Fully rested, Glavine unravels in pivotal Game 5

	Tom Glavine was yanked in the fifth inning after issuing a run-scoring double to Preston Wilson that put the Cardinals ahead 3-2. Jimmy DeFlippo/US PRESSWIRE

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Tom Glavine stood in the corner of the New York Mets clubhouse, hemmed in by media.

Now his scoreless streak is over, and the whole team is backed into a corner.

Fully rested after a rainout, Glavine had the St. Louis Cardinals right where he wanted them. The Mets gave him an early two-run lead after he extended his postseason scoreless streak to 16 innings.

And then, all so quickly, it all came undone, and New York moved within a loss of elimination with a 4-2 defeat Tuesday night in Game 5 of the NL championship series.

"In this kind of atmosphere, you don't ever know," he said. "From one inning to the next, a lot of things can change, and certainly that happened tonight."

St. Louis headed to New York ahead 3-2 in the series and faces John Maine in Game 6 on Wednesday night and TBA in Game 7 -- if it even gets that far. After piecing together a win behind Oliver Perez in Game 5, the Mets couldn't get a victory behind their ace.

"It's not up to John Maine to put us on his shoulders tomorrow," Glavine said. "But we certainly want him to go out there and do what he's done for us most of the year, which is give us an opportunity to win."

A 10-time All-Star and 290-game winner, Glavine had been prepared to pitch on three days' rest Monday night before rain pushed the game back a day.

But it rained, leaving Glavine and Mets fans to now ponder "what if?"

Seeking to tie former Atlanta teammate John Smoltz for the postseason wins record at 15, he was given a lead when Jose Valentin doubled off the left-field line in the fourth, driving in two runs.

Glavine started with three scoreless innings but allowed Albert Pujols' first homer of the series on a fat 2-2 changeup with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Pujols had fouled off a 1-1 pitch that first baseman Carlos Delgado just couldn't get to near the rail.

"I was hoping and praying that ball would stay fair," manager Willie Randolph said. "I don't know how far it was away from Carlos, but that seems like when things kind of opened up a little bit."

Glavine had similar thoughts.

"If he catches that ball or it's a little bit closer to where he can catch it, then it certainly changes the inning," he said. "Those are things that during the course of the game might seem to be innocent, but they turn out to be big turns of events."

He didn't want to discuss whether plate umpire Jeff Kellogg squeezed him on the next pitch, which was called a ball.

"I'm not even going to go there," he said.

Glavine knew he made a mistake on the home run.

"If had I thrown the pitch I want to, he doesn't do that. He probably pops it up," Glavine said. "He got just enough of it to get it out of the ballpark, which tells me that if I get that ball an inch or two further inside, he hits it off the handle and he doesn't hit it out of the ballpark. It's poor execution."

Glavine got himself into more trouble with a two-out, four-pitch walk to Scott Rolen. He fell behind Jim Edmonds 3-1, gave up a single and Ronnie Belliard poked the next pitch into right for a tying single.

Eventually, Glavine got out of a bases-loaded jam when pitcher Jeff Weaver hit into a forceout, but David Eckstein blooped a single on the first pitch of the fifth and ex-Met Preston Wilson doubled two pitches later on a cutter that stayed over the plate to put St. Louis ahead 3-2.

That was pretty much it. The Mets left him in to intentionally walk Pujols, then took him out.

Because of injuries, there's no Pedro Martinez. There's no Orlando Hernandez. With the season on the line, Maine is the best the Mets have for Wednesday,

And for Glavine, the only chance to start again is if the Mets get past Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter in Game 6 and then win Game 7.

"We're certainly not in the position we want to be in, but I've seen stranger things happen," Glavine said. "There's no guarantee that just because Chris Carpenter is going to the mound tomorrow night, they're going to win the game."

Instead of pitching, Glavine will have to watch.

"I hate being in that position, but that's kind of where I'm at," he said before adding: "Unless I get in a game as a pinch hitter or a pinch runner, I'll be left to hope I get another opportunity in the World Series."

Could he pitch Thursday in relief?

"If there's a Game 7," he said, "I'll let you know."

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