Alou The Amazing
So what if Moises Alou urinates
on his hands, spends too much time on the Disabled List, and, by some
accounts, has been playing baseball since the
took control of the
in 1906? The man can flat-out hit. Alou
belted two home runs on Sunday and apparently enjoyed the role of hero
enough to give a repeat performance last night. The veteran Dominican slugger singled
home two runs in the eighth inning to snap a 3-3 tie against
and give the New York Mets their second
straight win. “He’s as clutch a performer as there is late in a game,”
Pirates manager Jim Tracy said following the contest.
Alou is 9-for-26 (.346) in his last six games, carrying a
potent Mets lineup that has underachieved this season. But last night, the big
guns flexed their muscles, aiding Alou in the victory. Carlos Beltran blasted a
line-drive, solo home run in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2 and then
delivered a sacrifice fly in the sixth to knot the game at 3-3. David Wright
also contributed two hits and Mike DiFelice added two hits as well, including
an RBI double.
Mets starting pitcher Orlando Hernandez gritted through a
season-high 130 pitches in just six innings, but only allowed three runs after
working out of tight spots in seemingly every frame.
York
impressive ninth, tallying one strikeout and earning the save with a
Mets three games ahead of
second-place
ahead of
games last night.
