Delgado Homer In Eighth Saves Mets

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

MILWAUKEE — The shadows in late afternoon at Miller Park can be brutal to hitters, but Carlos Delgado made good contact anyway.

Delgado’s two-run homer off Eric Gagne in the eighth inning propelled the Mets to a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday.

“Probably the worst shadows that I’ve been involved with since I’ve been in professional baseball, but it goes the same way for both teams,” Delgado said. “It was pretty tough, but whatever. We got it done.”

The Mets had little success against Ben Sheets, but the Brewers’ right-hander left the game after five scoreless innings as a precautionary measure with tightness in his left groin. New York then battered six Milwaukee relievers for four runs on seven hits and four walks in the final four innings.

“He’s one of our top pitchers,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said of Sheets. “Do you wanna take a chance of losing him? I don’t. I take no chances with starting pitchers this time of year. Very, very slight, started to get some tightness and I’m not taking a chance of him pulling it.”

It was the fourth win in five games for the Mets, and all four victories have been comebacks.

“Good teams do this,” Delgado said. “It’s important. It shows that you can do it. Ideally, you want to be ahead but if you’re not you’ve got to put together some good at bats, get some base runners and come up with a big hit. It says a lot about the character and the will we have with this ballclub.”

It was Delgado’s 462nd career homer, tying him with Jose Canseco for 31st place on the all-time list.

“Obviously, it’s flattering,” Delgado said. “I’m going to play a couple more years, so I’m not so concerned with the guys on that list.”

The Mets first baseman has 20 homers and 60 RBI since June 27, the most of any NL player in that time.

“Carlos has been amazing,” New York manager Jerry Manuel said. “If he’s swinging it well, he seems to come up at the right time and put a good swing on it. He’s been outstanding.”

While the Milwaukee relievers imploded, the beleaguered Mets bullpen pitched three shutout innings. Nelson Figueroa (3-3) pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the victory in relief of Johan Santana. Luis Ayala pitched the ninth for his fourth save in five chances.

“They stepped up and attacked the hitters,” Manuel said. “Threw strikes. I felt that going in, a lot of our right handers appear to match up well with this team.”

Gagne (4-3) gave up three runs and four hits in the eighth. He has a 6.81 ERA this year after signing a $10 million, one-year contract with the Brewers.

Trailing 2-1, Daniel Murphy greeted Gagne with a double. One out later, Delgado hit his 31st home run of the year to give New York a 3-2 lead.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use