GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: PITTSBURGH (41-56) at NY METS (55-43)

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 7 0
NY METS 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 x 8 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PIT - IAN SNELL, TONY ARMAS (5TH), JOHN GRABOW (7TH), MASUMI KUWATA
(8TH) AND RONNY PAULINO

NYM - JOHN MAINE, AARON HEILMAN (8TH), GUILLERMO MOTA
(9TH) AND PAUL LO DUCA

HOME RUNS: PIT - JASON BAY (14) OFF JOHN MAINE IN THE 4TH, 0 ON
JASON BAY (15) OFF GUILLERMO MOTA IN THE 9TH, 1 ON

NYM - JOHN MAINE (1) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 4TH, 1 ON
LASTINGS MILLEDGE (2) OFF MASUMI KUWATA IN THE 8TH, 1 ON</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 7 0
NY METS 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 x 8 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PIT - IAN SNELL, TONY ARMAS (5TH), JOHN GRABOW (7TH), MASUMI KUWATA
(8TH) AND RONNY PAULINO

NYM - JOHN MAINE, AARON HEILMAN (8TH), GUILLERMO MOTA
(9TH) AND PAUL LO DUCA


WP - JOHN MAINE (11-5)
LP - IAN SNELL (7-8)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: PIT - JASON BAY (14) OFF JOHN MAINE IN THE 4TH, 0 ON
JASON BAY (15) OFF GUILLERMO MOTA IN THE 9TH, 1 ON

NYM - JOHN MAINE (1) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 4TH, 1 ON
LASTINGS MILLEDGE (2) OFF MASUMI KUWATA IN THE 8TH, 1 ON


TIME: 2:22 ATT: 49,122

PROBABLES: PIT - TOM GORZELANNY (9-5, 3.20)
NYM - TOM GLAVINE (8-6, 4.51)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (4) VS NY METS (8) - FINAL

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Kata 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .273
F Sanchez 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .295
A LaRoche 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .246
X Nady cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .283
R Doumit rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .287
J Bay lf 4 2 3 3 0 0 0 .252
R Paulino c 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .238
J Wilson ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .248
I Snell p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .125
a-R Davis ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .261
T Armas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
b-N McLouth ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .223
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Kuwata p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 34 4 7 4 1 8 8

a-struck out swinging for I Snell in the 5th; b-flied out to right for T Armas
in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - X Nady 2 (19, G Mota, J Maine). HR - J Bay 2 (15, 4th inning off
J Maine 0 on, 1 Out, 9th inning off G Mota 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - X Nady (53), J
Bay 3 (63). 2-out RBI - X Nady. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R
Doumit 1. Team LOB - 4.


NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Reyes ss 5 1 2 0 0 0 1 .306
R Gotay 2b 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .342
C Beltran cf 4 0 1 0 0 3 1 .263
D Wright 3b 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 .295
C Delgado 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .251
P Lo Duca c 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 .268
S Green rf 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .270
L Milledge lf 3 2 3 3 0 0 0 .262
J Maine p 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .114
A Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-M Anderson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
G Mota p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 33 8 13 8 0 7 9

a-grounded to first for A Heilman in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Reyes (21, I Snell); R Gotay (6, I Snell); P Lo Duca (11, I
Snell). HR - J Maine (1, 4th inning off I Snell 1 on, 1 Out), L Milledge (2,
8th inning off M Kuwata 1 on, 1 Out). S - J Maine 2. SF - D Wright. RBI - R
Gotay (17), D Wright (61), S Green (29), L Milledge 3 (11), J Maine 2 (3).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - P Lo Duca 1, R Gotay 1. Team LOB - 5.


BASERUNNING: SB - C Beltran (15, 2nd base off I Snell/R Paulino).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 100 100 002 -- 4
NY METS - 200 400 02x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
I Snell (L, 7-8) 4 10 6 6 0 5 1 3.62
T Armas 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.24
J Grabow 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.27
M Kuwata 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 7.31

NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Maine (W, 11-5) 7 5 2 2 1 7 1 3.04
A Heilman 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.78
G Mota 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 5.96

WP - I Snell. HBP - L Milledge (by T Armas). Pitches-strikes: I Snell 63-49;
T Armas 29-20; J Grabow 10-8; M Kuwata 19-13; J Maine 103-67; A Heilman 9-6; G
Mota 16-9. Ground balls-fly balls: I Snell 4-2; T Armas 2-3; J Grabow 0-2; M
Kuwata 2-1; J Maine 6-8; A Heilman 2-0; G Mota 3-0. Batters faced: I Snell 21;
T Armas 8; J Grabow 3; M Kuwata 5; J Maine 27; A Heilman 3; G Mota 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Tony Randazzo. 2B--Charlie Reliford. 3B--Greg
Gibson.

