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Mets Clinch Wild Card and Beat Giants in National League Division Series!
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On Wednesday, September 27th, the New York Mets clinched the 2000
National League Wild Card for the second year in a row. The club
made its second postseason appearance in as many years for the first
time in their 39-year history. The New York Mets played a heated battle against the
San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series and won.
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| RESULTS FROM THE 2000 DIVISIONAL SERIES vs. S.F. GIANTS |
| Game |
Team |
Score |
Pitcher |
| Game 1 |
Mets |
1 |
L - Mike Hampton |
|
Giants |
5 |
W - Livan Hernandez |
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| Game 2 |
Mets |
5 |
W - Armando Benitez |
|
Giants |
4 |
L - Felix Rodriquez |
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| Game 3 |
Mets |
3 |
W - Rick White |
|
Giants |
2 |
L - Aaron Fultz |
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| Game 4 |
Mets |
4 |
W - Bobby Jones |
|
Giants |
0 |
L - Mark Gardner |
Game 1 - Mets Fall to Giants in Game One
On Wednesday Oct. 4th, the New York Mets faced the San Francisco Giants
in Game One of the National League Division Series. Mike Hampton took
the mound for the Mets against Livan Hernandez. Despite sharp pitching
from both sides early in the game, the score was tied
1-1 after two innings. In a key moment in the third inning, with a runner
on first base, Mike Hampton threw Barry Bonds what appeared to be the
third strike. The umpire called it "ball three", and on the next pitch
Bonds hit a triple to score the run from first. Mike Hampton, apparently
rattled from the sequence of events, later gave up a three-run homer to
Ellis Burks in the same inning. That was all the Giants needed to defeat
the Mets by a score of 5-1. Game Two will be played on
Thursday, Oct. 5th at 8:00pm.
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Game 2 - Mets Brought Their Heart to San Francisco
In both an exciting and nerve-racking game, the Mets and Giants faced
each other in Game Two of the National League Division Series. In their
attempt to avoid falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-five series, the Mets
sent Al Leiter to the mound to do what he has done in past postseason
play, deliver in the big game. Leiter did just that by pitching eight
innings and allowing only two runs on five hits. The game appeared to
be well in hand in the ninth inning as the Mets led by a score of 4-1.
It was at this point when Bobby Valentine turned to closer Armando
Benitez to face Jeff Kent after Bonds led the inning off with a double
off of Leiter. Kent delivered an infield single that squeaked through
the hole to bring the tying run to the plate. After retiring Ellis Burks,
Benitez faced pinch-hitter J.T. Snow. With one mighty swing of the bat,
J.T. Snow launched a home run down the right field line that barely
stayed in fair play. The game was tied, and the Mets' hopes of tying up
the series were immediately halted. With two outs in the tenth, Hamilton
drilled a pinch-hit double to the right center field gap. Jay Payton
ripped a run scoring line drive to give the Mets the lead. John Franco
struck out Barry Bonds looking at strike three to save the game, and
possibly the series, for the Mets. With the win, the Mets return home to
Shea for two games, Saturday and Sunday, in which they can wrap up the
series by winning both. The time for Games 3 and 4 is yet to be
determined.
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Game 3 - Mets Take Series Lead After 13 Inning Marathon
In a 5 hour and 22 minute game, the longest in postseason history, the
Mets took the lead in their best-of-five series against the Giants 2-1
on Saturday night. The game appeared to belong to the Giants, as Russ
Ortiz seemed unhittable. The Mets were able to rally and get back into
the game in the eighth inning behind their most consistent hitter in the
series. Edgardo Alfonzo, who smacked Robb Nen's delivery into the
left-field corner, drove in Lenny Harris from second base to score the
tying run. The game then went to extra innings where another classic
finish awaited the Amazin' Mets. In the bottom of the 13th inning, in
a game that appeared would never end, Benny Agbayani provided the
game-winning blast over the left-center field wall to win the game and
send the Mets faithful into a frenzy. The final score of the game was
3-2, and the Mets will try to end the series on Sunday to reach the
National League Championship Series.
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Game 4 - Mets Win Series Behind Jones' One-Hitter
On Sunday, October 8th, the Mets looked to win Game four of the National
League Divisional Series to send the San Francisco Giants home and move
on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. The date that marked the
44th anniversary of Don Larsen's perfect game in the World Series for the
Yankees saw another pitching gem for a New York team in the postseason.
Bobby Jones, in his first postseason start, pitched a complete game
shutout allowing only one hit. Jones was perfect in eight of his nine
innings to give the Mets more than they needed to move past the Giants.
With a capacity crowd of 56,245 on hand to watch the unbelievable
pitching performance by Jones, they also saw the Mets score on a Robin
Ventura two-run homer in the first inning. The Mets put the game away
off of Edgardo Alfonzo's two-run double in the fifth inning making the
final score of the game 4-0. The Mets will now face the St. Louis
Cardinals, who defeated the Atlanta Braves, in the National League
Championship Series.
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Last Updated On:
Friday, April 20, 2001 | |
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