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Glavine does a little bit of everything, posts 300th win

Aug 6, 2007 - 5:53 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Perhaps it was fitting Tom Glavine ended a historic weekend by winning a memorable game much the same way he did the first 299.

Glavine became the 23rd player in baseball history to win 300 games and added an RBI single to help the New York Mets post an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

One day after San Francisco Giants' slugger Barry Bonds blasted his 755th homer to tie Hank Aaron's all-time mark and the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez reached 500 home runs faster than any player in baseball history, Glavine (10-6) used his trademark control and quality bat to become just the fifth lefthanded pitcher to reach the 300-win mark.

"I was nervous tonight, I don't know why," Glavine said. "I was a lot more nervous than I was in Milwaukee (his last start). It was a combination of my family and friends following me around and the commitments they were making trying to be with me."

Like he has done for most of his career, the 41-year-old lefthander pounded the strike zone all game long, yielding just two runs and six hits with a walk and a strikeout in front of his wife, father and mother, among other family matters. He left the mound to a mild standing ovation from the Wrigley Field crowd after allowing a one-out double to Angel Pagan in the seventh.

"Like any great accomplishment, you look at the moment you are able to do it," Glavine said. "Between being in the national spotlight and doing it in a venue like this - one of the most historic ballparks in baseball - now that I have done it here, it's great stuff. The ovation from the crowd made it even much nicer."

"It will probably be the only game all year that I'll be rooting for the Mets," said former Atlanta Braves teammate Chipper Jones earlier in the day. "I played behind the guy for so long, I honestly think he's going to be the last pitcher in the 300 (win) club, which is a testament to him putting the ball where he wants to in the strike zone and changing speeds."

After Billy Wagner locked down the final out, Glavine walked onto the field and was given the ball by Wagner. Glavine tried to fight back a smile as he shook hands with his teammates and then hugged his family members in front of the Mets' dugout.

"It was a rough night last night," Glavine said. "None of us had much sleep. Two of the kids were sick, so I was pretty exhausted when I got to the park. It's great they were all here tonight."

A career .187 hitter entering the contest, Glavine helped his own cause in his first at-bat in the top of the second as he plated Lastings Milledge for the first run of the game and a 1-0 lead.

"He (Glavine) is an excellent hitter," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He has always been a guy that takes his at-bats seriously; he is an excellent hitter. You don't win that many games by being a one-dimensional player."

"I was kidding with Tom before the game to go ahead and throw a one-hitter and get the game-winning hit yourself," Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca said. "It almost worked out that way."

Glavine's outing came on the heels of Tuesday's disappointment against the Milwaukee Brewers, where the bullpen could not make a run and two hits over six frames stand up. For a short while after the 1995 World Series MVP exited, recent history looked like it was going to repeat itself and deny Glavine his 300th for the second consecutive game.

Relievers Guillermo Mota and Pedro Feliciano followed Glavine, who left with a 5-1 lead, and allowed an RBI groundout to Jacque Jones sandwiched around a single from Jason Kendall and a run-scoring double from Mike Fontenot to trim the Mets advantage to 5-3.

"We had some opportunities," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We just didn't get it done. I hate to lose but congratulations to Tom Glavine; he deserves it."

However, Aaron Heilman forced Ryan Theriot to fly out to end the threat. Jorge Sosa and Wagner followed Heilman with two scoreless frames to secure the victory.

"I am glad Billy (Wagner) got into the game," Glavine said. "Aaron (Heilman) came in and got a huge out in the seventh. Billy took care of the rest."

The Mets quickly responded with two runs of their own in top of the eighth, getting a RBI double from Carlos Delgado and a run-scoring single from Lo Duca to re-establish a four-run lead at 7-3.

Luis Castillo had four hits before leaving in the bottom of the eighth with heat exhaustion and Delgado recorded four RBI for the Mets, who moved to 50-14 in contests where they score four or more runs.

"You wanted to do something special for Tommy," Delgado said. "This is quite a milestone for him; he is a nice guy and a true professional. You want to help a person like that get to his goal."

Jason Marquis (8-7) was not as fortunate as his counterpart on the mound, however, as he surrendered five runs and nine hits with three walks over 5 1/3 innings. As a result, the righthander has alternated wins and losses over his last seven decisions.

Kerry Wood made his first appearance since June 6, 2006 and pitched a scoreless seventh.

"The ovation from the fans was nice," Wood said. "I would have liked to be in a winning ballgame. It's hard to talk about myself after what happened to (Alfonso) Soriano, that takes away from the feeling I had about returning."

Chicago outfielder Alfonso Soriano left the game in the bottom of the third with a right quadriceps strain after injuring his leg trying to advance to third on a single by Fontenot. His availability will be known at a later time.

"He (Soriano) is going for an MRI tonight," Piniella said. "It's at least two weeks, probably more than that. We are not going to see him anytime soon, that's for sure."

The game was delayed for a short time in the bottom of the eighth when home plate umpire Marty Foster was hit with a foul tip off the bat of Mark DeRosa. After meeting with a trainer and being ordered to leave the field, he returned several minutes later and returned without incident.