METS ENJOY LEITER SIDE; LEFT-HANDER STOPS REDS, SENDS N.Y. INTO PLAYOFFS : N.Y. METS 5, CINCINNATI 0.Byline: Bob Ford Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Morning newspaper, long one of the most influential dailies in the eastern U.S. Founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer, it took its present name c. 1860. It was a strong supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. In the dugout, New York Mets
Leiter had allowed the Cincinnati Reds just two hits, but with two runners on and two outs in the ninth Monday night, Valentine didn't want to risk - even with a five-run lead - letting the Mets' wild-card postseason berth slip away. On the mound, facing Dmitri Young Dmitri Dell Young (born October 11 1973, Vicksburg, Mississippi) is a Major League Baseball player. He is the starting first baseman of the Washington Nationals. His nickname is "Da Meat Hook. , Leiter knew the situation and he knew what he wanted. ``I wanted to experience a celebration as one of the nine who are on the field,'' Leiter said. ``I've run in from the bullpen or the dugout before, but I wanted to be out there.'' Leiter got his wish. Young lined into the final out of the inning and the Mets had defeated the Reds 5-0 to capture a one-game showdown for the last National League playoff spot. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , left nearly for dead just four games ago, will open the Division Series tonight in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. . In the other NL best-of-five opener, Atlanta hosts the Houston Astros “Astros” redirects here. For other uses, see Astros (disambiguation). The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The team is in the Central Division of the National League. this afternoon. ``It felt pretty good to be out there celebrating,'' said Leiter, ``although I think I'm deaf in my left ear from John Franco screaming so loud. Then, I had to watch out for Robin (Ventura) coming over pretty hard from third base. But it was a great feeling and hopefully we'll get to experience it two or three more times.'' It didn't feel so good for the sellout crowd of 54,621 at Cinergy Field or for the Reds, who had to survive a near flood in Milwaukee the evening before just to force the one-game playoff. ``Nobody has to hang their heads,'' said the Reds' Greg Vaughn, who was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts but finished with 45 home runs. ``It was a fun year. This is a good group. We came together and proved a lot of people wrong.'' While the Mets began the season with baseball's eighth-highest payroll at $63.5 million, the Reds payroll was 22nd among the 30 major-league teams at $33.1 million. For New York, which lost seven straight down the stretch to seemingly toss away a sure wild-card slot, it was sweet revenge and sweeter salvation. ``I'm drained, excited, thankful, a lot of emotions,'' said Valentine, who, in his 12th season as a major-league manager will get his first taste of the postseason. ``This team took shots to the head, shots to the body and shots below the belt and came up swinging every time.'' CAPTION(S): photo, box PHOTO (color) Mets pitcher Al Leiter savors the moment after completing a victory over the Reds in a one-game playoff at Cincinnati. Tony Tribble/Associated Press BOX: NL box score |
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