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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Mike Hampton's dugout temper tantrum was the
most visible sign of frustration around the New York Mets. Yet he's
not the only one on edge as the team goes through yet another
September swoon.
Scott Rolen's two-run homer in the eighth inning set Hampton off
as the Philadelphia Phillies snapped an eight-game skid and sent
the Mets deeper into their funk with a 2-0 win Friday night.
|  | | Philly's Scott Rolen breaks through in the eighth and hits a two-run homer off of Mike Hampton. |
"It's frustrating," New York's Todd Zeile said. "You can tell
by our team demeanor. Mike pitched a great game and one unfortunate
pitch beat him. If you get no support, all it takes is one pitch to
beat you."
New York has lost six of seven this month, dredging up memories
of late-season folds the past two seasons, and has fallen behind 3½
games Atlanta in the NL East race. The Mets still lead Arizona by
4½ games for the wild card.
Even a return home and a matchup with the worst team in the
majors couldn't help the Mets. Bruce Chen and four relievers shut
down New York's struggling offense, and Philadelphia finally broke
through against Hampton with two outs in the eighth.
Hampton (13-9) walked Doug Glanville on a 3-2 pitch before
running the count full to Rolen, who hit a shot into the left-field
bleachers for his 23rd homer. That gave Philadelphia only its
second lead in the past seven games.
"We haven't been going that well," Rolen said. "If it helps
win a game it's great. We needed a win pretty bad."
A disgusted Hampton left the game after walking Pat Burrell. He
threw his glove against the dugout wall, slapped a towel against
the bench and punched the water cooler with his right hand.
"That's just me," said Hampton, who allowed four hits in 7 2-3
innings. "I don't try to please anyone. I show emotion sometimes.
This was one of those cases."
His teammates sat and watched dumbfounded as Hampton stormed off
to the clubhouse, throwing his cap to the ground.
"I like everything Mike Hampton does," manager Bobby Valentine
said. "I don't want him to do anything to jeopardize his health.
But he's hit enough water coolers to know how to hit them."
Valentine even called a brief team meeting after the game to
boost the team's sinking morale.
"I've seen it before," Valentine said. "A lot of the guys
here have seen it before. We just have to make things happen."
The last-place Phillies, who swept a key September series from
New York last year, have won five of seven against New York this
season.
Chen matched zeros with a top starter for the second straight
start. After getting a no-decision in Philadelphia's 1-0, 10-inning
loss to Kevin Brown and Los Angeles last Saturday, Chen pitched 6
1-3 shutout innings to run his scoreless streak to 20 2-3 innings.
"He's pitching great," manager Terry Francona said. "I think
he's a smart enough pitcher to know that if he keeps pitching like
that the wins are going to come."
Chen allowed eight hits and one walk and pitched out of trouble
a few times, including getting Derek Bell to fly out with runners
on second and third to end the fifth.
Chen left with runners on first and second in the seventh, but
Vicente Padilla (4-5) got Benny Agbayani and Bell to ground out to
end the threat.
Jeff Brantley came on with two on and two outs in the eighth and
got Jay Payton to pop out. Brantley finished for his 22nd save in
26 chances.
New York, which has lost 14 of 16 games in September dating to
last season, has scored just 32 runs in the past 12 games. The Mets
stranded 11 runners.
The fickle Mets fans, tired of watching their team's annual
September swoon, booed every failed rally. New York lost the final
five games of 1998 to miss the playoffs and dropped seven straight
late last season before rallying to win a wild card playoff at
Cincinnati.
"There are a lot of frustrated guys in here," Mike Piazza
said. "We are not a good team right now. Guys are pressing and
we're not executing. We've been through this before. We have to go
back to the fundamentals."
Game notes
Chen is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his last six starts. He has
been backed by only 10 runs in that span. ... Of the Mets' final 22
games, 16 are against Philadelphia, Montreal and Milwaukee -- who
entered the day playing a combined .418. The rest are against
first-place Atlanta. ... Many of the Mets hitters have gone into
slumps at the same time: Piazza is 4-for-20; Zeile 3-for-17;
Edgardo Alfonzo 5-for-21; Robin Ventura 3-for-41; and Payton
3-for-23. ... The Phillies, who have 18 runs in the last nine
games, had gone 68 straight innings without leading at the end of a
frame.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
NY Mets Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Yankees 4
Boston 0
Chi. White Sox 5
Cleveland 4
Toronto 3
Detroit 0
Texas 6
Kansas City 5
Anaheim 2
Baltimore 1
Tampa Bay 4
Oakland 0
Minnesota 4
Seattle 2
Houston 13
Chicago Cubs 10
Cincinnati 0
Pittsburgh 0
Pittsburgh 3
Cincinnati 1
(2nd game)
Arizona 2
Florida 1
Philadelphia 2
NY Mets 0
Atlanta 3
Montreal 2
Milwaukee 6
St. Louis 5
Colorado 8
Los Angeles 5
San Diego 10
San Francisco 7
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