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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Before this weekend, just five players in 38½ seasons homered in their first at-bat for the New York Mets. Then
Mike Bordick and Bubba Trammell did it in consecutive games.
"It's kind of like getting in early on an IPO -- immediate
returns," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said Sunday after
Trammell's three-run homer led New York over the St. Louis
Cardinals 4-2.
|  | | Bubba Trammell high-fives his teammates after hitting a three-run homer in his first at-bat as a Met on Sunday. |
Benny Agbayani hit a leadoff shot in the first, Trammell
connected in the second and Bobby J. Jones (5-5) pitched a
four-hitter for his first complete game in three years.
Before a crowd of Mets' greats that included Willie Mays, Tom
Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter -- on hand
for a pregame promotion honoring the team's top 10 moments -- Trammell followed Bordick to create a little niche in the Mets'
record book and help extend New York's winning streak to six games.
Trammell's eyes caught Bordick's after the homer.
"We kind of just looked at each other," Trammell said. "We
knew what we were thinking."
Bordick, acquired from Baltimore on Friday, was 2-for-3 with a
homer Saturday and went 0-for-4 Sunday.
Trammell, a 28-year-old outfielder, was acquired by the Mets
from Tampa Bay on Friday along with Rick White, the winner
Saturday.
Trammell, whose first name is Thomas and goes by his middle
name, got the first curtain call of his career Sunday.
"They started pushing me," he said of his teammates. "After a
few pushes, it didn't take a whole lot."
Jones pitched his first complete game since May 28, 1997, at
Montreal, just his 10th in 179 major league starts. He retired his
first 14 batters before Fernando Tatis singled to left in the
fifth, then gave up a run-scoring grounder to Eric Davis in the
sixth following Fernando Vina's single and Edgar Renteria's double.
Ray Lankford added a long two-out homer in the ninth.
In recent starts, Jones has been pitching with better command, a
key since his fastball doesn't overwhelm. He stopped experimenting
with changes in his mechanics and is starting to show the form that
made him an All-Star in 1997.
After warming up, he made a point of checking out the pregame
ceremonies and was glad he pitched well in front of the illustrious
crowd.
"I showed them the good Bobby Jones, not the early-on,
struggling Bobby Jones," he said.
St. Louis, 0-6 against this Mets this year, has lost four
straight overall and six of eight. The Cardinals are 7-13 since
Mark McGwire went on the disabled list and their NL Central lead,
which stood at 10 games on July 5, was cut to four games with
Cincinnati's 7-4 win at Montreal.
"Now we're 10 games over (57-47) and we've got to pick it up,"
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "When you're 20 games over
at this time of the year, you can look forward to having some fun
in October, but now we have our work cut out for us."
Trammell's homer came off Garrett Stephenson (11-7) on an 0-2
pitch and followed Todd Zeile's walk and Jay Payton's single.
"The home run was a killer," Stephenson said.
Stephenson allowed all four runs and five hits in four innings,
losing to the Mets for the first time in three career decisions.
St. Louis has lost 18 of its last 26 games at New York.
"When you get 0-2, that isn't the kind of quality pitch we've
seen from him," La Russa said.
Game notes
St. Louis optioned RHP Gene Stechschulte to Memphis of the
Pacific Coast League to make room for RHP Mike Timlin, acquired
Saturday from Baltimore. Timlin pitched a hitless seventh in his
Cardinals' debut with two strikeouts and a walk. After the game,
St. Louis acquired LHP Jason Christiansen from Pittsburgh for minor
league INF Jack Wilson. ... The game was delayed 37 minutes by the
pregame promotion. The 1986 World Series title was No. 1, followed
by the 1969 World Series title and Robin Ventura's
grand-slam-turned-single that won Game 5 of last year's NL
Championship Series. ... Ventura made a nice barehand pickup of
Vina's bunt to third leading off the fourth inning, preserving
Jones' perfect-game bid. ... Valentine said he won eBay bidding for
a 1969 Bobby Valentine rookie uniform, when he played five games
with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He said the winning bid was $2,000.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
NY Mets Clubhouse
La Russa: Big Mac not expected back until late August
Mets don't fall short, trade for Orioles' Bordick
Kurkjian: Bordick trade good for Mets
RECAPS
Baltimore 10
Cleveland 7
Tampa Bay 7
Kansas City 6
NY Yankees 7
Minnesota 4
Oakland 5
Boston 2
Seattle 10
Toronto 6
Chi. White Sox 11
Anaheim 7
Detroit 8
Texas 7
Atlanta 6
Houston 3
Cincinnati 7
Montreal 4
Philadelphia 3
Los Angeles 2
San Diego 9
Pittsburgh 8
NY Mets 4
St. Louis 2
Milwaukee 3
Colorado 2
Chicago Cubs 3
San Francisco 1
Florida 4
Arizona 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Bobby Jones says he threw the ball where it needed to be on Sunday.
wav: 90 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Bubba Trammell is excited about playing for a contender.
wav: 149 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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