GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: HOUSTON (62-80) at NY METS (80-61)

NL: HOUSTON at NY METS

<div class="pre">NL AT NY METS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: B Wagner relieved A Heilman.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 1
NY METS 4 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C Lee (.297, 0-FOR-4)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at NY METS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 10 1
NY METS 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 x 4 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: HOU - ROY OSWALT, TREVER MILLER (8TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS

NYM - PEDRO MARTINEZ, GUILLERMO MOTA (6TH), PEDRO
FELICIANO (7TH), AARON HEILMAN (8TH), BILLY WAGNER (9TH) AND
PAUL LO DUCA

HOME RUNS: HOU - LUKE SCOTT (18) OFF GUILLERMO MOTA IN THE 6TH, 0 ON

NYM - MOISES ALOU (11) OFF ROY OSWALT IN THE 5TH, 1 ON</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at NY METS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 10 1
NY METS 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 x 4 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: HOU - ROY OSWALT, TREVER MILLER (8TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS

NYM - PEDRO MARTINEZ, GUILLERMO MOTA (6TH), PEDRO
FELICIANO (7TH), AARON HEILMAN (8TH), BILLY WAGNER (9TH) AND
PAUL LO DUCA


WP - PEDRO MARTINEZ (2-0)
LP - ROY OSWALT (14-7)
SAVE - BILLY WAGNER (32)

HOME RUNS: HOU - LUKE SCOTT (18) OFF GUILLERMO MOTA IN THE 6TH, 0 ON

NYM - MOISES ALOU (11) OFF ROY OSWALT IN THE 5TH, 1 ON


TIME: 2:42 ATT: 51,847

PROBABLES: ATL - TIM HUDSON (15-7, 3.47)
NYM - OLIVER PEREZ (13-9, 3.46)

PROBABLES: CHN - JASON MARQUIS (11-8, 4.13)
HOU - BRANDON BACKE (0-1, 4.76)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at NY METS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (1) VS NY METS (4) - FINAL

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
H Pence cf 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 .323
C Biggio 2b 5 0 1 0 0 2 3 .252
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
L Berkman 1b 4 0 2 0 1 1 2 .279
C Lee lf 5 0 1 0 0 1 7 .298
M Loretta ss-3b 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 .276
M Lamb 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 5 .290
a-C Burke ph-ss-2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .227
L Scott rf 5 1 1 1 0 2 3 .258
B Ausmus c 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .234
R Oswalt p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .136
b-O Palmeiro ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .242
E Bruntlett ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240

Totals 38 1 10 1 3 7 28

a-lined out to center for M Lamb in the 7th; b-walked for R Oswalt in the
8th.

BATTING: 2B - B Ausmus (16, P Martinez); L Berkman (21, P Martinez). HR - L
Scott (18, 6th inning off G Mota 0 on, 0 Out). S - R Oswalt. RBI - L Scott
(63). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Lee 2, L Berkman 1, M Lamb 3,
L Scott 1, H Pence 2. Team LOB - 15.

FIELDING: E - M Loretta (7, ground ball).


NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Reyes ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .288
L Castillo 2b 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .282
C Beltran cf 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 .283
M Alou lf 4 1 1 2 0 1 2 .328
C Gomez lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
S Green 1b 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .278
P Lo Duca c 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .271
R Gotay 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .314
E Chavez rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .261
P Martinez p 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .250
G Mota p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-L Milledge ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
P Feliciano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-J Conine ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
B Wagner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 32 4 9 4 1 4 14

a-hit by pitch for G Mota in the 6th; b-grounded to shortstop for A Heilman in
the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - L Castillo (5, R Oswalt); P Martinez (1, R Oswalt); C Beltran
(31, R Oswalt); S Green (30, R Oswalt). HR - M Alou (11, 5th inning off R
Oswalt 1 on, 1 Out). S - J Reyes. SF - C Beltran. RBI - C Beltran 2 (93), M
Alou 2 (35). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Alou 1, P Lo Duca 1, J
Reyes 2. Team LOB - 8.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 000 001 000 -- 1
NY METS - 101 020 00x -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
R Oswalt (L, 14-7) 7 9 4 4 1 4 1 3.41
T Miller 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.78

NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era
P Martinez (W, 2-0) 5 6 0 0 1 4 0 1.80
G Mota 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 5.82
P Feliciano (H, 19) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.88
A Heilman (H, 19) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.11
B Wagner (S, 32) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.49

WP - P Martinez. HBP - R Oswalt (by P Martinez); L Milledge (by R Oswalt).
Pitches-strikes: R Oswalt 106-75; T Miller 15-10; P Martinez 92-65; G Mota
25-13; P Feliciano 13-10; A Heilman 15-7; B Wagner 12-9. Ground balls-fly
balls: R Oswalt 8-9; T Miller 2-1; P Martinez 4-8; G Mota 2-0; P Feliciano 1-2;
A Heilman 3-0; B Wagner 1-1. Batters faced: R Oswalt 33; T Miller 3; P Martinez
24; G Mota 7; P Feliciano 4; A Heilman 4; B Wagner 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Dana Demuth. 1B--Kerwin Danley. 2B--Doug Eddings. 3B--Mike
Everitt.

T--2:42. Att--51,847.
Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, out
to left.</div>

 

Martinez tosses five scoreless innings in return to Shea

<h3>NY METS 4, HOUSTON 1</h3>By Ralph Ventre
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- As the Shea Stadium publicaddress system inferred by blasting Kiss' 1978 hit song, PedroMartinez is "Back in the New York Groove."


Making his first home start since September 21, Martinez pitchedfive scoreless innings, doubled and scored a run in the NewYork Mets' 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Sundayafternoon.


The win completed a three-game sweep for the Mets (81-61), whobegan the day six games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies(74-67) in the National League East.


Houston loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning, butMartinez got Hunter Pence on a groundout. With runners atfirst and second in the next frame, he retired Mike Lamb on aflyout. After a perfect fourth, Houston also loaded the baseswith two outs, but the wily Dominican again got Lamb on aflyout.


Following the inning, the crowd serenaded Martinez with chantsof "Pedro, Pedro," prompting the popular pitcher to step out ofthe dugout for a colorful curtain call.


Martinez yielded six hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

The Mets staked Martinez to an early 1-0 lead against Astros aceRoy Oswalt (14-8), who entered 6-0 with a 1.79 ERA over hislast eight starts and wins in his last three starts against theMets.


Carlos Beltran doubled home Luis Castillo in the first inning,and he drove in his second run of the day on a third-inningsacrifice fly. Martinez led off the inning by roping a doubleover the head of Houston left fielder Carlos Lee.


Moises Alou doubled the Mets' lead with a two-run homer offOswalt in the fifth, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

Guillermo Mota relieved Martinez and promptly surrendered LukeScott's 18th homer of the season, which cut the lead to 4-1.

Pedro Feliciano worked the seventh, Aaron Heilman the eighth andBilly Wagner the ninth for his 32nd save in 36 chances.

Oswalt surrendered four runs and nine hits over seven innings asHouston concluded its nine-game road trip at 2-7.

 

NL: HOUSTON at NY METS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
HOUSTON 1
NY METS 4 FINAL</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at NY METS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (1) AT NY METS (4) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NY METS 1ST: J Reyes popped out to shortstop. L Castillo doubled to right
center. C Beltran singled to right, L Castillo scored. M Alou flied out to
right. S Green popped out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
NY METS 1.

NY METS 3RD: P Martinez doubled to deep left. J Reyes sacrificed to
pitcher, P Martinez to third. L Castillo walked. C Beltran hit sacrifice fly
to left, P Martinez scored, L Castillo to second. M Alou struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 2.

NY METS 5TH: L Castillo grounded out to third. C Beltran doubled to deep
right center. M Alou homered to left, C Beltran scored. S Green grounded out
to first. P Lo Duca singled to left. R Gotay struck out swinging. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 4.