T--2:22. Att--49,122.
Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 14 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
PITTSBURGH 4
NY METS 8 FINAL</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (4) AT NY METS (8) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PITTSBURGH 1ST: M Kata struck out swinging. F Sanchez grounded out to
third. A LaRoche singled to right. X Nady doubled to deep center, A LaRoche
scored. R Doumit flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1,
NY METS 0.

NY METS 1ST: J Reyes doubled to deep center. R Gotay doubled to left,
J Reyes scored. C Beltran singled to right center, R Gotay to third. D Wright
hit sacrifice fly to center, R Gotay scored. C Delgado struck out looking,
C Beltran stole second. P Lo Duca grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, NY METS 2.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: R Doumit grounded out to first. J Bay homered to left.
R Paulino flied out to center. J Wilson flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 2.

NY METS 4TH: C Delgado flied out to left. P Lo Duca doubled to deep
center. S Green singled to center, P Lo Duca scored. S Green to second on
wild pitch by I Snell. L Milledge singled to left, S Green scored, L Milledge
to second advancing on throw. J Maine homered to left, L Milledge scored.
J Reyes grounded out to third. R Gotay singled to left. C Beltran struck out
swinging. (4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

NY METS 8TH: M Kuwata relieved J Grabow. P Lo Duca singled to left.
S Green flied out to left. L Milledge homered to left, P Lo Duca scored.
M Anderson hit for A Heilman. M Anderson grounded out to first. J Reyes grounded
out to third. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 8.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: G Mota relieved A Heilman. X Nady doubled to left.
R Doumit grounded out to second, X Nady to third. J Bay homered to right, X Nady
scored. R Paulino grounded out to pitcher. J Wilson grounded out to second.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 4, NY METS 8.</div>

 

Maine pitches, hits way past Pirates

<h3>NY METS 8, PITTSBURGH 4</h3>FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- John Maine already hasestablished himself as a bona fide major league starter. Yet hewas not much of a hitter, until Tuesday.


Maine pitched seven strong innings and hit his first majorleague home run in a four-run fourth inning as the New York Metsdefeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-4, in the opener of athree-game series.


Lastings Milledge also homered and drove in three runs for theMets, who banged out 13 hits and won for the fourth time in fivegames.


Maine (11-5) won for the first time in three starts, overcominga shaky first inning to allow two runs and five hits with onewalk and seven strikeouts. He has won five of his last sixdecisions and leads the Mets in wins and strikeouts (108).

The 26-year-old Maine normally looks far more comfortable on themound than at the plate, where he had just four hits in 62career at-bats (.062 average) with one extra-base hit enteringTuesday. Maine changed that by belting a pitch from Ian Snellover the left field fence for a two-run homer.


Maine had just three hits in 34 at-bats with one RBI this seasonbefore the home run.


Jason Bay homered twice - his 10th multi-homer game of hiscareer - for the struggling Pirates, who made a pair ofdefensive miscues in New York's four-run fourth and lost for theninth time in 10 games.


Bay, the left fielder, and center fielder Xavier Nady allowed adeep fly ball by Paul Lo Duca to fall between them for a doublewith one out in the fourth. Shawn Green followed with an RBIsingle to put the Mets in front, 3-2.


Third baseman Matt Kata allowed a hard-hit ground ball byMilledge to go through his legs for what was scored an RBIsingle.


Maine followed by homering on a 1-0 pitch to give the Mets a 6-2lead. It was the first home run by a Mets pitcher since SteveTrachsel connected against Cincinnati on June 20 of last season.

Snell (7-8) lost his third straight start, allowing six runs and10 hits in four innings.


Maine allowed a first-inning run for the third straight startwhen Adam LaRoche singled with two outs and scored on a doubleby former Met Nady. Maine had allowed a first-inning run justonce in his first 17 starts.


The Mets scored quickly in the first on back-to-back doubles byJose Reyes and Ruben Gotay. After a single by Carlos Beltran,David Wright followed with a sacrifice fly.


Milledge hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Masumi Kuwata.

Bay hit his 14th home run in the fourth to tie it at 2-2 andadded a two-run homer off Guillermo Mota in the ninth.

