With a 6-5 lead and Sean Casey on first with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning at a cold Shea Stadium last night, Met closer Armando Benitez understood the situation precisely as the best player in baseball, the Reds’ Ken Griffey, came to plate.
“I know if I make a mistake, it will be terrible,” Benitez said of the confrontation.
The 27-year-old Benitez threw six pitches to Griffey, who rejected an offseason trade to the Mets – and was treated accordingly by the home fans last night in his Shea Stadium debut.
Five of Benitez’ throws were fastballs, one was a mistake – a slider. Griffey pulled that one down the right-field line, just foul. It was almost “terrible.” It was almost a double that likely would’ve tied the game.
But the count eventually worked to 2-2. Benitez – who was allegedly part of a deal that would’ve brought Griffey to Shea – just missed with a heater.
The count moved to 3-2. Casey would be moving and would likely score on a gapper. It would be power vs. power. April baseball doesn’t get much more fun than this.
“It’s exciting,” Bobby Valentine said. “I’m not sure I would define it as fun.”
The 3-2 delivery came and there were 27,154 spectators who looked at a beautifully placed fastball on the outside corner. The attendance last night was 27,153. Griffey was No. 27,154. Home-plate ump Rich Rieker called him out. Benitez struck out the side.
It was the exclamation point on the Mets’ 6-5, come-from-behind win – their ninth straight victory, two shy of the team record.
The pitch was a difficult one to take.
“I don’t know,” said Griffey when asked if it was a strike. “I don’t know. You guys have the luxury of looking on instant replay. I don’t.”
So if this is indeed a championship season for the Mets, then the night these Mets turned back the clock and wore their 1969 championship uniforms will be forever remembered for how it started and ended.
To begin the day, the Met shortstop, Rey Ordonez, and their third base coach, Cookie Rojas, left the ballpark before 4 p.m. to join a one-day work stoppage protest over the treatment of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez, a fellow Cuban.
Benitez was asked afterward how many times he had faced Griffey, and the reliever said, “too much.”
Officially, Benitez, while with the Orioles, had retired Griffey four out of five times.
Benitez, Octavio Dotel and Roger Cedeno were the Mariners asking price for Griffey during the winter meetings. GM Steve Phillips said last night that a deal was never consummated and was squashed when Griffey said he wouldn’t play at Shea.
For this decision, Griffey was booed every time he stepped to the plate.
Three Met relievers -Turk Wendell, who got the win to improve to 2-0, John Franco and Benitez – combined for 31/3 innings of shutout relief. They picked up Al Leiter, who for the second consecutive start got a no-decision with a less-than-stellar performance (five earned runs in 52/3 innings).
Leiter gave up a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth by allowing four runs. However, trailing 5-4, the Mets came back in the seventh, led again by the reigning NL Player of the Week, Derek Bell.
Bell – who in the fifth inning had what may have been a home run taken away from him by a vintage Griffey wall-climbing catch – tied the game with a shot to left on the first pitch of the seventh inning by losing pitcher, reliever Scott Sullivan. Not even Griffey could reach this one.
“I made sure of that one,” said Bell, who recorded his fourth homer of the season.
Edgardo Alfonzo – who had hit a two-run homer in the third – followed with a single to right. Then Mike Piazza doubled to short left to set up second and third.
The Reds brought in another righty, Scott Williamson, and he intentionally walked Robin Ventura – who had hit a solo shot in the third. Next, with the bases loaded Williamson pushed across the winning run by walking pinch-hitter Jon Nunnally. The Mets took the decisive 6-5 lead.
