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Chavez wins game for Mets with drag bunt

Apr 25, 2007 - 4:15 AM FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Damion Easley hit a home run 400 feet. A bunt by Endy Chavez didn't go 60. They added up to another win for the New York Mets over the Colorado Rockies.

Easley tied the game with a 10th-inning home run off closer Brian Fuentes and Chavez drove in the game-winner with a drag bunt in the 12th as the Mets defeated the Rockies for the second straight night, 2-1.

What began as a classic pitchers' duel between Orlando Hernandez and Aaron Cook ended with the Mets defeating the Rockies at Shea Stadium for the 15th time in the last 16 meetings.

The Rockies broke a scoreless tie in the top of the 10th when Yorvit Torrealba doubled to left field off Billy Wagner and pinch runner Willy Taveras scored on a triple by Troy Tulowitzki. But the lead was short-lived.

"This is a difficult loss. They found a way to play just a little bit better," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "When you take a lead like that, you need to put it away."

The Rockies instead gave it right back when Easley hit his fourth career pinch-hit home run to left-center field. Easley has just two hits this season - both homers.

"I wasn't thinking about (hitting a homer)," Easley said. "With the situation, I was just trying to get on base. I thought it was out right away."

That set the stage for the 12th. Shawn Green drew a walk from Ryan Speier (0-1) to and was sacrificed to second by Jose Valentin. Speier then started to go into a full delivery and stopped, allowing Green to move to third on the balk call.

"I just slipped," Speier said.

Speier recovered to strike out pinch hitter David Newhan and, after Jose Reyes walked, Chavez dragged a low pitch between the mound and first base. Speier swiped at the ball, but was unable to get a good throw off and Chavez easily beat it to the bag.

"After the first pitch, I saw the first and second baseman playing back so I thought I'd take a chance," said Chavez, who had entered as pinch runner in the 11th. "It was a slider. I just used my same approach and got the ball down."

Rookie Joe Smith (1-0), the fifth Mets pitcher, retired the final two batters he faced in the 12th to record his first major league win. But he does not have a souvenir to show for it.

"No ball. I don't know where it's at," Smith admitted. "The win is good enough."

Cook, who is winless in his first five starts of the season, allowed six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in seven innings. The righthander worked out of danger in the second and third and threw a first-pitch strike to all 15 batters he faced from the third through sixth innings.

"I was able to keep it down in the zone and got some ground-ball outs," Cook said. "Facing a guy like 'El Duque,' this was a good game."

Hernandez also pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

"He's the master when he's on," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He was outstanding."

The Rockies loaded the bases with two outs in the third off Hernandez before Garrett Atkins popped out to end the inning. It was the only time in the first seven innings that the Rockies had a runner as far as second base.

David Wright of the Mets ended an 0-for-15 drought when he singled in the second.

The Rockies failed to hit a home run in a franchise-record seventh straight game.