Mets 3, Dodgers 2

Rey Sanchez got his hair cut. Mike Piazza got a mole cut. And Mo Vaughn apparently isn't going to get his knees cut. But with all the controversy and silliness swirling around Shea Stadium today, they did manage to find time to squeeze in a baseball game.

Since coming off of the disabled list, Pedro Astacio has given the Mets one excellent start and one horrible start so tonight would be a chance to perhaps see if the real third starter would please stand up. I was only watching bits and pieces of this game, switching back and forth during commercial breaks of Buffy and 24, but it appears from the box score that tonight we got First Start Astacio, a close relative of First Half 2002 Astacio, so all was well. The Mets are going to need him, or someone else, to be a quality number three behind the big two if they're going to climb out of the cellar. Astacio went the standard Art Howe six innings on 89 pitches, giving up a pair of runs on four hits and three walks, striking out five. The usual four relievers combined to finish off the final three innings, with Armando Benitez pitching a perfect ninth for his tenth save of the season, and his second in one-run games.

And offensively, Rey Sanchez tried to clear his name and make people forget about the length of his hair and, oh yeah, his sub-.200 batting average. Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who had three hits in four at bats, doubled with two outs in the second inning and Sanchez followed up with a triple to center field to drive in the Mets' first run of the game. Sanchez went two for three on the game with a rare walk as well. With Mike Piazza out of the lineup, playing neither catcher nor the rumored first base, that meant Tony Clark and Vance Wilson, and they both continued to come through when called upon, as they hit back to back homers in the fourth to put the Mets on top for good. Vaughn's six homers lead the team, despite his ranking only tenth in at bats, and Wilson now has three, as many as Piazza but in fifty fewer at bats.

The Mets try to run their modest winning streak to three tomorrow as Steve Trachsel (0-1, 5.45) takes the mound against former Met Hideo Nomo (3-4, 3.44).  ¶ joe | 12:26 AM |