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Primo Timo Japan's best exports: The VCR and Timo Perez
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ask Mike Piazza about Timo Perez and the New York Mets slugger just grins. "He's the best thing to come out of Japan since the VCR," Piazza said after he and Perez energized the Mets in a 10-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night. Perez touched off three rallies, and Piazza was in the middle of each of them as the Mets took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. The Mets are still a little bewildered about Perez, who played four years with the Hiroshima Carp before starting this season in Class A. He moved to Triple-A and then showed up with the Mets in September. Manager Bobby Valentine is not surprised at the contribution of Perez, who had two hits and was on base four times and threw out a runner in Game 4. "I think when you look at his talent, he has good talent," Valentine said. "He runs well, throws well and is able to get a good at-bat." That said, some of the Mets were still a little skeptical when Perez arrived. "When he first came up, I asked Bobby about him," Piazza said. "Who is this guy?" Perez answered that with his play. He has become a fan favorite and gives an otherwise lead-footed lineup an element of speed. "What a job he's done offensively and defensively," Piazza said. "He's turned into a great table-setter." The table was looking barren when Perez led off the first inning Sunday night. Jim Edmonds had hit a two-run homer to give the Cardinals a quick lead. Perez wasted no time energizing the Mets, hitting a ground-rule double. By the time the Mets were through in the first, they had four more two-base hits, one of them by Piazza, and a 4-2 lead. An inning later, Perez singled and stole a base, touching off a three-run outburst that included Todd Zeile's bases-loaded double. Zeile also appreciates the contribution of the pint-sized Perez. "Timo is a big sparkplug," Zeile said. "When he gets something going, we're like, 'OK, here we go.' " Perez got his chance when Derek Bell turned his ankle in the division series against San Francisco and went out for the season. The negative turned into a positive when Perez began doing his Roadrunner act. Piazza laughed when he thought about the imported outfielder. "I'm just glad he's here," he said. Both Perez and Piazza also made big defensive plays. Perez threw out Shawon Dunston trying to advance on a fly ball in the seventh, and Piazza grabbed a foul tip by Edmonds on a third strike leading off the eighth.
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