HOUSTON 6TH: G Mota relieved P Martinez. L Scott homered to right.
B Ausmus singled to right. R Oswalt sacrificed into fielder's choice to first,
B Ausmus to second. H Pence struck out swinging. C Biggio struck out swinging.
L Berkman walked, B Ausmus to third, R Oswalt to second. C Lee grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, L Berkman out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, NY METS 4.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at NY METS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (1) AT NY METS (4) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Houston Starting Lineups -- H Pence CF, C Biggio 2B, L Berkman 1B, C Lee LF,
M Loretta SS, M Lamb 3B, L Scott RF, B Ausmus C, R Oswalt RHP.

Ny Mets Starting Lineups -- J Reyes SS, L Castillo 2B, C Beltran CF, M Alou LF,
S Green 1B, P Lo Duca C, R Gotay 3B, E Chavez RF, P Martinez RHP.

Umpires -- Dana Demuth (HP), Kerwin Danley (1B), Doug Eddings (2B),
Mike Everitt (3B).

Gametime Weather: 84 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind out to left at 11 mph.


HOUSTON 1ST: H Pence grounded out to second. C Biggio flied out to right.
L Berkman singled to right. C Lee flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 0.

NY METS 1ST: J Reyes popped out to shortstop. L Castillo doubled to right
center. C Beltran singled to right, L Castillo scored. M Alou flied out to
right. S Green popped out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
NY METS 1.

HOUSTON 2ND: M Loretta popped out to second. M Lamb reached on infield
single to third. L Scott struck out swinging. B Ausmus doubled to center,
M Lamb to third. R Oswalt hit by pitch. H Pence grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 1.

NY METS 2ND: P Lo Duca struck out swinging. R Gotay grounded out to first.
E Chavez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 1.

HOUSTON 3RD: C Biggio struck out swinging, C Biggio safe at first on wild
pitch by P Martinez. L Berkman struck out swinging. C Lee struck out
swinging. M Loretta singled to center, C Biggio to second. M Lamb flied out
to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 1.

NY METS 3RD: P Martinez doubled to deep left. J Reyes sacrificed to
pitcher, P Martinez to third. L Castillo walked. C Beltran hit sacrifice fly
to left, P Martinez scored, L Castillo to second. M Alou struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 2.

HOUSTON 4TH: L Scott grounded out to shortstop. B Ausmus flied out to
left. R Oswalt grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
NY METS 2.

NY METS 4TH: S Green singled to left. P Lo Duca popped out to first.
R Gotay popped out to shortstop. E Chavez singled to left, S Green to second.
P Martinez safe at first on error by shortstop M Loretta, S Green to third,
E Chavez to second. J Reyes grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
P Martinez out at second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 2.

HOUSTON 5TH: H Pence flied out to center. C Biggio singled to right.
L Berkman doubled to deep left, C Biggio to third. C Lee fouled out to first.
M Loretta walked. M Lamb flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, NY METS 2.

NY METS 5TH: L Castillo grounded out to third. C Beltran doubled to deep
right center. M Alou homered to left, C Beltran scored. S Green grounded out
to first. P Lo Duca singled to left. R Gotay struck out swinging. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, NY METS 4.

HOUSTON 6TH: G Mota relieved P Martinez. L Scott homered to right.
B Ausmus singled to right. R Oswalt sacrificed into fielder's choice to first,
B Ausmus to second. H Pence struck out swinging. C Biggio struck out swinging.
L Berkman walked, B Ausmus to third, R Oswalt to second. C Lee grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, L Berkman out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, NY METS 4.

NY METS 6TH: E Chavez grounded out to second. L Milledge hit for G Mota.
L Milledge hit by pitch. J Reyes struck out swinging. L Castillo grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, L Milledge out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, NY METS 4.

