Mets’ Revamped Lineup Shows It Can Go Deep

Three home runs in the seventh inning showed why the New York Mets have been doing so well.

Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Melvin Mora homered in the inning as the Mets hit a season-high five home runs and beat the Florida Marlins, 10-5, Monday night at New York without getting much production from the middle of the lineup.

While Edgardo Alfonzo, Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile--the heart of the Met batting order--went two for 14, Agbayani homered twice, Payton went three for four and scored three times, and Mora homered for the second consecutive game.

Pinch-hitter Mark Johnson added a two-run homer as the Mets won their fifth in a row.

“There really isn’t an easy out in that lineup,” Marlin Manager John Boles said. “It was the long ball that really got them going. Good teams will do that.”

The Met lineup hasn’t always been so deep. But an injury to weak-hitting Rey Ordonez and the development of Payton has helped.

Mora, who replaced Ordonez at shortstop, provides much more offense than the three-time Gold Glove winner, and Agbayani, batting in Ordonez’s eighth slot, deepens the lineup.

“Hitters one through eight are contributing,” said Payton, who is hitting .433 over 15 games. “We can’t count on Mike, Todd and Robin every night.”

The Mets hit their most homers in a game since Sept. 15, 1997, against Philadelphia. All three in the seventh inning came against Ron Mahay. The Mets have 32 homers in 16 games.

“That was a fun inning,” said Payton, who got it started with a two-out solo homer. “You’re not going to see three homers in an inning very often.”

Mora’s two-run shot gave him five home runs in 122 at-bats this season, one more than Ordonez has in 2,016 career at-bats.

Piazza, who went two for three to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, hit an run-scoring single during a three-run third. He has driven in a run in 10 consecutive games, tying the team record he set last Aug. 11-23.

Al Leiter (9-1), a member of the World Series-winning Marlin team in 1997 before being sent to the Mets in the ensuing salary purge, got the win despite yielding solo homers to Mike Lowell and Derrek Lee and at least one baserunner in each inning.

Arizona 6, Houston 1--It was quite a night for newcomers as the Diamondbacks beat the Astros at Phoenix.

In his first major league at-bat, minor league sensation Alex Cabrera hit a two-run home run, a 400-foot shot. And one day after being recalled from triple-A Tucson to replace injured Matt Williams, Danny Klassen had a home run and a run-scoring single.

Cabrera, a 28-year-old first baseman, was called up Monday to take the roster spot of injured right-hander Todd Stottlemyre.

San Francisco at Colorado--Giant left-hander Kirk Rueter left after being hit above the right ankle by a line drive in the first inning of rain-delayed game at Denver.