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (4) AT NY METS (8) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pittsburgh Starting Lineups -- M Kata 3B, F Sanchez 2B, A LaRoche 1B, X Nady CF,
R Doumit RF, J Bay LF, R Paulino C, J Wilson SS, I Snell RHP.

Ny Mets Starting Lineups -- J Reyes SS, R Gotay 2B, C Beltran CF, D Wright 3B,
C Delgado 1B, P Lo Duca C, S Green RF, L Milledge LF, J Maine RHP.

Umpires -- Larry Vanover (HP), Tony Randazzo (1B), Charlie Reliford (2B), Greg Gibson (3B).

Gametime Weather: 76 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 14 mph.


PITTSBURGH 1ST: M Kata struck out swinging. F Sanchez grounded out to
third. A LaRoche singled to right. X Nady doubled to deep center, A LaRoche
scored. R Doumit flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1,
NY METS 0.

NY METS 1ST: J Reyes doubled to deep center. R Gotay doubled to left,
J Reyes scored. C Beltran singled to right center, R Gotay to third. D Wright
hit sacrifice fly to center, R Gotay scored. C Delgado struck out looking,
C Beltran stole second. P Lo Duca grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, NY METS 2.

PITTSBURGH 2ND: J Bay singled to deep center. R Paulino struck out
looking. J Wilson struck out looking. I Snell struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, NY METS 2.

NY METS 2ND: S Green struck out swinging. L Milledge singled to shallow
center. J Maine sacrificed to catcher, L Milledge to second. J Reyes reached
on infield single to shortstop, L Milledge hit by batted ball out at third.
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, NY METS 2.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: M Kata grounded out to second. F Sanchez singled to left.
A LaRoche flied out to left. X Nady grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, NY METS 2.

NY METS 3RD: R Gotay grounded out to shortstop. C Beltran struck out
looking. D Wright struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1,
NY METS 2.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: R Doumit grounded out to first. J Bay homered to left.
R Paulino flied out to center. J Wilson flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 2.

NY METS 4TH: C Delgado flied out to left. P Lo Duca doubled to deep
center. S Green singled to center, P Lo Duca scored. S Green to second on
wild pitch by I Snell. L Milledge singled to left, S Green scored, L Milledge
to second advancing on throw. J Maine homered to left, L Milledge scored.
J Reyes grounded out to third. R Gotay singled to left. C Beltran struck out
swinging. (4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: R Davis hit for I Snell. R Davis struck out swinging.
M Kata struck out swinging. F Sanchez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

NY METS 5TH: T Armas relieved I Snell. D Wright flied out to center.
C Delgado singled to center. P Lo Duca grounded into fielder's choice to third,
C Delgado out at second. S Green flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: A LaRoche grounded out to second. X Nady struck out
looking. R Doumit popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2,
NY METS 6.

NY METS 6TH: L Milledge hit by pitch. J Maine sacrificed to pitcher,
L Milledge to second. J Reyes flied out to left. R Gotay struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: J Bay flied out to center. R Paulino walked. J Wilson
flied out to right. N McLouth hit for T Armas. N McLouth flied out to right.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

NY METS 7TH: J Grabow relieved T Armas. C Beltran struck out swinging.
D Wright popped out to second. C Delgado flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: A Heilman relieved J Maine. M Kata grounded out to
shortstop. F Sanchez struck out swinging. A LaRoche grounded out to first.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 6.

NY METS 8TH: M Kuwata relieved J Grabow. P Lo Duca singled to left.
S Green flied out to left. L Milledge homered to left, P Lo Duca scored.
M Anderson hit for A Heilman. M Anderson grounded out to first. J Reyes grounded
out to third. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 2, NY METS 8.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: G Mota relieved A Heilman. X Nady doubled to left.
R Doumit grounded out to second, X Nady to third. J Bay homered to right, X Nady
scored. R Paulino grounded out to pitcher. J Wilson grounded out to second.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 4, NY METS 8.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (4) VS NY METS (8) - FINAL

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Kata 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .273
F Sanchez 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .295
A LaRoche 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .246
X Nady cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .283
R Doumit rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .287
J Bay lf 4 2 3 3 0 0 0 .252
R Paulino c 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .238
J Wilson ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .248
I Snell p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .125
a-R Davis ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .261
T Armas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
b-N McLouth ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .230
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Kuwata p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 34 4 7 4 1 8 8

a-struck out swinging for I Snell in the 5th; b-flied out to right for T Armas
in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - X Nady 2 (19, G Mota, J Maine). HR - J Bay 2 (15, 4th inning off
J Maine 0 on, 1 Out, 9th inning off G Mota 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - X Nady (53), J
Bay 3 (63). 2-out RBI - X Nady. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R
Doumit 1. Team LOB - 4.


NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Reyes ss 5 1 2 0 0 0 1 .306
R Gotay 2b 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .342
C Beltran cf 4 0 1 0 0 3 1 .263
D Wright 3b 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 .295
C Delgado 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .251
P Lo Duca c 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 .268
S Green rf 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .270
L Milledge lf 3 2 3 3 0 0 0 .262
J Maine p 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .114
A Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-M Anderson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
G Mota p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 33 8 13 8 0 7 9

a-grounded to first for A Heilman in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Reyes (21, I Snell); R Gotay (6, I Snell); P Lo Duca (11, I
Snell). HR - J Maine (1, 4th inning off I Snell 1 on, 1 Out), L Milledge (2,
8th inning off M Kuwata 1 on, 1 Out). S - J Maine 2. SF - D Wright. RBI - R
Gotay (17), D Wright (61), S Green (29), L Milledge 3 (11), J Maine 2 (3).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - P Lo Duca 1, R Gotay 1. Team LOB - 5.


BASERUNNING: SB - C Beltran (15, 2nd base off I Snell/R Paulino).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 100 100 002 -- 4
NY METS - 200 400 02x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
I Snell (L, 7-8) 4 10 6 6 0 5 1 3.62
T Armas 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.24
J Grabow 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.27
M Kuwata 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 7.31

NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Maine (W, 11-5) 7 5 2 2 1 7 1 3.04
A Heilman 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.78
G Mota 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 5.96

WP - I Snell. HBP - L Milledge (by T Armas). Pitches-strikes: I Snell 63-49;
T Armas 29-20; J Grabow 10-8; M Kuwata 19-13; J Maine 103-67; A Heilman 9-6; G
Mota 16-9. Ground balls-fly balls: I Snell 4-2; T Armas 2-3; J Grabow 0-2; M
Kuwata 2-1; J Maine 6-8; A Heilman 2-0; G Mota 3-0. Batters faced: I Snell 21;
T Armas 8; J Grabow 3; M Kuwata 5; J Maine 27; A Heilman 3; G Mota 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Tony Randazzo. 2B--Charlie Reliford. 3B--Greg
Gibson.

T--2:22. Att--49,122.
Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 14 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at NY METS

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (4) VS NY METS (8) - FINAL

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Kata 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .273
F Sanchez 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .295
A LaRoche 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .246
X Nady cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .283
R Doumit rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .287
J Bay lf 4 2 3 3 0 0 0 .252
R Paulino c 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .238
J Wilson ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .248
I Snell p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .125
a-R Davis ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .261
T Armas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
b-N McLouth ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .230
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Kuwata p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 34 4 7 4 1 8 8

a-struck out swinging for I Snell in the 5th; b-flied out to right for T Armas
in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - X Nady 2 (19, G Mota, J Maine). HR - J Bay 2 (15, 4th inning off
J Maine 0 on, 1 Out, 9th inning off G Mota 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - X Nady (53), J
Bay 3 (63). 2-out RBI - X Nady. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R
Doumit 1. Team LOB - 4.


NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Reyes ss 5 1 2 0 0 0 1 .306
R Gotay 2b 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .342
C Beltran cf 4 0 1 0 0 3 1 .263
D Wright 3b 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 .295
C Delgado 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .251
P Lo Duca c 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 .268
S Green rf 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .270
L Milledge lf 3 2 3 3 0 0 0 .262
J Maine p 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .114
A Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-M Anderson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
G Mota p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 33 8 13 8 0 7 9

a-grounded to first for A Heilman in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Reyes (21, I Snell); R Gotay (6, I Snell); P Lo Duca (11, I
Snell). HR - J Maine (1, 4th inning off I Snell 1 on, 1 Out), L Milledge (2,
8th inning off M Kuwata 1 on, 1 Out). S - J Maine 2. SF - D Wright. RBI - R
Gotay (17), D Wright (61), S Green (29), L Milledge 3 (11), J Maine 2 (3).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - P Lo Duca 1, R Gotay 1. Team LOB - 5.


