Leiter Uses Bat to Beat Cubs

In Al Leiter, the Mets knew they were getting a quality lefty--hitter, that is.

Leiter defeated the Chicago Cubs for the second time in a week with his pitching and hitting, leading the New York Mets to a 6-0 victory Tuesday night over the Cubs.

Leiter (2-1) gave up five hits in seven innings and hit a two-run single in the fourth as the Mets won their third consecutive game.

Last week, Leiter doubled in two runs as the Mets beat the Cubs, 3-2. The left-hander, traded to the Mets from Florida in the off-season, struck out five, walked two and didn’t allow a Cub to reach second base.

But it was his hitting that drew rave reviews.

“He’s some kind of hitter,” joked New York Manager Bobby Valentine.

This spring, Valentine encouraged Leiter to “become a better hitter and a fielder to go with your pitching and you’ll pick up three or four more wins. We needed a left-handed starter and when Al’s name came up, the entire organization was in favor of getting him. I’m happy to have him on the team.”

Leiter, who entered the season with two RBIs, now has six. He’s not expecting to challenge the league leaders, however.

“I’m a high-school hitter. My coach would call me a pathetic hitter. I hit .270 when most guys in high school were going close to .400 or .450.”

Jeremi Gonzalez (0-2) lost his second consecutive start to Leiter, giving up four runs and seven hits in four innings.

Luis Lopez, Bernard Gilkey and Edgardo Alfonzo all had two hits for the Mets.

Gilkey was two for three and is 12 for 25 (.480) in his last seven games--raising his average to .351.

Mark Grace hit into two double plays against Leiter.

“He got into a lot of 3-2 counts but he made pretty good pitches,” Grace said. “We didn’t do much with him.”

Grace needs one hit to tie Billy Herman for 10th place on the Cub career hit list with 1,710.

The Mets scored four runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Leiter’s two-run single.

Lopez doubled leading off, was balked to third by Gonzalez and scored on Gilkey’s single. John Olerud singled, and one out later, Brian McRae’s single made the score 2-0.

The Cubs intentionally walked Tim Spehr, loading the bases, and Leiter’s two-out single put the Mets up by four.