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Posted: Saturday October 09, 1999 12:44 AM
FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Part of their battery was missing, but the New York Mets had more than enough juice.
Rick Reed pitched six effective innings and John Olerud drove in three runs -- two in a six-run sixth inning -- as the Mets rolled to a 9-2 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks and a 2-1 lead in their National League Division Series.
The Mets will try to close out the best-of-five series Saturday afternoon at Shea Stadium.
Reed (1-0), who helped put New York in the postseason by pitching a three-hit shutout Saturday against Pittsburgh, allowed only four hits -- including a two-run homer to Turner Ward -- while walking three and striking out two.
The mild-mannered Reed and Olerud added electricity to a crowd that already was charged for the Mets' first postseason home game since Game Five of the 1988 NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The crowd of 56,180 was the largest in the postseason at Shea Stadium since Game Five of the 1969 World Series against Baltimore.
"It was something to see all those fans. I guess you could say it was a dream come true," said Reed, who made his postseason debut. "I struggled a little bit with my curveball tonight.
You can ask Turner Ward, I'd like to have that one back. I was able to make the pitches when I needed to."
Olerud had an RBI single in a two-run third off loser Omar Daal (0-1) and broke open the game with a two-run single in the sixth off Dan Plesac that made it 6-2. Rickey Henderson, who was 3-for-5, and Roger Cedeno each drove in a run in the sixth and Darryl Hamilton capped the inning with a two-run single.
The Mets played without All-Star catcher Mike Piazza due to a swollen left thumb. Piazza, who hit 40 homers this season, had been bothered by the injury for several days and the swelling increased following an allergic reaction to a cortisone shot.
"Well I think anytime you lose a guy like Mike Piazza -- he is such a big part of our offense -- it really hurts," Olerud said.
"But we have a lot of guys on this club that can swing the bat, so I don't think we're that surprised.
Todd Pratt played the entire game behind the plate and Benny Agbayani was a cleanup hitter for the first time in his career, going 2-for-2 before being lifted for a pinch hitter.
The Diamondbacks committed three errors and the top three hitters in their lineup -- Tony Womack, Jay Bell and Luis Gonzalez -- were a combined 0-for-11.
"Our backs have been to the wall all season long, I'm sure the Mets feel the same way," Arizona manager Buck Showalter said.
"The only difference tomorrow is that if you lose, your season is over. In a way, we look forward to it."
Turk Wendell, John Franco and Orel Hershiser each pitched a scoreless inning to complete the win.
A victory Saturday would give the Mets their first postseason series win since the 1986 World Series.
"We have accomplished two out of three. But we need three out of five," New York manager Bobby Valentine said. "I know that, and I think the team knows that."
Daal struggled with his control throughout a four-inning stint, allowing three runs and six hits while walking three and striking out four.
"I got behind so many times in the count and it eventually caught up to me," he said.
After returing the side in order in the first, he ran into trouble. Agbayani singled and Robin Ventura walked before Shawon Dunston grounded into a double play. Daal had Pratt 0-2 before walking him and Rey Ordonez sliced a single to right field to bring home the first run.
The Mets added two runs in the third. Edgardo Alfonzo, whose ninth-inning grand slam gave New York a win in the series opener, lined a one-out double to left field and scored on an opposite-field single to left by Olerud.
Agbayani singled to put runners on the corners and Ventura hit a grounder to first baseman Erubiel Durazo, who got the force at second. The relay throw from shortstop Andy Fox sailed high as Olerud scored.
The Mets loaded the bases in the fourth before Daal escaped by striking out Olerud.
On the verge of disaster, the Diamondbacks made it a one-run game minutes later on a two-run homer by pinch-hitter Turner Ward. Ex-Met Kelly Stinnett opened the inning with a line drive that center fielder Dunston misplayed for a double. Ward, a .342 career hitter against New York, batted for Daal and belted an 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall.
An inning later, the Mets put away the game. Pratt singled and was sacrificed by Ordonez before pinch-hitter Bobby Bonilla walked. Henderson blooped a run-scoring single to right field, where Tony Womack bobbled the ball to advance the runners.
Plesac, a southpaw who is used primarily against lefthanded hitters, allowed the lefty Olerud to bounce a two-run single to right field. Cedeno lined a run-scoring single to left and Hamilton, another lefthanded hitter, singled up the middle to make it 9-2.
"It seems like they snuck seven or eight base hits into some fortunate areas. That's baseball," Showalter said.
Henderson stole his sixth base, breaking a Division Series record set by Kenny Lofton of Cleveland in 1996. Henderson is hitting .455 (5-for-11) in the series.
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