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Tuesday, Aug. 15 5:10pm ET
Helton's hitting can't beat Mets | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Todd Helton isn't to blame for the Colorado Rockies getting swept in a doubleheader by the New York Mets. Helton went 4-for-8 with three doubles and a homer to inch closer to .400, but Todd Zeile's tiebreaking homer in eighth inning helped New York complete the sweep, 7-5 and 4-3, on Tuesday night. "It makes me miserable," Helton said. "We're here to win games. I played pretty decent, but the object is to win games." The Mets drew eight walks -- including two with the bases loaded in the seventh inning -- and broke a tie on a run-scoring wild pitch to win the opener 7-5. New York has won 18 of 22 games to move within two games of Atlanta in the NL East. Helton is hitting .396 -- the highest anyone has been this late in the season since George Brett was batting over .400 in September 1980 before finishing at .390. Ted Williams, who hit .406 in 1941, is the last major leaguer to hit .400 over a full season. Helton, who is 17-for-24 in the first seven games of Colorado's road trip, has raised his average 26 points in the last 12 games. "The kid is swinging the bat as well as anyone I've ever seen," Rockies manager Buddy Bell said. "But we need more than that, especially against a team like the Mets." He had an RBI double in the second inning and doubled and scored in the fourth as the Rockies broke out to a 4-2 lead in the opener. He added an RBI double in the first inning of the nightcap and a solo homer in the sixth. The triple crown isn't out of the question, either. Helton has 30 homers and 104 RBIs, trailing Sammy Sosa by eight and three, respectively. "I feel confident at the plate," Helton said. "I'm seeing the ball really well. That's the biggest thing for me." Zeile, whose error in the seventh helped Colorado tie the game at 3, hit a 3-2 pitch from Bobby Chouinard (1-2) down the left-field line just over the glove of a leaping Todd Hollandsworth to give the Mets the lead with one out in the eighth. "I wasn't sure it was fair," Zeile said. "As I stood there and watched, I saw it wasn't breaking and I decided I better run. I was just glad that Holly didn't catch it." As the ball cleared the fence, Hollandsworth slumped against the wall and Zeile triumphantly rounded the bases for his 16th homer. "We played well enough to win," Bell said. "But we did just enough bad things to lose. That makes it very frustrating." The Rockies had tied it in the seventh. Hollandsworth reached second when Zeile misplayed his grounder to first for an error and right fielder Bubba Trammell slipped while fielding the ball for another error. After a sacrifice, Todd Walker hit an RBI groundout that Zeile bobbled, leaving him only a play at first. "Guys were on him for what he did in the field," manager Bobby Valentine said. "But that's what Todd has done for us all year, come through for us with big hits." Bobby J. Jones (8-5) had little trouble with anyone other than Helton in the Colorado lineup, allowing three runs -- two earned -- and four hits in eight innings. He has won four straight starts and is 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA since returning from a demotion to the minors. "I know if I take my good stuff out there I know I have a good chance to win," Jones said. "That's the mindset you have to go out there with. Early in the season, I didn't have that mindset." Armando Benitez pitched the ninth inning of both games, giving him 31 saves in 35 chances. He did allow an RBI single to Larry Walker in the opener, ending a streak of 21 innings without allowing an earned run. The last Met to save both ends of a doubleheader was Jesse Orosco, on Sept. 1, 1984, against San Diego. In the opener, the Mets rallied from a 4-2 deficit with four runs in the seventh. Todd Pratt, who went 3-for-4 and scored three times, led off with a double and went to third on Lenny Harris' pinch-hit single. The next five batters didn't put the ball in play, but the Mets took the lead thanks to four walks. Craig House (1-1) walked Edgardo Alfonzo with the bases loaded and Mike Myers did the same to Robin Ventura. Alfonzo scored the go-ahead run on Jose Jimenez's wild pitch, and Jay Payton added an RBI groundout. Two throwing errors by Jimenez and another run-scoring wild pitch helped the Mets add a run in the eighth. Dennis Cook (6-2) got one out for the win. Game notesHelton leads the league in batting, slugging, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, doubles, and total bases. ... Rockies rookie OF Juan Pierre has hit safely in all 10 games he's batted in. He also made a diving catch to rob Bubba Trammell of extra bases in the fourth inning of Game 2. Trammell ended up with a sacrifice fly. ... Rockies pitcher John Wasdin singled in his second career at-bat, while Jones went 0-for-2 and is hitless in 30 at-bats this season. He was robbed of a hit in the fifth inning when SS Neifi Perez made a leaping grab. ... The crowd of 29,724 pushed the Mets past 2 million in attendance in their 58th home date. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Colorado Clubhouse NY Mets Clubhouse RECAPS Tampa Bay 3 Boston 1
NY Mets 7
NY Mets 4
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