HOUSTON 7TH: P Feliciano relieved G Mota. M Loretta reached on infield
single to shortstop. C Burke hit for M Lamb. C Burke lined out to center.
L Scott fouled out to first. B Ausmus grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, M Loretta out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1,
NY METS 4.

NY METS 7TH: M Loretta at third base. C Burke at shortstop. C Beltran flied
out to right. M Alou flied out to center. S Green doubled to deep right.
P Lo Duca grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, NY METS 4.

HOUSTON 8TH: C Gomez in left field. A Heilman relieved P Feliciano.
O Palmeiro hit for R Oswalt. O Palmeiro walked. H Pence grounded out to
shortstop, O Palmeiro to second. C Biggio grounded out to third. L Berkman
grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, NY METS 4.

NY METS 8TH: T Miller relieved R Oswalt. C Burke at second base.
E Bruntlett at shortstop. R Gotay grounded out to second. E Chavez flied out to
left. J Conine hit for A Heilman. J Conine grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, NY METS 4.

HOUSTON 9TH: B Wagner relieved A Heilman. C Lee singled to left. M Loretta
grounded out to third, C Lee to second. C Burke flied out to center. L Scott
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, NY METS 4.</div>

 

Martinez tosses five scoreless innings in return to Shea

<h3>NY METS 4, HOUSTON 1</h3>By Ralph Ventre
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- As the Shea Stadium public addresssystem inferred by blasting Kiss' 1978 hit song, Pedro Martinez is"Back in the New York Groove."


Making his first home start since September 21, Martinez pitchedfive scoreless innings, doubled and scored a run in the NewYork Mets' 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Sundayafternoon.


"After analyzing what Glavine did yesterday, I knew what I hadto do," said Martinez, who compared himself to his teammate and300-game winner Tom Glavine. "I looked more like Glavine todaybecause I'm no longer a power pitcher. I rely on location."

Glavine took a no-hitter into the sixth in New York's 3-1 win.

Sunday's win completed a three-game sweep for the Mets (81-61),who remained six games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies(75-67) in the National League East.


Houston loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning, butMartinez got Hunter Pence on a groundout. With runners atfirst and second in the next frame, he retired Mike Lamb on aflyout. After a perfect fourth, Houston also loaded the baseswith two outs, but the wily Dominican again got Lamb on aflyout.


"We had so many opportunities to get guys in, and we didn't geta big hit," said Houston starter Roy Oswalt. "If you don'tscore, you don't win."


Following the inning, the crowd serenaded Martinez with chantsof "Pedro, Pedro," prompting the popular pitcher to step out ofthe dugout for a colorful curtain call. Martinez, who yieldedsix hits and a walk with four strikeouts, was grateful for theovation.


"I'm gonna savor every little moment I have, every curtain call,every autograph I sign," said Martinez. "I'm gonna enjoy itbecause it's not gonna last that long. I always said I wouldn'tbe pitching when I'm 40."


The Mets staked Martinez to an early 1-0 lead against Oswalt(14-8), who entered 6-0 with a 1.79 ERA over his last eightstarts and wins in his last three starts against the Mets.

"We were facing one of the best pitchers in the game today,"said Moises Alou, who went deep for the 11th time thisafternoon.


Carlos Beltran doubled home Luis Castillo in the first inning,and he drove in his second run of the day on a third-inningsacrifice fly. Martinez led off the inning by roping a doubleover the head of Houston left fielder Carlos Lee.


"Leading off the inning, I was trying to throw a fastball downthe middle and roll him over," said Oswalt of Martinez's at-bat."He hit it pretty well."


Alou doubled the Mets' lead with a two-run homer off Oswalt inthe fifth, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

Guillermo Mota relieved Martinez and promptly surrendered LukeScott's 18th homer of the season, which cut the lead to 4-1.

Pedro Feliciano worked the seventh, Aaron Heilman the eighth andBilly Wagner the ninth for his 32nd save in 36 chances.

Oswalt surrendered four runs and nine hits over seven innings asHouston concluded its nine-game road trip at 2-7.