InfoBeat Major League Baseball Monday, August 28, 2000

Monday's Games
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**NEW YORK METS 4, Houston Astros 2
**New York Yankees 9, SEATTLE MARINERS 1
**OAKLAND A'S 3, Chicago White Sox 0
**PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 3, Colorado Rockies 2


NEW YORK 4, HOUSTON 2

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Mets aren't about to get too excited
about being in first place in August.

"Being in first place is something. Staying there the rest of the
season is something else," Edgardo Alfonzo said after his
three-run homer in the first inning helped the Mets beat the
Houston Astros 4-2 Monday night to move into a tie for first in
the NL East with Atlanta.

The Braves had held first exclusively since April 26, but lost
6-3 Cincinnati to move back into a tie. New York has gone a major
league-best 30-15 since the All-Star break to move into first
place this late in the season for the first time since Sept. 3,
1990. New York was in first as late as Aug. 21 last season before
finishing 6 1/2 games behind the Braves. The Mets eventually lost
to Atlanta in six games in the NLCS.

Glendon Rusch (9-10) allowed solo homers to former Met Roger
Cedeno and Richard Hidalgo, but pitched around three other
extra-base hits. Houston's Tony Eusebio doubled to give him a
team-record 24-game hitting streak.

The Mets did all of the scoring they needed on the first five
pitches against Brian Powell (1-1). Benny Agbayani singled to
center on a 1-0 pitch and went to third when Derek Bell singled
on the next pitch to snap an 0-for-21 stretch. Alfonzo then hit a
1-0 pitch into the seats in left center for his 17th homer and a
3-1 Mets lead.

Rusch pitched out of trouble a few times. He left the bases
loaded in the second inning and worked around two extra-base hits
by Chris Truby. Rusch stranded Truby after a leadoff triple in
the fourth, striking out Tim Bogar and Powell and getting a
groundout from Julio Lugo after Cedeno walked with two outs.
Truby hit a one-out double in the sixth and was left at second.

"I made some mistakes early, but I made some big pitches to get
out of jams," Rusch said. "That gave me a lot of confidence."

The left-hander allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings,
striking out seven. Mets starters, whose 4.22 ERA is the best in
the league, improved to 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA over the last five
games -- one turn through the rotation.

New York added an insurance run in the eighth when Jay Payton
doubled, went to third on a groundout and scored when Jose
Cabrera balked. Cabrera broke his hands while standing on the
rubber, and third base umpire Dan Iassogna called the balk.
Cabrera said catcher Mitch Meluskey changed signs after Cabrera
looked at Payton at third base, causing the confusion.

"I know the way to do it is to step off the rubber and call
timeout," Cabrera said. "I just forgot."

Turk Wendell pitched two innings for his first save since July
26, 1999.


NEW YORK METS 4, Houston Astros 2

HOUSTON AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Cedeno lf 3 1 1 1 2 0 .264
Lugo 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .259
Bagwell 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .313
Hidalgo cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .274
Alou rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .362
Eusebio c 4 0 2 0 0 1 .289
1-GBarker pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241
Meluskey c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297
Truby 3b 4 0 2 0 0 1 .268
Bogar ss 3 0 1 0 0 2 .179
b-Spiers ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .304
BPowell p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .222
a-Berkman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .296
JosCabrera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
c-DWard ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 34 2 8 2 3 7


NEW YORK AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Agbayani lf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .311
DeBell rf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .274
Alfonzo 2b 3 1 1 3 1 0 .326
Ventura 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .234
Zeile 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .284
Payton cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 .288
Bordick ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .297
Pratt c 2 0 0 0 2 0 .257
Rusch p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .051
Wendell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 27 4 6 3 6 1

-----------------------------
Houston 101 000 000-2 8 1
New York 300 000 01x-4 6 0
-----------------------------

a-grounded out for B.Powell in the 6th. b-grounded out for Bogar
in the 9th. c-grounded out for Cabrera in the 9th.

1-ran for Eusebio in the 8th.

E-Eusebio (5). LOB-Houston 8, New York 7. 2B-Eusebio (18), Truby
(11), Payton (19). 3B-Truby (2). HR-Hidalgo (33) off Rusch;
Alfonzo (17) off BPowell; Cedeno (5) off Rusch. RBIs-Cedeno (24),
Hidalgo (89), Alfonzo 3 (78). SB-GBarker (7). S-Rusch 2.
GIDP-Alou, Payton.

Runners left in scoring position-Houston 6 (Lugo 3, Alou, Truby,
Berkman); New York 4 (Alfonzo 2, Ventura 2).

Runners moved up-Hidalgo, Bordick.

DP-Houston 1 (Bogar, Lugo and Bagwell); New York 1 (Bordick,
Alfonzo and Zeile).

