Thursday, September 30, 1999
Mets 9, Braves 2
BY BEN WALKER
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK — The New York Mets kept insisting they just needed one big hit to break the slump that threatened to ruin their season. Against Greg Maddux, they got a week's worth.
John Olerud's grand slam highlighted a startling seven-run burst in the fourth inning and the Mets stopped a seven-game losing streak, beating the Atlanta Braves 9-2 Wednesday night.
New York, which had a team-record nine hits in the inning, ended the Braves' eight-game winning string and blunted Maddux's bid for a 20th victory.
“We always thought we were due for an inning like that,” Olerud said. “We needed it as soon as possible.”
While the outcome clearly improved the mood at Shea Stadium, the Mets remain in trouble in the standings.
The Mets (93-65) are 11/2 games behind Cincinnati and Houston (both 95-64) in the wild-card race and must win at least two of their final four games to have any chance of making the playoffs for the first time since 1988. The Astros beat the Reds 4-1, moving back into a tie for the NL Central lead.
“We need some help from those guys,” Olerud said.
Hours after the Mets exterminated their losing streak, incidentally, Shea Stadium was to be sprayed for mosquitoes that have carried the encephalitis virus to the local area.
Al Leiter (12-12), beaten by Maddux last Thursday at Turner Field, allowed two runs in seven effective innings. He not only outpitched the four-time Cy Young winner, he outhit him, too, going 2-for-2 against Maddux.
Maddux (19-9) gave up an amazing eight straight hits to begin the fourth — he had never permitted more than six hits in an inning in the majors. In all, he was tagged for a career high-tying eight runs.
“I wasn't really too upset about how I pitched in that inning,” Maddux said. “I was upset about the outcome.”
“I wasn't out there throwing BP (batting practice),” he said. “I had a lot of reasons to try to win tonight.”
Olerud's slam into the Mets' right-field bullpen made it 8-2 and brought every single person in the dugout over to greet him when he returned. The crowd of 43,922 seemed equally glad the drought, for now, was over.
“There was relief, release,” Mets manager Bobby Valentine said.
Maddux then gave up a single to Mike Piazza and was pulled, having allowed 11 hits in three-plus innings. He has given up 258 hits this year, four more than teammate Tom Glavine for most in the majors.
Though he did not become a 20-game winner for the third time, Maddux is assured of starting in the playoffs for the NL East champions.
After hitting only .115 (6-for-52) with runners in scoring position during their skid, the Mets went 6-for-8 in those spots against Maddux.
“I think everybody relaxed,” New York's Rickey Henderson said. “They stopped worrying about how many games we had to win.”
Piazza got the fans cheering with a two-out, RBI single in the first. And after Brian Jordan put Atlanta ahead 2-1 with a two-run single in the third, the Mets broke loose in the fourth.
Darryl Hamilton, Roger Cedeno and Rey Ordonez started off with singles that loaded the bases, and Leiter blooped an RBI single. Henderson followed with a two-run single off first baseman Brian Hunter's glove, and Edgardo Alfonzo singled to reload the bases.
At that point, no one was warming in the Braves' bullpen because few of the balls had been hit hard. Olerud changed that with a long, high drive for his sixth career grand slam and the Mets' team-record eighth slam of the year.
After Piazza singled, Maddux simply handed the ball to manager Bobby Cox and walked unfazed to the dugout while Mets' fans taunted him.
Hamilton added a single off reliever Kevin McGlinchy for the Mets' ninth hit in the inning.
“The Mets were waiting for something like this to happen,” Cox said. “It can't go against them forever.”
NOTES: Ordonez tied Cal Ripken's major league record for shortstops by playing his 95th straight game without an error. He made a sensational play to grab Eddie Perez's bad-hop grounder in fourth. Piazza followed by making a diving catch on Maddux's foul pop. ... Mets senior assistant general manager Omar Minaya was given permission by the team to interview for GM job in Seattle. ... There was no word from the NL office about whether New York reliever Dennis Cook would be disciplined for Tuesday night's argument with umpire Alfonzo Marquez. ... Maddux had won six straight decisions against the Mets. ... Henderson got two hits, giving him 2,813 and moving him past George Sisler for 39th on the career list. ... Leiter was 4-for-51 (.078) as a hitter this year entering the game.
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