Final

Series: Game 2 of 4

Arizona leads 2-0 (as of 5/11)

Game 1: Monday, May 10
NY Mets8Final
Arizona12
Game 2: Tuesday, May 11
NY Mets5Final
Arizona9
Game 3: Wednesday, May 12
NY Mets1Final
Arizona0
Game 4: Thursday, May 13
NY Mets7Final
Arizona4

Mets 5

(14-19, 6-11 away)

Diamondbacks 9

(14-18, 8-9 home)

9:35 PM ET, May 11, 2004

Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona 

123456789 R H E
NYM 100020020 5 7 0
ARI 30200400 - 9 10 0

W: B. Bruney (1-0)

L: A. Leiter (1-2)

Finley hits grand slam

PHOENIX (AP) -- Even with Richie Sexson on the disabled list, the Arizona Diamondbacks have no power shortage.

Steve Finley hit a grand slam and Shea Hillenbrand went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in a 9-5 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.

One night earlier, Luis Gonzalez homered three times in a 12-8 pounding of the Mets.

"Unfortunately, a lot of nights it feels like we need to score this many runs to win a ball game," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "But this is what we felt the offense was capable of when we left spring training."

The slam off Mike Stanton's 0-2 pitch was the ninth of Finley's 16-year career, and first in three seasons.

The four runs Finley supplied turned out to be the difference.

"I know Al gets the loss," Stanton said, referring to starter Al Leiter, "but this was my loss. We should still be playing right now."

Ty Wigginton hit a two-run homer for the Mets and is 7-for-9 in the first two games of the series.

Hillenbrand fell a triple shy of the cycle. He hit a three-run home run off Leiter in the first, added an RBI double in the third and singled in the fifth.

Mired in a slump in the early days of the season and benched in favor of Chad Tracy at third base, Hillenbrand moved to first when Sexson was injured. Since then, Hillenbrand has batted .386 (17-for-44) and hit safely in nine of 10 games.

"I can hit," Hillenbrand reminded reporters after the game. "It's just a matter of going out there and playing."

Brian Bruney (1-0), called up from Triple-A Tucson on Saturday, struck out two in one inning for his first major league victory.

Stanton walked Gonzalez to load the bases with one out in the sixth, then Hillenbrand popped out to right. Stanton threw a curveball out over the plate, and Finley lofted it just inside the right-field foul pole, his team-high 11th homer of the season, to make it 9-3.

"I'm just trying to see the ball and hit at that point when you're 0-2," Finley said. "I just got lucky, put a good swing on it and it went out."

It was his 2,200th career hit.

"Hopefully they'll be a few more to go," Finley said.

He last hit a grand slam on Sept. 26, 2001, against Milwaukee's Gus Gandarillas at Bank One Ballpark.

Leiter (1-2) -- who entered the game leading the majors with a 1.53 ERA -- struggled with his control from the start. He walked five batters in four innings, one intentionally, and hit another. Two of the walks came in front of Hillenbrand's first-inning homer.

"His command just wasn't there tonight," Mets manager Art Howe said. "It was obvious right from the first inning, when he walked two of the first three hitters, then gave up the home run. It just wasn't his night. He just didn't have it."

Leiter, 1-5 against Arizona in his career, left for a pinch hitter in the fifth after giving up five runs and three hits. Thirty-nine of his 76 pitches were balls.

"This was a frustrating game for sure," he said.

Arizona starter Elmer Dessens retired 10 straight before Eric Valent's blooper fell just in front of the glove of a diving Finley with one out in the fifth. Matsui doubled in Valent from first to make it 5-2.

Todd Zeile doubled to bring in Matsui to make it 5-3, and Dessens' night ended one out shy of the five innings he needed to get the victory. Bruney came on to strike out Mike Cameron to end the inning.

Wigginton's two-run shot off Stephen Randolph in the eighth cut the lead to 9-5.

Dessens may find himself out of the rotation. Left-hander Casey Fossum is ready to be activated from the disabled list. Asked if Dessens would make his next start, Brenly paused for a long time.

"We'll talk about it," he finally said. "I don't know if I'm prepared to answer that at this time."

Game notes


Hillenbrand was 0-for-6 against Leiter before his home run. ... Zeile left in the bottom of the fifth with a tight right hamstring. ... Leiter did not walk a batter in his previous outing, but walked seven in the start before that. ... Dessens hasn't made it through the fifth inning in four of his seven starts and hasn't lasted through the sixth in the other three. ... Bruney gave up the decisive home run against Mexico last year that eliminated the United States from qualifying for the Olympics.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

SPONSORED HEADLINES