It Gets No Better for Mets at Home

Nearly everything at Shea Stadium was flat Sunday except the pitcher’s mound and the San Francisco Giants.

New York became the final team in the major leagues to play a home game, and the Mets were as bad as they were on the road. The Giants swept a doubleheader, 5-1 and 7-6, Sunday, dropping the Mets to 3-8.

“Yesterday was a tough opening day and today was a lousy opening day,” Met Manager Bobby Valentine said.

Valentine and first-game losing pitcher Mark Clark (0-1) complained about the mound, torn down for an exhibition soccer game Nov. 1 between Colombia and Honduras, then rebuilt.

“Compared to last year, the mound seems a foot higher,” Clark said. “Definitely the highest one I pitched from this year. I’m not making excuses. I couldn’t get going.”

A day after the scheduled home opener was postponed by rain, only 21,981 fans showed up, the smallest opening day crowd in 17 years at Shea Stadium. Second baseman Carlos Baerga (six for 33, .182) and catcher Todd Hundley (seven for 35, .200) were benched in the second game by Valentine, whose team is hitting .212.

“Sooner or later, I think everything will click on all cylinders,” Bernard Gilkey said. “Once that happens, we’re going to win a lot of ballgames.”

Gilkey went two for eight during the two games.

It turned out to be a stellar day for the Giants, who at 7-3 are off to their best start in eight seasons.

Ex-Met Jeff Kent had a home run and drove in three runs in the opening game, then left because of a sprained neck when he slid head first into third base trying to stretch a double.

Mark Lewis homered twice in the second game, the second giving the Giants the lead for good at 5-4.

Jose Vizcaino, dealt by the Mets to Cleveland along with Kent last July, was another unlikely power source--he homered for the first time in 516 at-bats since April 22, 1996.

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NEXT SERIES FOR DODGERS

WHO: New York Mets

WHERE: At New York

WHEN: Tuesday 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday 10:30 a.m.