Mets even series with big push from rookie

SAN FRANCISCO -- Most predicted a dogfight between the Giants and Mets, two equally-matched teams with talent and firepower. Thursday night, in Game 2 of their National League Division Series, they exceeded expectations.

For eight innings, New York left-hander Al Leiter pitched masterfully, limiting San Francisco to one run and four hits. When he departed in the ninth after a leadoff double by Barry Bonds, Leiter entrusted reliever Armando Benitez with a 4-1 lead and seemed a sure winner.

Darryl Hamilton is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the winning run.(AP)

Not so. Pinch-hitter J.T. Snow stroked a three-run homer to right just beyond the wall to tie the game, sending the sellout crowd of 40,430 at Pacific Bell Park into hysterics. It was a magic moment, the first in the new yard, Bonds embracing Snow at home plate.

But it didn't last. Showing true resiliency, the Mets regained the advantage in the top of the 10th on a two-out, pinch-hit double by former-Giants player Darryl Hamilton and a single by Jay Payton of Felix Martinez, then held on for a heart-pounding 5-4 victory to even the series.

"This team never does cease to amaze me,'' said New York manager Bobby Valentine. "Some might have thought our heart was taken out with that three-run homer. I thought it fired us up.''

San Francisco put the tying run on second in the bottom of the 10th with one out, but Armando Rios foolishly tried to reach third on a grounder to shortstop and was thrown out. John Franco struck out Bonds looking to end the game.

"At that point, I figured we were going to win the game,'' Giants manager Dusty Baker said of Snow's dramatic home run, his first as a pinch-hitter. "The difference in the game was that they got all their runs with two outs.''

Copying the strategy of New York Yankees skipper Joe Torre, who juggled his lineup with great success Wednesday night after a Game 1 loss to Oakland, Valentine made wholesale changes. Only third baseman Robin Ventura and shortstop Mike Bordick hit in the same spot in the order, fifth and eighth, respectively.

Valentine dropped Game 1 leadoff batter Benny Agbayani to sixth, replacing him with right fielder Timo Perez; moved second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo from third to second; and promoted first baseman Todd Zeile from sixth to fourth.

The shuffling paid immediate dividends for New York. After a scoreless first inning, it parlayed two walks and a hit batter by San Francisco starter Shawn Estes into a pair of runs on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Perez.

As critical as Game 2 was for the Mets, it was equally important for Estes. The 27-year-old lefty finished second on the staff with 15 victories during the regular season and has major-league talent. His bugaboo has been control and emotion.

To put it mildly, Estes internalizes too much, occasionally becoming his own worst enemy. A bad call or mistake can set him off and send him into a tailspin. With his contract expiring after the playoffs, Estes is pitching for his future and was hoping to boost his bargaining power with a strong postseason. Now, the latter could be finished.

San Francisco got a run back in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Ellis Burks, and had something going in the third when Estes opened with a four-pitch walk. After Leiter struck out Murray, third baseman Bill Mueller grounded to deep short, where Bordick's only play was a force at second. Estes beat the throw but didn't slide and jammed his left foot against the bag. In obvious pain, he hobbled off the base without calling for time and was tagged out by Alfonzo.

Estes fell to the ground and was assisted off the field. He sustained a sprained ankle and X-rays were negative.

He was replaced by veteran lefthander Kirk Rueter, 11-9 as a starter during the regular season. Last May, Rueter pitched seven strong innings at Shea Stadium, allowing two runs and three hits as the Giants prevailed, 7-2.

Given the situation and short notice, Rueter did a great job, blanking the Mets for 4 1/3 innings before yielding to Doug Henry in the eighth. San Francisco's only problem was that Leiter was better. He set down the Giants in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, finally issuing a leadoff walk to Burks in the seventh.

Not that his clutch showing was a surprise to Valentine. Leiter won a team-high 16 games during the regular season, including a 2-0 shutout against the Giants in New York, when he fanned 12 in eight innings. He lost two of his last three starts, but tied a career-high with 200 strikeouts this season, averaging 8.7 per nine innings, fourth-best in the NL.

"He's a problem for a lot of people,'' Baker said.

Coming into the series, Bonds' playoff failures were well-documented, the three-time National League MVP a combined 16 for 80 with one homer and five RBI in 23 games. Despite going 2 for 3 and driving in the go-ahead run in Wednesday's 5-1 win, Bonds remains touchy about the past.

"If you guys go negative, I'm walking,'' he warned reporters afterward.

Bonds wasn't joking. He's determined to remain positive and has chatted every night with his primary hitting instructors, Bobby Bonds, his father, and Willie Mays, his godfather. Bonds has watched films of his big games and hopes they rub off.

They were mostly useless against Leiter, Bonds going 1 for 5. He limited the Giants to five hits, including a Bonds double in the ninth.

New York added two insurance runs in the ninth off Rodriguez on a homer to left by Alfonzo, and they proved huge, the ball piercing the heavy night air and easily clearing the 404-foot sign in left.

All things considered, the gum-chewing Valentine was thrilled to escape Pacific Bell Park with a split. Homefield advantage shifts to the Mets for the next two games and they can't wait to return to Shea.

"We proved to ourselves we could win here in case we have to come back,'' Valentine said. "Our fans are going to try to outdo their fans. That should be a real, exciting challenge.''