HOUSTON
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
BPowell L, 1-1 5 5 3 3 6 0 81 6.39
JosCabrera 3 1 1 1 0 1 29 5.65

NEW YORK
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
Rusch W, 9-10 7 7 2 2 3 7 117 4.34
Wendell S, 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 16 3.22

Balk-JosCabrera.

Umpires-Home, Hollowell; First, O'Nora; Second, Hirschbeck, M.;
Third, Iassogna.

T-2:22. A-28,472 (55,777).

*** For the Houston/New York scoring summary, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569287043-6c6



NEW YORK 9, SEATTLE 1

SEATTLE (AP) - A cramp, rather than the Seattle Mariners,
finished off Roger Clemens.

Clemens won his seventh straight decision, pitching shutout ball
before abruptly leaving in the eighth inning Monday night as the
New York Yankees beat slumping Seattle 9-1.

Clemens grabbed at his right hamstring after a pitch in the
eighth and was pulled. After the game, the Yankees said it was
Clemens' left hamstring -- the one that has caused him problems
in the past -- that actually had cramped up. The Yankees said
Clemens was OK and that there was no cause for concern.

"My legs were a little tired," Clemens said. "I think it was a
combination of the cool weather and the long inning we had in the
top of the eighth."

Jose Canseco, who homered, and David Justice each drove in three
runs as the Yankees sent the Mariners to their 13th defeat in 15
games. Grim-faced manager Lou Piniella had nothing to celebrate
on his 57th birthday as Seattle's lead in the AL West was cut to
1 1/2 games by Oakland. The Mariners led by seven games when
their slide started on Aug. 12.

Said Piniella: "Clemens is a future Hall of Famer. He hasn't
accomplished the things he's accomplished in baseball because he
hasn't been able to do those things."

The Yankees matched their season-high five-game lead in the AL
East.

Clemens (11-6) gave up five hits and lowered his ERA to 3.65,
second in the AL to Boston's Pedro Martinez (1.77). Clemens gave
up a leadoff single to Alex Rodriguez in the eighth. Then after
going to a 1-1 count on Edgar Martinez, Clemens grabbed his
hamstring and manager Joe Torre went to the mound. At that point,
Clemens was pulled.

"Roger's fine," Torre said. "When I went out there, he said his
legs were getting a little tired. So I got him out of there."

Clemens is 7-0 with five no-decisions and a 2.60 ERA since coming
off the disabled list July 1. He had been sidelined by a strained
right groin. The five-time Cy Young winner struck out seven and
walked four. He also moved Rodriguez off the plate with a
fastball in the eighth -- in the top of the inning, Yankees star
Derek Jeter was hit in the left arm by a pitch from Paul Abbott
(8-5).

Clemens improved his career record against the Mariners to 21-11,
giving him the most lifetime victories against Seattle.

The Mariners scored in the ninth off Jason Grimsley on Rickey
Henderson's sacrifice fly.


New York Yankees 9, SEATTLE MARINERS 1

NEW YORK AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Polonia lf 4 3 3 1 1 0 .282
Jeter ss 3 2 2 0 1 0 .325
BeWilliams cf 4 1 1 0 1 1 .307
Justice rf 4 1 1 3 1 0 .287
Canseco dh 4 1 1 3 0 1 .267
TMartinez 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .265
Bellinger 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .248
Posada c 3 0 0 0 1 0 .294
Sojo 2b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .338
Brosius 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .233

Totals 33 9 9 8 7 3


SEATTLE AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Henderson lf 2 0 0 1 2 0 .246
AMartin rf 5 0 2 0 0 1 .267
ARodriguez ss 3 0 1 0 1 1 .335
EMartinez dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 .336
Olerud 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .280
CGuillen 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .265
Cameron cf 3 1 1 0 1 2 .263
DWilson c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .244
McLemore 2b 2 0 0 0 2 1 .235

Totals 31 1 5 1 6 7

----------------------------
New York 300 010 041-9 9 0
Seattle 000 000 001-1 5 1
----------------------------

E-ARodriguez (9). LOB-New York 6, Seattle 10. 2B-Justice (25).
HR-Canseco (13) off PAbbott. RBIs-Polonia (27), Justice 3 (98),
Canseco 3 (41), Sojo (11), Henderson (26). SB-Jeter (19), Sojo
(1), DWilson (1). CS-Polonia (6). SF-Canseco, Henderson.
GIDP-Justice.

Runners left in scoring position-New York 3 (TMartinez,
Bellinger, Brosius); Seattle 7 (Henderson 2, AMartin, Olerud 3,
CGuillen).

Runners moved up-EMartinez, DWilson.

DP-Seattle 1 (McLemore, ARodriguez and Olerud).

