Nomo Is So-So in Inconclusive Met Debut

Phase 1 of the Hideo Nomo Project didn’t show the New York Mets anything other than there’s still plenty of work to be done.

Nomo pitched five inconclusive innings for a no-decision in his debut with New York, which lost, 5-4, Tuesday night when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays scored an unearned run in the 11th inning at New York.

After not knowing which pitcher they had acquired from the Dodgers last week, the dominating Nomo of three years ago or the one who has struggled to a 2-7 record this season, the Mets were anxious to see the Japanese right-hander take the mound.

“I’m not displeased, that’s for sure,” Met Manager Bobby Valentine said. “I’m not ecstatic, but I’m pleased.”

Nomo didn’t seem to share his manager’s optimistic spin.

“I didn’t think there was anything good about tonight’s pitching,” the Japanese pitcher said through an interpreter. “I need to improve my control to get a better performance.”

Unhappy with his situation with the team that brought him over from Japan, Nomo had lost five of his last six starts before the Dodgers dealt him.

Nomo struggled with his control throughout the game. He gave up five hits and four runs, walked three, threw a wild pitch and balked home the tying run in the fifth.

Pittsburgh 7, Cleveland 4--Boosted by the Indians’ baserunning bloopers, Jon Lieber pitched 6 2/3 strong innings at Cleveland.

The defending AL champion Indians made two errors and ran themselves out of a second-and-third, none-out rally without scoring in the seventh to give the Pirates their first regular-season victory at Jacobs Field.

Houston 5, Detroit 3--Todd Jones blew a save for the second night in a row as the Astros scored four ninth-inning runs at Detroit.

Craig Biggio’s two-run homer off Jones (0-3) was the key hit as the Astros rallied to win in the ninth for the second consecutive game. Jones allowed five ninth-inning runs in Houston’s 9-5 victory over the Tigers on Monday.

Florida 5, Toronto 4--The Marlins defeated the Blue Jays on the final pitch for the second consecutive night, with pinch hitter Edgar Renteria’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth scoring the game winner.

The Marlins won the longest game in franchise history Monday, a 4-3 decision in 17 innings.

New York Yankees 11, Montreal 1--Orlando Hernandez pitched a four-hitter in his second major league start and the Yankees unleashed a 17-hit assault in Montreal to beat the Expos for their eighth consecutive victory.

Scott Brosius had the 10th two-homer game of his career and Bernie Williams homered for the third straight game. Luis Sojo had four hits and Chuck Knoblauch scored three runs and walked three times as every Yankees starting position player but first baseman Tino Martinez got a hit.

Minnesota 8, Chicago Cubs 0--Kerry Wood struggled with his control at Minneapolis as he lost for the first time since April while Brad Radke ended the Cubs’ 10-game winning streak.

Radke (8-4) pitched a four-hitter for his first shutout of the season and his third complete game. He retired 18 of the last 19 hitters in winning for the fifth time in six starts.

Philadelphia 2, Baltimore 0--Matt Beech pitched six shutout innings and had a career-high nine strikeouts at Philadelphia.

Beech, Wayne Gomes and Mark Leiter limited the Orioles to three hits one night after the Orioles collected season-highs in runs (14) and hits (18) against the Phillies.

Despite being behind in the count to almost every hitter, Beech managed to escape with no damage as only two runners reached second base and neither made it to third.

St. Louis 5, Chicago White Sox 4--Delino DeShields drove in two runs at Chicago as the Cardinals snapped a six-game losing streak.

White Sox center fielder Mike Cameron made a spectacular leaping catch at the eight-foot fence in right center in the seventh to rob Mark McGwire of a potential 30th home run. McGwire went one-for-four with a single in the fifth.

Cameron homered in his next at-bat in the seventh and Albert Belle added a three-run homer for the White Sox, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

Milwaukee 6, Kansas City 3--Marquis Grissom drew a bases-loaded walk with two out in the 10th and Mark Loretta added a two-run single at Kansas City, Mo.

Bob Wickman (3-4) got the victory with 2 1/3 innings of relief as the Brewers snapped a six-game road losing streak. Doug Jones got the last two outs for his 12th save.

San Diego 5, Cincinnati 1--Greg Vaughn hit a grand slam at San Diego and Andy Ashby came within two outs of his fourth consecutive complete game.

Ashby (8-4) gave up eight hits, tied his career high with 11 strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter before leaving with two men on in the ninth. Trevor Hoffman struck out the last two batters for his 18th save this season and 26th in a row overall.

San Francisco 7, Seattle 6--The Giants extended the majors’ longest winning streak this season to 11 games, getting a three-run homer from J.T. Snow at San Francisco.

The Mariners hit four homers, including Ken Griffey Jr.’s AL-leading 25th, to boost their major league-leading total to 104. But they still lost for the eighth time in nine games.