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Mets' Lead In East Evaporates

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The Associated Press

Published: September 28, 2007

NEW YORK - The New York Mets' lead in the NL East is gone. They might not even be in playoffs at all if they can't snap out of their near historic funk.

The spiraling Mets managed just three hits off Joel Pineiro and Jason Isringhausen in a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night that dropped them into a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the division.

'We're tied now, so now we've got three games to get it done,' Manager Willie Randolph said. 'That's the way baseball goes and we kind of made our own bed here so we've got to fight through this.'

Not even Pedro Martinez could save New York, which had led the division alone every day since May 16.

The Mets (87-72) were ahead by seven games Sept. 12 with 17 remaining but have lost 10 of 14 overall and seven straight at home, a monumental tailspin for a team that counted on being in the playoffs.

'I think we're due to have something special happen to us because in the time I've been here I don't think we've had a little stretch playing games like that and kind of getting away from us that easy,' Martinez said. 'So I'm expecting something good to happen.'

No major-league team has failed to finish first after having at least a seven-game lead with 17 to play. But with three games remaining in the regular season - a weekend series at home against Florida - the Mets might fail to win the division or qualify as the wild card.

Philadelphia, which beat Atlanta 6-4 on Thursday, closes the season with three games at home against Washington. San Diego, which began the day with a one-game lead in the wild card, opened a four-game series at Milwaukee on Thursday.

'There's two choices: Roll over and start making vacation plans for the offseason, or battle like hell and win this thing,' Mets third baseman David Wright said. 'We still feel like this is our division.'

The latest loss was inflicted by the Cardinals, who beat the Mets in Game 7 of the NL championship series last year. St. Louis went 12-17 down the stretch last year, squeaked into the playoffs and went on to beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

'I think there's some similarities but it's hard to go beyond there,' Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. 'I know they're a very good team that right now is working hard for a win.'

GAME NOTES: Moises Alou went 0-for-3, ending his hitting streak at 30 games, the longest by a player on a New York team (including Brooklyn) since Joe DiMaggio's record run of 56 games in 1941 with the Yankees. ... Mets OF Marlon Anderson's two-game suspension was upheld Thursday, leaving him out of the game and today's against the Marlins.

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