Mets, Astros Split Doubleheader
The New York Mets' pursuit of the wild-card spot is turning absolutely wild.
John
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In the opener, New York overcame a two-run deficit in the ninth but lost 6-5 on Derek Bell's homer in the 12th.
The split left the Mets a half-game behind Chicago in the wild-card standings when the Cubs came from behind to beat San Diego 4-2.
"This really is exciting," Valentine said. "I can't say enough about these guys. It's a brand of baseball every Met fan and member of the organization can be proud of."
The Mets trailed 3-2 in the eighth before rallying against three relievers. Edgardo Alfonzo drew a leadoff walk from C.J. Nitkowski, Mike Piazza singled off Jay Powell (7-6) and Olerud homered off Mike Magnante.
Olerud did not start. He entered the game in the fifth as a defensive replacement and later hit his 20th home run.
"I can't explain it," Olerud said. "There are times when you get a pitch right there and you foul it off. Then, there are other times, it's a real tough pitch and you swing and get a bloop for a key hit.
"It, The Astros closed to 5-4 in the eighth on a wild pitch by Al Leiter (16-5). Turk Wendell relieved with a runner on second and got three outs to preserve the lead, then pitched the ninth for his third save. "I was in a lot of jams, especially early in the game," Leiter said. "Any time you grind like that early, it gets a little taxing when you get into the 70s, 80s and 90s in your pitch count. Olerud added a sacifice fly in a three-run ninth. Alfonzo hit an RBI single and another run scored on Doug Henry's wild pitch. The Astros bullpen was dragging by the end of the doubleheader. "We've had a lot of long game and that's been hard on the bullpen," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "I'm counting on Mike Hampton pitching a good game tomorrow. You play a doubleheader and two extra-inning games, that's tough." Leiter is 13-2 in his last 18 starts after winning his fourth straight decision. He allowed seven hits and four runs in seven-plus innings. Butch Huskey hit his 13th homer for the Mets. Craig Biggio singled in the ninth to become the first Astros player to get 200 hits in a season. In the opener, Bell's leadoff homer off Jeff Tam (1-1) gave Houston its 26th victory in its final at-bat this season. The Mets tied it in th ninth on Carlos Baerga's two-run homer off Scott Elarton. Mets left fielder Jay Payton threw out the potential winning run in the bottom half. Rey Ordonez, who earlier hit his third career home run, put the Mets ahead 5-4 in the 11th with an RBI double off Elarton. But John Franco could not hold the edge, giving up Jeff Bagwell's 33rd home run leading off the bottom half. Powell earned the win by pitching a scoreless 12th, striking out Brian McRae with runners on second and third to end the inning. On Monday night, the Mets also trailed 4-2 in the ninth when McRae hit a two-run homer off Billy Wagner. New York went on to win 7-4 in 13 innings, though the Astros wound up clinching the NL Central title later when the Cubs lost. Bell entered the game in the eighth and later hit his 21st home run. Bagwell, Moises Alou and Biggio also did not start for Houston. Baerga's tying homer followed McRae's walk and a groundout. It was the seventh home run of the season for Baerga, who has just two homers and 15 RBI since the All-Star break. Baerga went 4-for-5. Ordonez made it 2-1 in the second against Reynolds with his third homer in career 1,324 at-bats. It was his first since he connected off Toronto's Kelvim Escobar on Sept. 2, 1997. Tony Eusebio's two-rn double gave Houston a 3-2 lead in the fourth, and Bagwell added an RBI single in the eighth. 
The Mets let the first game get away from them. (AP) Notes
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