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Mets Take Subway Ride To World Series

The New York Mets did not expect to make it to the World Series for the fourth time in their history, reports veteran WCBS-AM Sports Reporter Ed Ingles. After all, the Mets became only the second National League wildcard team to make it to the world championship series.

"This is a very special moment," said catcher Mike Piazza.

Mike Hampton did what he was brought to New York to do: pitch the Mets into the World Series and perhaps face an opponent only a subway ride away.

Hampton pitched a three-hitter and the Mets started their clinching party early with a three-run first inning Monday night as they beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 and won the NL championship series 4-1.

"The team needed a big game," said Hampton, who won the series MVP by pitching 16 scoreless innings and winning twice. "We're close. We're four wins away from fulfilling that fantasy."

The game got testy at the end when Dave Veres hit Jay Payton in the helmet with a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the eighth inning. Payton, bleeding over his left eye, charged the mound and the dugouts and bullpens emptied as police in riot gear lined the field.

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  • "I got hit and the best of my reactions got to me," Payton said. "I don't know if there was any intent there. I don't think there was."

    That was the only thing that could dampen this night for the Mets, who ran a victory lap around a raucous Shea Stadium before heading to the clubhouse for a celebration that spilled back onto the field when Todd Pratt sprayed fans with champagne.

    New York won its fourth NL pennant and first since 1986, joining the 1997 Florida Marlins as the only wild card teams to make the World Series.

    The Mets also earned four days off before beginning the World Series on Saturday night, either a train ride away at Yankee Stadium for the first Subway Series since 1956 or across the country in Seattle.

    "It's what you play for and what you put all the hard work in for," third baseman Robin Ventura said. "We're happy to go right now. It would be nice to stay home though."

    The three-run first off a rusty Pat Hentgen turned baseball's most dangerous pinch hitter into a non-factor once again. Mighty Mark McGwire, limited to pinch-hitting duty because of tendinitis in his right knee, didn't bat until the ninth inning with the Cardinals down by seven and he grounded out.

    Rick Wilkins then flied to center where Timo Perez jumped three times, waving his arms, before making the catch. The Mets poured out of the dugout and bullpen for the second time in an inning this time for a celebration.

    Big Mac finished 0-for-2 with an intentional walk and could only blow bubbles as the Cardinals season ended following another wild outing by rookie Rick Ankiel.

    "We had enough weapons to win. The Mets just played better," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

    Todd Zeile's three-run double in the fourth inning knocked out Hentgen and sent the crowd of 55,695 into a frenzy. Zeile drove in eight runs against the team he broke into the majors with in 1989.

    The series was especially sweet for Hampton and Piazza, who both had struggled in the postseason before this series. Piazza, a .211 hitter with two homers and seven RBIs in his first five playoff series, batted .412 with two homers and four RBIs against the Cardinals.

    Hampton began the series with a career postseason record of 0-2 and a 5.87 ERA in four starts. But he pitched seven scoreless innings to win Game 1 and get the Mets started in the series and finished it up Monday.

    "He did everything anybody could hope he could do in the biggest game of his life and mine too," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said. "When you have great players playing great, it makes my job easy."

    The left-hander walked one and struck out eight including Jim Edmonds three times. He didn't allow a runner to reach second base.

    "I really felt good warming up," Hampton said. "The biggest thing is to stay focused. The fans they were rowdy tonight. I'm going to savor this one for a bit."

    It was only fitting that those two played such a big role. The acquisition of Piazza in 1998 signified a new commitment to winning from an ownership that threw its money to all the wrong places early in the '90s.

    After falling two games short of the World Series in 1999, the Mets got Hampton from Houston and he helped put New York over the top.

    The Mets were loose before the game. Valentine was playing air drums in the dugout and reliever John Franco threw batting practice to his 8-year-old son. The last thing on their minds was flying back to St. Louis for a sixth game.

    Now they might not need to take another flight this season. The Yankees lead the ALCS 3-2 and try to wrap it up Tuesday night against Seattle. Fans were already yelling derogatory chants toward the Yankees.

    The Mets did all the scoring they needed in the first inning off Hentgen, pitching for the first time since Sept. 30. The Cardinals defense didn't help either, making two errors and two other fielding miscues.

    Perez, the sparkplug who has been in the middle of nearly every Mets rally this series, led off with a single, stole second and continued to third when Carlos Hernandez's throw bounced into center field for an error.

    Edgardo Alfonzo sent the next pitch past shortstop Edgar Renteria, who pulled up as the ball scooted past his glove into left field for a hit.

    After Piazza walked on four pitches, Ventura singled to right to make it 2-0 and put runners at the corners.

    Zeile followed with a perfect double-play grounder to second baseman Fernando Vina. But Vina bobbled it before flipping to Renteria for the first out. The throw to first was dropped by Will Clark for another error as Piazza scored. The Cardinals committed seven errors in the series.

    Hentgen settled down for the next two innings, but couldn't make it out of the fourth the third time a Cardinals starter couldn't make it that far.

    Perez singled with one out and went to third on Piazza's two-out double. After a visit from pitching coach Dave Duncan, Hentgen walked Ventura on four pitches.

    For the second straight game, Zeile made the Cardinals pay for walking the bases loaded in front of him. He hit a drive to right-center that hit two-thirds of the way up the wall and scored all three runs.

    "There's a little added motivation when see tha happened," Zeile said.

    The Mets charged out of the dugout to greet Perez, Piazza and Ventura, and Zeile pumped his fist as he reached second base.

    Hentgen, wearing short sleeves on a 56-degree night, got hammered for six runs, seven hits and five walks in 3 2-3 innings.

    Making matters worse for St. Louis, Ankiel doesn't appear to be over his wildness, walking two and throwing two wild pitches in two-thirds of an inning. Ankiel has nine wild pitches in four innings this postseason.

    Notes

  • Alfonzo has hit in 11 straight playoff games and has 16 RBIs in the postseason, a Mets record.
  • The Cardinals, who outscored Atlanta 10-3 in the first inning in the division series, were outscored 12-4 in the first by the Mets.
  • Perez scored eight runs in the series, tying an NLCS record.

    ©2000 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report

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