Leiter’s a New York Hit With Three-Run Double

Al Leiter was due.

A career .103 hitter, the New York Met pitcher was struggling at .081 going into Thursday’s game against the San Diego Padres.

Then he delivered a bases-loaded double, driving in the final three runs in a 9-3 victory that pushed the Mets back into a first-place tie with the idle Atlanta Braves in the National League East.

The hit, his fourth this season, raised Leiter’s season average to .103. He wasn’t ready to brag, though.

“I have the most pathetic swing in baseball,” he said. “But I’ll take the three RBIs. I’m not going to stand here and tell you I’m a hitter. I’m just not. It was good to get those three runs, though.”

The two-out hit in the fifth inning restored a six-run lead as the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Padres after three consecutive losses to the Dodgers.

In a game that started barely 11 hours after the teams completed a rain-delayed game, Darryl Hamilton and Roger Cedeno homered for the Mets and Leiter (10-7) won for the eighth time in his last 10 decisions.

He pitched seven innings, giving up four hits, all in the fifth, when the Padres cut a 6-0 deficit in half.

Even with the bad inning, Leiter never felt in trouble.

“I feel I’m throwing as good as any time since I’ve been here,” he said. “I know I’m up to the challenge of making quality starts., If I make my pitches, I can keep this team close against anyone. The way the defense has been and the hitting, we’ll be all right.”

With both teams traveling to the West Coast, the game started shortly after noon EDT, a quick turnaround after the Mets and Padres played until nearly 1 a.m. the night before.

If they were tired, the Mets didn’t show it.

New York struck quickly. Cedeno beat out a bunt for a leadoff single in the first, moved to third on Edgardo Alfonzo’s hit-and-run single and scored on John Olerud’s grounder.

Robin Ventura’s sacrifice fly and Hamilton’s sixth homer--his second since the Mets acquired him from the Colorado Rockies on July 31--made it 3-0 against Woody Williams (5-11), who gave up nine runs and 10 hits in five innings.

That started the Padres to their sixth consecutive loss. San Diego is 3-17 after a 24-7 run that included a club-record 14-game winning streak.

“When you go through something like this, it’s tough on everybody,” Manager Bruce Bochy said.