bb so Estes 3 3 2 2 3 3 Rueter 4 1/3 3 0 0 1 1 DHenry 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 FARodriguez L,0-1 2 4 3 3 0 3 ALeiter pitched to 1 batter in the 9th, Benitez pitched to 1 batter in the 10th.
HBP--by Estes (Ventura). T--3:41. A--40,430.
DIVISION PLAYOFF SERIES
American League
All Times HSTChicago vs. Seattle
Tuesday
Seattle 7, Chicago 4, 10 innings
Wednesday
Seattle 5, Chicago 2 (Seattle leads series, 2-0)
Today
Chicago (Baldwin 14-7) at Seattle (Sele 17-10), 10:07 a.m. (ESPN)
Tomorrow
Chicago at Seattle, 10:18 a.m. (FOX), if necessary
Sunday
Seattle at Chicago, 10:07 a.m. (ESPN) or 2 p.m. (FOX), if necessary (2 p.m. if Giants-Mets and Athletics-Yankees are over)Oakland vs. New York
Tuesday
Oakland 5, New York 3
Wednesday
New York 4, Oakland 0 (series tied 1-1
Today
Oakland (Hudson 20-6) at New York (Hernandez 12-13), 2:08 p.m. (NBC)
Tomorrow
Oakland (Zito 7-4) at New York (Clemens 13-8), 1:38 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday
New York at Oakland, 2 p.m. (FOX), if necessary
National League
All times HSTSan Francisco vs. New York
Wednesday
San Francisco 5, New York 1
Yesterday
New York 5, San Francisco 4, 10 innings (series tied, 1-1)
Tomorrow
San Francisco (Ortiz 13-12) at New York (Reed 11-5), 7:07 a.m. (ESPN) or 10:18 a.m. (FOX) (becomes 10:18 a.m. if White Sox-Mariners is a sweep)
Sunday, Oct. 8
San Francisco at New York, 10:07 a.m. (ESPN) or 2 p.m. (FOX), (becomes night game if Athletics-Yankees is over)
Monday
New York at San Francisco, 2:18 p.m. (FOX), if necessarySt. Louis vs. Atlanta
Tuesday
St. Louis 7, Atlanta 5
Yesterday
St. Louis 10, Atlanta 4 (St. Louis leads series 2-0)
Tomorrow
St. Louis (Stephenson 16-9, An.Benes 12-9 or Hentgen 15-12) at Atlanta (Maddux 19-9 or Millwood 10-13), 7:07 a.m. (ESPN)
Sunday
St. Louis at Atlanta, 7:07 a.m. (ESPN) or 2 p.m. (FOX), if necessary (becomes night game if all other series are over)
Monday
Atlanta at St. Louis, 10:07 a.m. (ESPN) or 2:18 p.m. (FOX), if necessary (becomes night game if Giants-Mets is over)