BASERUNNING: SB - C Beltran (15, 2nd base off I Snell/R Paulino).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 100 100 002 -- 4
NY METS - 200 400 02x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
I Snell (L, 7-8) 4 10 6 6 0 5 1 3.62
T Armas 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.24
J Grabow 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.27
M Kuwata 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 7.31

NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Maine (W, 11-5) 7 5 2 2 1 7 1 3.04
A Heilman 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.78
G Mota 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 5.96

WP - I Snell. HBP - L Milledge (by T Armas). Pitches-strikes: I Snell 63-49;
T Armas 29-20; J Grabow 10-8; M Kuwata 19-13; J Maine 103-67; A Heilman 9-6; G
Mota 16-9. Ground balls-fly balls: I Snell 4-2; T Armas 2-3; J Grabow 0-2; M
Kuwata 2-1; J Maine 6-8; A Heilman 2-0; G Mota 3-0. Batters faced: I Snell 21;
T Armas 8; J Grabow 3; M Kuwata 5; J Maine 27; A Heilman 3; G Mota 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Tony Randazzo. 2B--Charlie Reliford. 3B--Greg
Gibson.

T--2:22. Att--49,122.
Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 14 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

Maine pitches, hits way past Pirates

<h3>NY METS 8, PITTSBURGH 4</h3>FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- John Maine already hasestablished himself as a bona fide major league starter. Yet hewas not much of a hitter, until Tuesday.


Maine pitched seven strong innings and hit his first majorleague home run in a four-run fourth inning as the New York Metsdefeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-4, in the opener of athree-game series.


Lastings Milledge also homered and drove in three runs for theMets, who banged out 13 hits and won for the fourth time in fivegames.


The 26-year-old Maine normally looks far more comfortable on themound than at the plate, where he had just four hits in 62career at-bats (.062 average) with one extra-base hit enteringTuesday. Maine changed that by belting a pitch from Ian Snellover the left field fence for a two-run homer.


"That's a big step for John. I think he shocked everyone," Metsmanager Willie Randolph said. "I give him credit. He keepsworking at it."


Maine had just three hits in 34 at-bats with one RBI this seasonbefore the home run.


"I tried to swing as hard as I can and I got lucky," Maine said."No way around it."


Maine (11-5) won for the first time in three starts, overcominga shaky first inning to allow two runs and five hits with onewalk and seven strikeouts. He has won five of his last sixdecisions and leads the Mets in wins and strikeouts (108).

"After you take a curtain call, you better pitch better,"Randolph said.


Jason Bay homered twice - his 10th multi-homer game of hiscareer - for the struggling Pirates, who made a pair ofdefensive miscues in New York's four-run fourth and lost for theninth time in 10 games.


Bay, the left fielder, and center fielder Xavier Nady allowed adeep fly ball by Paul Lo Duca to fall between them for a doublewith one out in the fourth. Shawn Green followed with an RBIsingle to put the Mets in front, 3-2.


Third baseman Matt Kata allowed a hard-hit ground ball byMilledge to go through his legs for what was scored an RBIsingle.


"Ian did leave a couple of pitches up in the zone that inning,"Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "There also were a couple ofplays in the field that didn't go our way."


Maine followed by homering on a 1-0 pitch to give the Mets a 6-2lead. It was the first home run by a Mets pitcher since SteveTrachsel connected against Cincinnati on June 20 of last season.

Snell (7-8) lost his third straight start, allowing six runs and10 hits in four innings.


"I don't want to be called a loser," Snell said. "Man, even myfamily calls our team losers, I don't want anyone to say thatabout our team."


Maine allowed a first-inning run for the third straight startwhen Adam LaRoche singled with two outs and scored on a doubleby former Met Nady. Maine had allowed a first-inning run justonce in his first 17 starts.


The Mets scored quickly in the first on back-to-back doubles byJose Reyes and Ruben Gotay. After a single by Carlos Beltran,David Wright followed with a sacrifice fly.


Milledge, who led the cheers as he rounded the bases duringMaine's homer, hit a two-run homer in the eighth off MasumiKuwata.


"I know they were down and I knew I would get something good tohit," said Milledge, who was back in left field after the Metsfailed to activate Moises Alou off he disabled list. Alousuffered a shoulder injury during a rehab outing on Sunday andwill be out a few more days.


"We all want Alou back. We know he'll be the left fielder.Nobody is being fooled here. All I can do is get my reps."

Bay hit his 14th home run in the fourth to tie it at 2-2 andadded a two-run homer off Guillermo Mota in the ninth.