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Bullpen blowup Mets score 10 in eighth to beat Braves
Posted: Saturday July 01, 2000 08:24 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shea Stadium rocked Friday night, and John Rocker had nothing to do with it. Mike Piazza capped a 10-run, eighth-inning comeback with a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Terry Mulholland, and the New York Mets stunned the Atlanta Braves 11-8. "That," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said, "is one of the most unlikely innings I've ever seen." Rocker, the controversial reliever who has become New York's No. 1 villain, split open a callous on the thumb of his pitching hand on his first warmup pitch in the bullpen in the seventh inning. He could only watch as Don Wengert, Kerry Ligtenberg and Mulholland (8-7) frittered away the 8-1 lead built behind Kevin Millwood, forcing in three runs with bases-loaded walks. "I really let the team down," said Rocker, whose left thumb was blue from the bleeding and treatment. "Situations like tonight are the times that I pitch." Rocker knew when he got to the ballpark that he was unlikely to get in the game. The callous has bothered him since spring training. "I iced it for six-to-10 hours," said Rocker, who also soaked the thumb and applied silver nitrate. While fans chanted, "We want Rocker!" they should have been happy he didn't come in. On Thursday night, he pitched a perfect eighth in the Braves' 6-4 win. The threatened "Battery Night" demonstration against Rocker went dead -- he even spent some time during batting practice signing autographs for the very fans he disparaged last year. A sellout crowd of 52,831 filled Shea Stadium on Fireworks Night, and few could have envisioned the sparks created by the Mets.
The 10 runs matched the most ever scored in an inning by the Mets, and nine were driven in with two outs. The comeback from a seven-run deficit was the second-largest in club history, behind only an 11-8 win over Houston on Sept. 2, 1972. New York trailed 8-0 in that one before scoring seven in the eighth and four in the ninth. "I didn't expect to come all the way back," said Edgardo Alfonzo, whose two-run single tied it. The Braves finished June at 13-15, their first losing month since September 1996. Third baseman Chipper Jones, whose performance against the Mets last year helped earn him the National League Most Valuable Player award, missed the game to return to Atlanta, where doctors were to induce labor in his wife, Sharon. It was the biggest collapse by the Braves since May 9, 1992, when they wasted a nine-run lead at St. Louis and lost 12-11. "We played a great game tonight. It's just unbelievable," manager Bobby Cox said. "We beat ourselves tonight." Brian Jordan's three-run homer off Eric Cammack had put the Braves ahead 8-1 in the top of the eighth. Derek Bell led off the bottom half with a single off Wengert, and Piazza hit an infield single with one out. Robin Ventura's RBI grounder drove in Bell, who set a Mets record by scoring for the 10th straight game. Todd Zeile hit an RBI single, and Jay Payton chased Wengert with another single. Ligtenberg relieved and forced in two runs by walking his only two batters, pinch-hitter Mark Johnson and Melvin Mora, with the bases loaded. Mulholland relieved for the first time since May 16 and walked Bell, making it 8-6. Alfonzo slapped a two-run single to left and Mulholland threw a first-pitch cut fastball to Piazza. "The worst pitch I've ever thrown," Mulholland said. Piazza drove it to left for his 22nd homer, extending his streak of games with RBIs to 13, four short of the major league record. "I wasn't sure if it was going to hit the ball or go through the wall," Zeile said. Coming in, the Mets had lost 19 of their last 25 regular-season games against the Braves, 23 of 31 including last year's NL championship series. Mets starter Mike Hampton struggled, walking six (one intentionally), throwing two wild pitches and hitting a batter. "It's no news that we have trouble beating the Braves," Piazza said. "We come in tight, we press, we kick the ball around. Hopefully, this will kind of relax us." Armando Benitez (2-3) pitched the ninth, retiring Wally Joyner on a game-ending flyout with two on. Atlanta went ahead in the first when Hampton walked Javy Lopez on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded, then added three in the third on Lopez's two-run single and an error by Piazza, who allowed Benny Agbayani's throw from left to get away. Andres Galarraga, who began the play on first, came home from third on the error. Keith Lockhart had an RBI grounder in the seventh, a ball that would have been an inning-ending double play if not for a bad relay throw to first by shortstop Mora. Pinch-hitter Matt Franco hit a two-out, RBI single in the seventh that made it 5-1. Then the fun began. "People will try to downplay it, especially on the other side," Zeile said. "It's still June. It may not decide the pennant, but it's still a big plus for us mentally." Notes: The Mets also scored 10 runs in the sixth inning against Cincinnati on June 12, 1979. ... Piazza went 0-for-3 against Millwood, dropping to 2-for-19 (.105) against him in his career. Millwood allowed one run and six hits in seven innings. ... Piazza had gone 51 games since April 14 without an error. ... It was the first sellout at Shea since the home opener. ... OF Darryl Hamilton's injured toe is swollen, and he will be unable to play for an undetermined period, the Mets said. He was forced to cut stop an injury rehab assignment.
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