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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Mike Hampton didn't come back to beat the Astros.
Derek Bell, however, did help send Houston to yet another loss.
|  | | Mike Hampton, pitching for the first time in Enron Field, allowed nine hits in seven innings and also had two RBI. |
Bell, a throw-in in the Hampton trade, tied it with a two-out,
ninth-inning homer off former-Met Octavio Dotel, and New York went
on to beat the Astros 6-5 Monday night on Kurt Abbott's 11th-inning
homer.
Booed by Astros fans in his first at-bat, Bell was 0-for-4 when
he came up in the ninth.
"I heard mostly boos, but that's Houston for you, they don't
appreciate nothing," Bell said. "It's sad to see them boo Hampton, too. They rode me pretty hard the whole game.
"It (homer) was very special. I gave us a chance to win and it
was with my mom here in the stands. It's a little bit of
vindication."
Dotel, who blew his second straight save chance after converting
his first five opportunities this season, was one of three players
sent to Houston in the Hampton trade Dec. 23.
He relieved starting the ninth, protecting a 5-4 lead created by
Chris Truby's three-run double in a four-run fifth.
Hampton, 22-4 for the Astros last year, was dealt to the Mets
after he wouldn't agree to a contract extension and Houston decided
not to risk him becoming a free agent after this season.
"Now that it's all over, you talk to anyone that pitches
against his old team, you want to do well," Hampton said. "I
stayed within myself and I think I threw some pretty good
pitches."
Hampton, pitching for the first time at Enron Field, allowed
nine hits in seven innings. He also went 2-for-3 with two RBI and
is hitting .309 (17-for-55) this season with eight RBI.
"He pitched a great game, he was leading 4-2 in that fifth
inning but our defense wasn't in the right spot," Mets manager
Bobby Valentine said. "When the ball went into the outfield I
thought it would be caught easy but Jay (center fielder Payton) may
have moved a little."
Truby, however, is hot, with nine RBI in his last two games. He
had six RBI, including his first career grand slam, in Sunday's
8-1 win over Houston and had the big hit again.
"The last couple of nights, I've come up with a lot of guys on
base and I've had some good pitches to hit," Truby said. "The one
tonight was a good pitch. It was just a fly ball that was able to
find a gap. I looked up and saw where the center fielder was and I
couldn't believe it."
Houston had a chance to win in the ninth, putting a runner on
third against John Franco with two outs, but Daryle Ward grounded
out. The Astros put runners at first and second with one out in the
10th, but Armando Benitez (3-4) struck out Julio Lugo and Glen
Barker.
Benitez got Moises Alou to fly out to Bell in right field to end
the game. Bell, who clashed with Astros manager Larry Dierker last
year, faked as if he was about to throw the ball into the stands.
Instead, Bell shook his head and kept it.
Abbott, who hit a game-winning, 10th-inning homer against
Baltimore on June 8, homered off Jason Green (1-1) with one out in
the 11th, his fourth of the season.
"It was a pitch that was not quite down the middle," Green
said. "I knew he was a good fastball hitter, but I got behind and
I had to throw a fastball. I got it out over the plate and he got a
good swing on it."
New York also had a chance in the 10th, but Todd Zeile was
thrown out at the plate by first baseman Jeff Bagwell, with plate
umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ruling catcher Tony Eusebio applied the
tag just before Zeile's hand touched the plate.
In the first meeting of the season between the Mets and Astros,
Houston starter Wade Miller allowed four runs -- three earned -- six
hits and five walks in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five.
With the Astros trailing 4-1 and one out in the fifth, Hampton
walked Lugo, and Lance Berkman and Bagwell followed with singles.
Richard Hidalgo flied out, Alou walked to load the bases and
Truby, recalled from Triple-A New Orleans on June 16 to replace
injured Ken Caminiti, doubled to the gap in right-center.
Hampton's RBI single put the Mets ahead in the first following a
pair of walks by Miller, but Tony Eusebio tied it with an RBI
single in the second.
Robin Ventura hit a solo homer in the third, and Hampton had a
run-scoring infield hit in the fourth, with another run scoring
when Truby threw wildly to first after Hampton's dribbler down the
third-base line.
"He pitched well," Houston's Jeff Bagwell said of Hampton.
"This is the first time I've faced him in a game situation. I've
played behind him a lot.
"I was quite impressed the way he used both sides of the plate
and changed speeds. I wish he still had a star on his chest instead
of a Mets jersey."
Game notes
The Mets have a 22-14 record in one-run games this season,
second-best in the NL behind Florida (25-15). Houston has the worst
record at 6-23. ... Alou played in his 1,000th major league game.
... The Astros went over the 2 million attendance mark in their
52nd home game Monday night. Last season, they didn't reach the 2
million mark until Aug. 27 and it took 65 games. ... Mets 2B
Edgardo Alfonzo left in the ninth with a mild right groin strain
after he was hurt batting. Alfonzo, listed as day to day, was
replaced in the lineup by Abbott.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Returning to Houston was business as usual for the Mets' Mike Hampton.
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