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Franco posts biggest win of career
NEW YORK (AP) -- John Franco had probably never gotten so much joy out of pitching the eighth inning. In a career filled with saves, Franco had never come up with a bigger win in 17 years. Franco escaped an eighth-inning jam -- retiring his nemesis Glenallen Hill to get out of it -- and helped the Mets get back into the Subway Series with a 4-2 victory in Game 3 Tuesday night that cut the Yankees lead to 2-1. "It doesn't matter who gets the win or who gets the save. We needed this game," said Franco, 40, the second oldest pitcher to win a World Series game. "We knew we couldn't go down 3-0. I was just in the right place at the right time." Franco, whose 420 saves are the second most in major league history, is no longer the pitcher manager Bobby Valentine turns to in the ninth inning. The eighth has become his domain, and this might have been his most important inning. He relieved a wild Dennis Cook with no outs in a 2-2 tie with Tino Martinez on first. Franco, who often nibbles around the edges of the plate with his off-speed pitches, came out throwing strikes. He got in front of Jorge Posada 0-2, before Posada hit a hard grounder to third baseman Robin Ventura, who started a double play. "Johnny's been pitching great all year," Ventura said. "He won't get a double play bigger than that one." After Paul O'Neill singled on an 0-2 pitch, Yankees manager Joe Torre turned to Hill in the matchup he wanted. Hill, a powerful right-handed hitter, had been 6-for-12 with three homers -- including two game-winning shots -- in his career against the left-handed Franco. But Valentine stuck with Franco and the move paid off. Hill hit a harmless fly ball to right field to end the inning. "He's gotten me over the years on some big hits," Franco said. "I tried to keep the ball away from him and get him to ground out or fly to right." The Mets scored two runs in the eighth off Yankees October ace Orlando Hernandez to win the game and get back into the series. And that was it for Franco, who watched from the dugout as Armando Benitez finished for the save. "We're not winning this thing without Johnny having Armando at his side," Valentine said. "Johnny did his job and then it was time for Armando to do his." It was only fitting that Franco got the Mets' first World Series win in 14 years. A Brooklyn kid who grew up adoring the Miracle Mets in the 1969 World Series, was making his first trip to the Series. "Johnny's got to be like a kid in a candy store right now," teammate Todd Zeile said. "He's waited all his life to get here and now he is shutting guys down in front of his home family. I can't imagine the pride he must feel." But this win was for his father, Jim, a Dodgers fan who told his son stories of Subway Series past, but died of a heart attack before he ever got a chance to see his son pitch in New York. Franco wears an orange Department of Sanitation T-shirt under his Mets jersey every game to honor his father, who spent his life working there. His father was prominent in Franco's mind as he sat next to teammate Al Leiter and watched Benitez close it out. "These games are so intense, In the ninth inning, I couldn't even watch," Franco said. "I was there sitting with Al and I looked up and saw a star and told him 'That's my father.' He said, 'That's my father and your father.' And I said 'Yeah, and they're probably having a beer right now laughing at us." And watching another Subway Series memory.
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