NEW YORK
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
Clemens W, 11-6 7 5 0 0 4 7 125 3.65
Nelson 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 2.30
Grimsley 1 0 1 1 2 0 23 4.62

SEATTLE
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
PAbbott L, 8-5 7 6 8 7 4 1 116 4.28
Pineiro 2 3 1 1 3 2 36 6.28

Clemens pitched to 1 batter in the 8th, PAbbott pitched to 4
batters in the 8th.

Inherited runners-scored-Nelson 1-0, Pineiro 2-2.

IBB-off PAbbott (Justice) 1. HBP-by PAbbott (Jeter).

Umpires-Home, Packard; First, Davis; Second, Guccione; Third,
Rieker.

T-3:12. A-45,077 (47,145).

*** For the New York/Seattle scoring summary, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569292369-be3



OAKLAND 3, CHICAGO 0

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Tim Hudson was nearly perfect against the
American League's highest-scoring team.

"I don't know if you get any better than that," Oakland manager
Art Howe said after Hudson's one-hitter led the Athletics over
the Chicago White Sox 3-0 Monday night.

Frank Thomas' sharp single to center with one out in the fourth
was the only hit for the White Sox, and Thomas was wiped out on a
double play. The only other Chicago runner was Paul Konerko, who
drew a leadoff walk in the third.

Hudson (14-6) struck out eight and didn't allow a runner as far
as second in his first career shutout, the start of which was
delayed 27 minutes by a light failure.

The victory moved the Athletics within 1 1/2 games of AL West
leader Seattle, a 9-1 loser to the New York Yankees.

Hudson, who was roughed up for eight runs in Oakland's 13-0 loss
to the White Sox in Chicago on Aug. 6, said there was no great
mystery why he was so much better against them this time.

"It's all location," he said. "I got a lot of first strikes and I
kept from throwing it down the middle."

The complete game was just the second in 47th major league starts
for Hudson, who beat Detroit 2-1 with a four-hitter last Sept. 4.

The White Sox, who are 22-22 since the All-Star break but still
have a seven-game lead in the AL Central, were shut out for just
the third time this season.

"We were trying to battle, but he just threw strikes," Thomas
said. "He located his fastball well and stayed ahead of hitters.
He made guys do a lot of chasing. He was definitely on tonight."

Mike Stanley provided all the offense Hudson would need when he
snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run single in the fifth
inning.

Chicago's Jim Parque (10-6) matched Hudson's performance early,
but he ran into control problems in the fifth, when he walked
Eric Chavez to lead off the inning. After Chavez moved to second
on Ramon Hernandez's sacrifice and Ryan Christenson flied out,
Parque gave up two-out walks to Randy Velarde and Terrence Long
that loaded the bases.

Parque, who has won just once in eight starts since July 15, gave
up three runs and five hits in seven innings. He walked six and
struck out five.

"One inning, I lost concentration," Parque said. "I made good
pitches, but the umpire has the last word. I'm not disputing what
he called, but I had some tough pitches and had some tough jams
to get out of. I didn't throw the ball over the plate."


OAKLAND A'S 3, Chicago White Sox 0

CHICAGO AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Durham 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .284
JAValentin ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 .289
Thomas dh 3 0 1 0 0 0 .334
MOrdonez rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .330
CNLee lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .293
Perry 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .301
Konerko 1b 2 0 0 0 1 1 .293
Singleton cf 3 0 0 0 0 2 .252
CJohnson c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .289

Totals 27 0 1 0 1 8


OAKLAND AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Christenson lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .248
Velarde 2b 3 1 0 0 1 0 .278
Long cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 .286
Stanley 1b 3 0 1 2 1 0 .232
Grieve dh 4 0 1 0 0 2 .291
Tejada ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 .274
Piatt rf 3 1 2 0 1 0 .323
Chavez 3b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .278
RJHernandez c 2 0 0 0 0 1 .227

Totals 28 3 6 3 6 5

----------------------------
Chicago 000 000 000-0 1 1
Oakland 000 021 00x-3 6 0
----------------------------

E-Konerko (10). LOB-Chicago 1, Oakland 8. 3B-Chavez (4).
RBIs-Stanley 2 (38), Chavez (68). S-RJHernandez. GIDP-MOrdonez,
Chavez.

Runners left in scoring position-Oakland 3 (Christenson, Stanley,
Grieve).

DP-Chicago 1 (Durham, JAValentin and Konerko); Oakland 1 (Tejada,
Velarde and Stanley).

CHICAGO
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
Parque L, 10-6 7 5 3 3 6 5 127 4.36
Buehrle 1 1 0 0 0 0 13 4.54

OAKLAND
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
Hudson W, 14-6 9 1 0 0 1 8 106 4.93

Umpires-Home, Danley; First, Timmons; Second, Tschida; Third,
Fletcher.

