Mets 4 – Marlins 2
MIAMI – When Cliff Floyd, Mike Piazza and Mo Vaughn are in the lineup together, you don’t expect Ty Wigginton to shoulder the load for the Mets. But you also don’t expect the rookie third baseman to crush a 440-foot home run that would make any of the veteran sluggers proud.
It was Wigginton’s two-out, three-run, tape-measure homer in the third inning that allowed Al Leiter the necessary breathing room last night. Leiter earned his second victory in two starts with the Mets’ 4-2 win over Florida, a contest that ended with Armando Benitez’s eventful but scoreless ninth.
Wigginton, who managed 13 homers in the minors from 2001-2002 before hitting six in 116 at-bats with the Mets last year, is blossoming at the major league level.
“He drives the ball to all fields, stays on the ball real well and has a quick bat,” Art Howe said. “A guy named George Brett wasn’t even a good hitter in the minors.
“There’s a lot of hitters who developed in the major leagues. I wish I did.”
Wigginton, who was batting .250 with zero RBIs, hit the longest homer of the season by a Met. Just to the left of center field, the fence extends out in a nook to 434 feet, making it reminiscent of Fenway Park’s famous triangle.
Wigginton blasted his first homer of 2003 well over that mark. The ball ricocheted about 15 feet up off the football bleachers in storage behind the fence. It came after Vaughn faltered by fouling out with runners at the corners and one out.
“I wanted to pick Mo up, and I was fortunate enough to come through,” said Wigginton, whose blast gave the Mets a 4-0 bulge. “Early on, I was letting the ballclub down.”
Wigginton singled and scored the first Mets run in the second, and he just missed his second homer when he doubled high off the 26-foot left-field scoreboard in the eighth.
Leiter danced out of trouble all evening, allowing six hits, five walks and two earned runs over 62/3innings. He possessed a live, 92-mph fastball and continued to work the outside half of the plate to keep hitters honest. The most noticeable example of that was Leiter walking Pudge Rodriguez four times.
“I’ve been pitching long enough to appreciate a win,” Leiter said. “I made pitches when I had to.”
With the lead 4-2, both David Weathers (seventh) and Mike Stanton (eighth) stranded inherited runners, escaping situations that could’ve been sticky.
In the ninth, Benitez made his first appearance since Sunday’s blowup in an 8-5 loss to the Expos and allowed a one-out single up the middle to Luis Castillo. With two outs, he issued the record-tying fifth walk of the game to Rodriguez. Derrek Lee was the winning run, but he flew out to left to end the game and give the Mets their fourth win in seven games.
“Armando’s our closer and he’s used to pitching in tough situations,” Howe said. “He’s not going to be perfect every time, but he’s going to be near perfect.”
Benitez gave credit to John Franco, who calmed down the closer after his first blown save of the year.
“You can’t be perfect every time,” Benitez said.
