CASTILLO SECOND TO NONE
Marlon Anderson had barely crossed home plate when Jose Reyes crossed the diamond, making a beeline straight for first base. Straight for Luis Castillo.
Reyes and the rest of the Mets mobbed Castillo on the field, jumping up and down and celebrating his game-winning walk-off RBI single. After beating San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman and handing the Amazin’s a come-from-behind 7-6 victory, Castillo finally became a Met.
“I feel great to get a hit there. I feel now like I’m on the team,” Castillo said. “I come here to help the team, and I want to keep it going. When I came in the trade, that’s what people want to see.
“I feel great, because we played hard and we have to win some games. We looked up at the scoreboard and saw Atlanta lost, so it was a big win. We have to play hard and try to win, forget everything and win the game.”
He’s done just that since arriving July 31, bringing his three Gold Gloves to second base and closing the revolving door that’s been the No. 2-hole in the lineup, hitting .324 as a Met and prompting Marlon Anderson to gush, “He’s amazing. He’s the ultimate two-hitter you can’t replace.”
“I play to win,” said Castillo, a two-time World Series champ. “I know what I have to do, try to do my job. If a guy’s on, I move him over. I have a great hitter behind me. I try to make it easy for him. You have to play the game right. If you play the game right, everything comes out good.”
It did last night. Castillo was 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and the game-winning single. With Reyes on first and Anderson on second, Castillo stepped in looking for heat and got it. He laced a first-pitch fastball up the middle to win it, touching off a celebration.
“I feel so happy for him because he’s a guy who likes to win. He’s hungry for wins,” Reyes said. “I’m happy for him because he knows how to play the game. I’m happy to see him come through like that.”
Castillo has reached base safely in 15 straight games, hitting .379 with 14 runs scored and 10 RBIs.
“He’s got the best changeup in the league. I just focused and said try to get a fastball because if he throws a changeup and gets ahead, I don’t have a chance,” Castillo said. “I tried to hit a fastball and that’s what I did.”
