| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- After being out for four months, Darryl Hamilton
made his presence felt immediately.
Hamilton hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run Wednesday night in
the New York Mets' 12-5 victory over the Houston Astros.
The outfielder returned to the club after missing 107 games with
a sprained left foot, injured April 7 in New York's sixth game of
the year.
|  | | Jay Payton, who homered off Jose Lima (right) later in the game, touches the plate safely to score on a wild pitch in the second inning. |
The Mets outfield is a little more crowded now. Left fielder
Benny Agbayani is hitting .313 and center fielder Jay Payton is at
.291.
"I don't think that's a dilemma," Valentine said. "I think
it's a strength of the team."
Hamilton's teammates agree -- even Agbayani, who admits he was
surprised he was lifted for Hamilton in the sixth.
"It just makes us that much stronger," Agbayani said. "We're
coming down the stretch where we need everybody.
"Sure you have concerns when you're pulled. I'm right in a
groove and you don't know how it's going to work out. But when
Bobby said Darryl was hitting, I just said 'OK.' You can't get mad at
the decision."
Hamilton, who lives in Houston, was elated to finally be playing
again.
"I was excited, no doubt," Hamilton said. "It felt kind of
weird. I look at this as the first at-bat of the season because
it's been so long since I've seen major league pitching.
"I knew it was hit pretty good, but I was surprised it went
out. It was good to get that first at-bat out of the way mostly and
it felt especially good to get the home run here in Houston."
It was the first ball to hit the left-field scoreboard wall and
careen into the visitors' bullpen. Under Enron Field ground rules
that is a home run.
"I wasn't sure at first," Hamilton said. "I looked into the
bullpen and they were signaling home run. I knew it had good
placement when the outfielder started looking around the corner (of
the scoreboard).
"But I wasn't thinking home run then. I was just thinking extra
bases until they said it was a home run."
Rick Reed (7-2) won his third straight decision by allowing four
runs -- three earned -- on eight hits. He struck out four and walked
none.
Mike Piazza, 2-for-5 including his 30th home run in the eighth
inning, missed New York's previous three games with a mild knee
sprain. He was injured running to first base at Arizona on
Saturday.
Todd Zeile went 3-for-5 to lead a 16-hit New York attack.
Jose Lima (4-14) lost for the first time since July 4. He was
3-0 with two no-decisions since the All-Star break. The
right-hander went 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs on seven
hits -- four for extra bases.
Payton's home run in the second was the 36th allowed by Lima
this season, extending Lima's major league-leading total and club
record.
"Lima continues to be disappointing," manager Larry Dierker
said. "If he were to pitch inside more, they wouldn't know what to
do. All he does is throw his change-up out over the plate. He's
making it real easy for the hitters."
Lima had predicted he would not lose the second half of the
season. "I stunk. I have no excuses," Lima said. "The way this
season's going, no more promises."
Julio Lugo, who was 3-for-5 with a home run, led off the Houston
first with a single to left and stole second. He went to third on a
Jeff Bagwell's single and scored on Lance Berkman's sacrifice fly
for a 1-0 lead.
The Mets answered in the second when Zeile's triple drove in
Robin Ventura, who walked. Zeile scored on a wild pitch with Payton
at the plate. Four pitches later, Payton hit his 10th homer to make
it 3-1.
In the third, Agbayani led off with a double and scored on Derek
Bell's triple. Edgardo Alfonzo singled in Bell to give the Mets a
5-1 lead.
Tony Eusebio hit his sixth home in the fifth to pull the Astros
within 7-2.
The Astros made it 9-4 in the seventh on Lugo's third home run
of the year. Daryle Ward hit his 16th home run off New York
reliever Turk Wendell in the eighth.
Game notes
Astros OF Roger Cedeno, out since May 26 with a broken left
hand, will begin a one-week rehab assignment Thursday at Triple-A
New Orleans. ... Eusebio extended his career-high hitting streak to
14 games, the longest by a catcher in franchise history. ... The
Mets have at least one home run in 18 of their last 26 games and 27
total during the span. ... The Mets have six pinch-hit homers this
season.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
NY Mets Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 6
Texas 4
Baltimore 5
Detroit 2
NY Yankees 12
Oakland 1
Tampa Bay 5
Minnesota 4
Chi. White Sox 19
Seattle 3
Kansas City 5
Toronto 3
Boston 4
Anaheim 2
Florida 5
St. Louis 3
Colorado 4
Pittsburgh 3
San Francisco 9
Milwaukee 3
Cincinnati 10
Atlanta 6
Philadelphia 3
San Diego 2
NY Mets 12
Houston 5
Montreal 4
Arizona 3
Chicago Cubs 5
Los Angeles 4
|
