They Can’t Quite Get Over the Hill

Right fielder Glenallen Hill threw out a runner at home plate, then singled in the seventh inning to drive in the go-ahead run as the Giants beat the Mets, 6-4, Friday night at San Francisco.

The Giants frustrated the Mets by twice throwing out runners at the plate. Hill took John Olerud’s hit in the seventh and threw on the fly to catcher Rick Wilkins, who tagged out Andy Tomberlin to preserve a 3-3 tie.

Pinch-hitter Marvin Benard singled off Ricardo Jordan (0-2) leading off the bottom half and Jose Vizcaino singled with one out. Hill then blooped a single to right off Greg McMichael. Barry Bonds followed with a two-run triple to the left-center gap.

Rich Rodriguez (1-1) got the win, despite facing only one batter giving up the hit to Olerud. Rod Beck pitched the ninth for his second save in as many nights, allowing a run-scoring single to Lance Johnson.

Todd Hundley hit a run-scoring double in the fourth to put the Mets ahead, 1-0, but Bernard Gilkey was thrown out at the plate by former-Met Jeff Kent, who relayed the throw from Darryl Hamilton in center.

J.T. Snow, who recovered from a spring training beaning by Randy Johnson, hit a two-run single in the bottom half, and Wilkins’ sacrifice fly made it 3-1.

New York tied the score in the sixth on Lance Johnson’s first triple of the year--he had 21 last season--and run-scoring groundouts by Olerud and Butch Huskey.

Gilkey, who set a Met record with 44 doubles in 1996, hit his first of the season in the fourth.