Last night could’ve been about Mike Piazza playing like Mike Piazza, future Hall of Famer. He did hit the game-winning homer in the bottom of the fifth and he did make a tremendous defensive play at the plate in the top of the seventh.
But last night was all about the top half of the first six innings. It was about three earned runs on six hits. Those were righty Bobby Jones’ numbers in his 4-3 victory over the first-place Diamondbacks in front of 25,292 at a frigid Shea Stadium. It was his first victory in more than a year. The Mets, after losing 10 of 14, have now won two straight.
Jones beat Todd Stottlemyre, who dropped to 7-2.
The Mets received scoreless relief in the eighth and ninth inning from John Franco and Armando Benitez.
Jones (1-1) was making his first start since being placed on the disabled list with a strained right calf April 17. Coming into last night, Jones, had pitched a total of 6 1/3 innings and had a 16.20 ERA.
Last year, due to shoulder problems, Jones started only nine games and wasn’t on the Mets playoff roster.
“I’m very happy, very, very happy” said Jones, who left his last major-league start in Pittsburgh due to his calf strain after facing two batters. “It’s been a long time. It’s been a long time since I pitched well and also I’ve got a victory out of it.”
Manager Bobby Valentine added, “We really needed him to throw well. We needed him to get back in the swing of the things. It makes us stronger.”
Valentine credited Jones’ changing of speeds for the 30-year-old’s effectiveness, but it was Piazza who changed the outcome.
Only Piazza – on the night the opposing team set a franchise record by stealing seven bases off of him – could be the difference maker.
In the fifth, with the Mets down 3-2, Piazza took a hanging 1-0 off-speed pitch from Stottlemyre and launched it off the Dunkin’ Donuts sign beneath the left field stands. The two-out dinger brought home Derek Bell – who extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single – and gave the Mets their 4-3 advantage.
In the seventh, Turk Wendell entered with the 4-3 lead and should’ve had his name mentioned besides Franco and Benitez’ for excellent relief. But with two outs, first baseman Todd Zeile couldn’t come up with Robin Ventura’s low throw. This put the speedy Tony Womack on first.
Jay Bell smoked a double into the left field corner and with two outs Womack was off. Jon Nunnally, who had just moved from center to left for defensive purposes, retrieved the ball and fired to Ordonez in shallow left. The shortstop turned and fired home to Piazza. The throw short-hopped Piazza, who made a tremendous grab and tagged Womack to preserve the lead.
“It’s an all or nothing play, that’s the bottom line,” Piazza said. “You have to roll the dice and try to make the play.”