Leiter wins 5th straight
Streaking Olerud lifts Mets into wild-card lead
Posted: Sunday September 20, 1998 07:21 PM
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Hot Met: Olerud (5) has homered three times in the past five games AP |
NEW YORK (AP) -- Most first-time parents seem bleary-eyed shortly after
the birth of their baby. John Olerud,
though, could hardly be seeing the ball more clearly.
Olerud, the father of a new-born, homered and doubled to give him a team
record-tying nine straight hits, and Al Leiter pitched
the New York Mets past
Florida 5-0 Sunday for a half-game lead in the NL wild-card race.
"When you're playing well, it's a lot more fun," Olerud said. "I don't
think there's as much pressure when you're doing well as when you're
struggling.
"The baby has taken my mind off baseball. I also think having been in
the playoffs before, that might help in these big games," he said.
The Mets moved ahead of the Chicago Cubs, who played
later at home against Cincinnati.
Olerud, whose son was born during the Mets' recent road trip, went
2-for-2 and walked twice. He is hitting .354, one point behind Colorado's
Larry
Walker, and is trying to become the first player this century to win
batting championships in both leagues.
"Every once in a while I'll look (to see how Walker's doing) but I don't
think it does me any good. I'd go up to the play trying not to make an out
rather than trying to get a good aggressive swing," he said. "I think you
don't want to be thinking about your average."
Leiter (17-5) won his fifth straight decision and set a career high for
victories. The left-hander allowed five hits and struck out nine in eight
innings.
Leiter, who played for the Marlins for two years before coming to the
Mets, struggled in the first, allowing two straight singles with one out
against a mostly left-handed lineup. But Mets manager Bobby Valentine paid
a visit to the mound and Leiter pitched out of an early jam.
"He put a fire under my butt and said `Let's go,'" Leiter said. "Jim
[Leyland] being my ex-manager, maybe he was trying something. I had to
forget about that lefty stuff and be aggressive."
Olerud, who hit a two-run homer in the third inning, matched the Mets
record set by Jose Vizcaino
in 1996 with a double in the sixth, his ninth straight hit.
"It's a great feeling," Olerud said. "The playoffs, the pennant race
this is the time of year when you want to be swinging the bat well."
With a walk in the seventh, Olerud reached base for the 14th straight
time. He has made only two outs in his last 23 plate appearances, including
a sacrifice fly.
The NL record for reaching base is 15 straight times, set by Barry Bonds this
season. Ted Williams set the major league mark of 16 in 1957.
The Mets pitched their 16th shutout, tying them for second in the majors
with the Yankees, behind Atlanta's 20. Turk Wendell
finished up for the Mets and pitched in the team's seventh straight game,
tying a club mark set by Jesse Orosco in
1986.
Brian Meadows (10-13) gave up four runs on eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.
He is 0-4 in his last six starts.
Olerud's homer gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Tony Phillips
walked before Olerud drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall for his
22nd homer.
Olerud doubled leading off the sixth and scored when Lenny Harris
singled to right.
Phillips hit an RBI double in the seventh, scoring Rey Ordonez who
had singled and moved to second on a bunt, to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.
Matt
Franco hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to make it 5-0.
Florida lost two players to injuries.
Left fielder Cliff Floyd
bruised his left knee catching a fly ball by Carlos Baerga
to end the fourth. Floyd stumbled before running in, then slid and collided
with shortstop Alex Gonzalez.
Floyd stayed on the ground clutching his leg for several minutes. He
eventually was driven off the field in a motorized cart. X-rays were
negative, but he will undergo an MRI upon returning to Miami and hopes to
play on Tuesday.
Florida also lost second baseman Luis Castillo
to a jammed right thumb. He was replaced in the bottom of the third inning
by David Berg and is listed as day-to-day.
Notes: The game was a sellout, the seventh for the Mets this
season. The attendance was 52,767. ... Meadows made his 30th start and the
118th by a rookie for the Marlins this season. ... Leiter appeared in his
200th major league game. ... Florida finished its road trip 3-10. ...
Several Mets stayed in the clubhouse to watch the Cincinnati-Chicago game.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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