Lopez and Obscure Rule Win It for Mets

The last stop of the Subway Series gave New York baseball fans a chance to dream how great an October rematch would be.

The last out left them wondering, what happened?

The Mets salvaged the final game of their hyped three-game set against the Yankees on Sunday night with a controversial run in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 2-1 victory at Shea Stadium.

“That was kind of crazy,” said Carlos Baerga, who scored the winning run. “But it was nice to come back and win.”

With runners at first and third and one out, pinch-hitter Luis Lopez hit a fly ball against Ramiro Mendoza (5-2) that Paul O’Neill raced back to catch for out No. 2. Baerga, the runner at third, retreated back to tag up.

As Baerga crossed the plate for what appeared to be the winning run, Brian McRae, the runner at first, was racing back to first to avoid getting doubled up.

The Yankees rushed to get the ball back in to the infield, and when first baseman Tino Martinez made a diving catch of Derek Jeter’s throw, first base umpire Bruce Dreckman called McRae out and the Yankees thought they were going to extra innings.

“We were praying there,” Yankee catcher Jorge Posada said.

The Mets, who had gathered near the plate to greet Baerga, erupted in protest with Baerga being restrained by coach Cookie Rojas.

“I was kind of scared there for a minute,” Baerga said. “But I knew I had scored before the play [at first].”

After several anxious moments and with 53,749 fans not sure of the outcome, home plate umpire Frank Pulli pointed toward the plate, indicating the run had scored before another out had been recorded.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that before in all my time playing,” Baerga said.

Rule 2.00 of the Official Baseball Rules backed up Pulli’s call--the run counts as long as it scored before the third out was recorded.

“It’s one of those rules I didn’t know,” Jeter said.

From his viewpoint, Yankee Manager Joe Torre knew that Baerga had crossed the plate in time. Still, he was pleased with his team’s hustle to the end.

“I was happy we didn’t give up,” he said. “We almost got away with it.”

Chicago White Sox 10, Milwaukee 8--Chad Kreuter, Frank Thomas and Albert Belle hit RBI singles as the White Sox rallied in the eighth inning at Chicago, stopping the Brewers’ six-game winning streak.

Jeff Cirillo set a career high with five hits for the Brewers, including a double in a two-run eighth that made it 8-7.

Houston 12, Cleveland 3--Moises Alou homered, had three hits and drove in three runs as the Astros won at Cleveland.

The Astros took two of three from the Indians in the interleague meeting of Central Division leaders.

Montreal 8, Baltimore 4--Vladimir Guerrero had three hits at Montreal, including a two-run homer, as the Expos handed the Orioles their sixth consecutive loss.

Javier Vazquez (2-6) allowed four runs in five-plus innings to win for the first time in 11 starts. Ugueth Urbina got the final two outs for his 20th save.

The Expos swept the three-game series, only their second series sweep of the season.

Tampa Bay 5, Philadelphia 4--Fred McGriff hit a two-run homer in the first inning and a tiebreaking single in the eighth at Philadelphia.

The Devil Rays won two of three at Veterans Stadium, their first winning series on the road since May 22-24 at Seattle.

Chicago Cubs 6, Kansas City 3--Sammy Sosa had two singles and an RBI at Kansas City, Mo., but failed to homer for the third consecutive game as the Cubs snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Sosa, whose 19 homers in June are a major league record for homers in any month, increased his RBI total to 78 with a single in the fifth off Pat Rapp (7-7).

Minnesota 3, St. Louis 2--Bob Tewksbury twice used lob pitches to transform Mark McGwire’s swing from menacing to meek, and Otis Nixon drove in the winning run with a squeeze bunt in the seventh at Minneapolis.

Kept off-balance by Tewksbury’s surprising pitch selection, McGwire went one for four with a single. He also hit into a fielder’s choice off reliever Hector Carrasco to end the top of the seventh with the bases loaded.

Colorado 11, Oakland 10--Rookie Todd Helton hit a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Rockies rallied in a wild game at Denver.

Oakland’s four-run seventh, featuring Matt Stairs’ pinch-hit two-run single, had given the A’s a 9-6 lead.

Arizona 3, Seattle 2--Yamil Benitez homered on the first pitch by Bobby Ayala in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Diamondbacks at Phoenix.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 32nd home run, and the Mariners tied the game, 2-2, in the eighth on Alex Rodriguez’s RBI grounder.

Florida 5, Boston 1--Rookie Ryan Dempster pitched seven strong innings for his first career victory as the Marlins avoided a three-game sweep at Miami.

Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra went one for four to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, tying Colorado’s Larry Walker for the major league high this season.