Hundley Powers Mets Past Dodgers

Dallas Green never made a secret of how he felt about Todd Hundley. He thought the son of a former major league catcher had a lot of room for improvement.

Now, the New York Mets manager gives the 24-year-old Hundley a great deal of credit for the turnaround in his game, both offensively and defensively.

Todd Hundley hit two solo home runs and Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Orsulak also connected Sunday, leading the New York Mets over the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4.

“I have my theories on why Hundley has made such a turnaround,” Green said. “The first is Kelly Stinnett. Another thought is Steve Swisher and the last one is Tom McCraw.

“Stinnett really gave him a run for the job in the spring. Steve (Swisher, the bullpen coach) got inside his mind and has made him a better defensive catcher. McCraw (the batting coach) has made a big change in his style at the plate,” he said. “Give the kid credit, he has learned his lessons well.”

Hundley, son of former Cubs catcher Randy Hundley, has five home runs in his last six starts.

“McCraw has me seeing the ball coming out of the pitcher’s hand. Formerly, I was pulling off the pitch and turning my shoulder. Now, I’m getting the barrell of the bat on the ball,” he said.

“Basically, I’m playing the game of baseball, both at bat and behind the plate. Most of my work, I’d say 99.99 percent is concentrating on getting pitchers to the seventh or eighth innings,” he said. “ No longer do I take it personally when I’m not in the starting lineup. It was a competitive training camp with five quality catchers. I do what I can for us to win now, whether I’m in the game or on the bench.”

Burnitz hit a two-run in the sixth inning for a 6-4 lead. His third homer of the season came after Jose Vizcaino singled with one out off Roger McDowell (0-2).

“I can’t pinpoint which is worse, the starters or the bullpen,” Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda said.

“Now I’m concerned about both. We’ve scored enough runs to win more than just one of these three games. The pitchers aren’t spotting the ball where they want it. That’s what happens when you give up home runs ... the pitch isn’t where it belongs.”

Pete Smith (2-3) ended his three-game losing streak. He allowed all four runs and six hits in seven innings. John Franco pitched the ninth for his sixth save in six tries.

Hundley led off the fourth inning with a home run, tying it at 1. He opened the seventh with his eighth homer of the year. It was the first two-homer of his career.

Orsulak’s second homer, a three-run drive, gave the Mets a 4-2 lead in the fifth. He homered after a single by Vizcaino and a walk to Burnitz.

Los Angeles tied it in the sixth on RBI singles by Henry Rodriguez and pinch-hitter Chris Gwynn, but missed a chance to score more. With one out, Mike Piazza and Tim Wallach drew one-out walks and Eric Karros hit a looper that dropped in left field. Piazza, however, waited to see if the ball would be caught and was thrown out at third base.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the second on Raul Mondesi’s sacrifice fly. Mondesi hit his third homer in the fifth for a 2-1 lead.