T-2:19. A-12,436 (43,012).



PHILADELPHIA 3, COLORADO 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Todd Helton probably wishes he took one more
swing Monday night, even though he raised his average to .397.

Bobby Abreu hit his third homer in two games as the Philadelphia
Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 despite three hits from
Helton.

Helton's average went up three points. He singled in the first
inning, flied out in the third, and doubled in the fifth and
eighth innings. But with Colorado trailing by a run in the
seventh, Helton took a called strike on Robert Person's 3-1 pitch
as Mike Lieberthal threw out Juan Pierre at second to end the
inning.

"I was looking for a fastball in so I could drive the ball, but
it was a fastball away," Helton said.

Lieberthal didn't expect Helton to take the pitch.

"I told Person to throw over there and keep him close,"
Lieberthal said. "It didn't matter how many times he threw over.
When he wanted to go home, I wanted him to concentrate on Helton.
I'm surprised he didn't swing."

Abreu, batting .389 (14-for-36) since moving to the leadoff spot
nine games ago, gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the third with
his 21st homer -- a liner off the facing of the upper deck in
right field.

Rockies manager Buddy Bell began serving a two-game suspension
for excessive arguing after his ejection following a
bench-clearing brawl against Atlanta last Tuesday. Bench coach
Toby Harrah managed the team in Bell's absence.

Person (7-4) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings. He
struck out four and walked two.

"The key was to get the guy in front of Helton," Person said.
"He's the best hitter I faced this year."

Person, a hard-luck pitcher with 11 no-decisions, lowered his ERA
to 3.19, fourth in the league and fifth in the majors. He's
allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his no-decisions. Jeff
Brantley pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save in 25
attempts.

"He's been streaky, but he looked terrific," Phillies manager
Terry Francona said.

Masato Yoshii (5-14) allowed two runs and six hits in six
innings. He matched a season-high with seven strikeouts and
walked one.

"When Yoshii pitches good, we don't usually score runs for him,"
Harrah said. "He was real sharp tonight."


PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 3, Colorado Rockies 2

COLORADO AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Pierre cf 5 0 0 0 0 1 .346
NPerez ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .296
Helton 1b 4 1 3 0 0 0 .397
Hammonds rf 3 0 1 1 1 0 .353
TWalker 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 .329
Cirillo 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .327
Hollandsworth lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .238
Mayne c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .291
Yoshii p 1 0 1 1 1 0 .196
a-Melhuse ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .250
DeJean p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
MMyers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Chouinard p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
c-Shumpert ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .265

Totals 34 2 8 2 2 6


PHILADELPHIA AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
-- - - -- -- -- ----
Abreu rf 4 1 1 1 0 3 .319
Glanville cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 .276
Rolen 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .295
Lieberthal c 4 0 1 1 0 1 .282
TLee 1b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .242
Burrell lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .258
Sefcik lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
MOAnderson 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .293
TPerez ss 3 1 1 0 0 2 .266
Person p 2 0 1 0 0 0 .143
b-Ducey ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .187
Padilla p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Brantley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---

Totals 32 3 8 3 2 9

----------------------------------
Colorado 000 100 010-2 8 0
Philadelphia 101 000 10x-3 8 0
----------------------------------

a-singled for Yoshii in the 7th. b-walked for Person in the 7th.
c-flied out for Chouinard in the 9th.

LOB-Colorado 8, Philadelphia 7. 2B-Helton 2 (52), TWalker (5),
Person (3). 3B-TPerez (1). HR-Abreu (21) off Yoshii.
RBIs-Hammonds (101), Yoshii (8), Abreu (69), Glanville (40),
Lieberthal (71). SB-Glanville (25). CS-Pierre (3).

Runners left in scoring position-Colorado 5 (Pierre, TWalker,
Cirillo 2, Hollandsworth); Philadelphia 4 (Glanville, Lieberthal,
Burrell, MOAnderson).

Runners moved up-Cirillo.

COLORADO
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
Yoshii L, 5-14 6 6 2 2 1 7 104 5.87
DeJean 1 1 1 1 0 9 4.17
MMyers 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 4 2.00
Chouinard 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 17 4.37

PHILADELPHIA
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
-- - - -- -- -- -- ---
Person W, 7-4 7 6 1 1 2 4 121 3.19
Padilla 1 2 1 1 0 1 15 3.04
Brantley S, 21 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 5.31

DeJean pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

Inherited runners-scored-MMyers 2-0, Chouinard 2-1.

HBP-by Person (TWalker).

Umpires-Home, Cederstrom; First, Scott; Second, Drake; Third,
Hudson.

T-2:57. A-14,118 (62,363).

*** For the Colorado/Philadelphia scoring summary, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569288918-8ed




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