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Mets' Glavine makes first postseason start in four years

Oct 5, 2006 - 1:25 PM LA Dodgers at NY Mets 8:19 pm EDT National League Division Series n Mets lead, 1-0

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) - After a three-year absence from the postseason, Tom Glavine hopes to improve upon a mediocre playoff record Thursday when the New York Mets host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the National League Division Series.

For 11 consecutive seasons, Glavine (15-7, 3.82 ERA) was a staple in the postseason with the Atlanta Braves. But his achievements there were not very notable, as he compiled just a 12-15 record with a 3.44 ERA in 32 starts, including a 0-2 mark with a whopping 15.26 ERA in 2002.

"You know, that year, playoffs didn't go well for me," Glavine said. "I wasn't pitching well at the time. I feel a lot better about where I am as a pitcher right now going into this postseason.

"Having said that, you never know what's gonna happen when you get out there. You try and put past experiences, I think good or bad, out of your mind and just focus on what you're trying to do and what you've done well leading up to this opportunity and try and continue to do that."

The veteran lefthander showed some promise for the postseason by winning three of his final four decisions. He logged six scoreless innings of a 13-0 rout of Washington last Saturday, yielding just three hits without giving up a walk.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the series with a 6-5 victory Wednesday. Carlos Delgado homered in his first playoff appearance and drove in the go-ahead run for New York, which improved to 5-0 here in the NLDS.

"(Delgado has) been a tremendous performer and hitter his whole career," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "Nice to see him try to get an opportunity to be in this type of stage and come through in his first game. Really happy for him. He looked good tonight."

The Dodgers, who received two RBI from Nomar Garciaparra, will try to steal home-field advantage behind the arm of rookie Hong-Chih Kuo (1-5, 4.22).

The Taiwanese lefthander will be making his sixth career start and second appearance at Shea Stadium, the site of his sole major league victory. He yielded three hits in six frames of a 5-0 triumph on September 8, striking out seven with three walks.

"I don't worry about it," Kuo said of his memorable performance here earlier this year. "Just try to go out there, just try to help team, try to pitch like what I do last time."