San Francisco Defeats Mets With Flourish

By THOMAS BONK

Oct. 5, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO —

You know what kind of day it was for the San Francisco Giants when the worst thing that happened to them was they didn’t like the giveaway towels waved by many of the 40,030 fans at Pacific Bell Park.

“White towels, they’re waving them, it really bothers you playing defense,” Barry Bonds said. “They need to get rid of those towels or make them black or orange or something.”

Actually, Bonds is right. But after the Giants managed a 5-1 victory over the New York Mets in Game 1 of their National League division series Wednesday and beat up an old rival along the way, it seems that if there is any waving of white flags before long, it could be the Mets doing it.

“There’s a long way to go,” Bonds said.

Yes, there is, at least two more games, but Team Towel got off to a good start. Livan Hernandez got the only real support he needed in a four-run third when Ellis Burks chipped the paint off the left-field foul pole with a three-run home run off Mike Hampton, who had never lost to the Giants.

And now, if the Giants come back today and take Game 2, they will be in position to do something they haven’t done since 1989--win a playoff series.

Burks’ resounding home run is a sure-fire highlight, but it could have been overshadowed by a call by home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg two batters earlier with Bonds at the plate.

The Mets had just tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Jay Payton. Hampton got the first two outs quickly in the bottom of the third. But Bill Mueller singled, bringing up Bonds, who worked the count to 2-and-2, then watched the next pitch sear across the plate into Mike Piazza’s mitt.

Hampton started to walk off the mound, but Kellogg called the pitch a ball. Bonds smoked the next pitch just inside the right-field foul line and the ball bounced off the stands as Derek Bell pursued it. Bell slipped, twisting his knee, limping after the ball to retrieve it.

Mueller scored and Bonds wound up with a triple. Hampton then walked Jeff Kent to bring up Burks, who knocked the ball off the bright yellow foul pole with the sound of a very loud gong.

“I knew I had the distance,” Burks said. “It was just a question of being fair or foul.”

It was fair. There was some feeling that Kellogg’s call was foul. Hampton, 9-0 against the Giants in his career, didn’t hang around to talk about it, but Met Manager Bobby Valentine and Piazza did and both of them protested only mildly.

“I thought it was a good pitch,” Piazza said. “But that’s baseball.”

And for the Giants, it was a good way to begin a series with a certain amount of breaks in their favor . . . the non-strike, Burks’ blast that was two feet from going foul, Bell falling, Mueller catching a line drive that nearly went through the webbing of his glove, J.T. Snow digging out Kent’s low throw.

Add it all up, include 7 2/3 stout innings from Hernandez, and you have to say those are all good signs.

“It seems like the luck was in our favor,” shortstop Rich Aurilia said.

And the Mets didn’t have a whole lot going for them. They managed only five hits--one after the fifth inning--and were retired in order in the ninth by Giant closer Robb Nen.

Piazza was hitless in three at-bats with a walk, Robin Ventura was hitless in four at-bats and Edgardo Alfonzo and Todd Zeile had one hit apiece, which is all you need to know about the Met offense.

Valentine didn’t exactly feel like dissecting the game with the media afterward. He especially felt that way when asked if he had any concerns about the offense.

“I’d rather they get a hit all the time,” Valentine said.

One or two hits wouldn’t have hurt when the Mets threatened in the eighth. A one-out single by Alfonzo and walks to Piazza and Zeile loaded the bases against Hernandez with two out.

Giant Manager Dusty Baker brought in Felix Rodriguez, who struck out Darryl Hamilton.

Hernandez was in quiet control, giving up only the five hits, striking out five and walking five.

He did a quick recap of the game afterward.

“When you see 41,000 people in the stadium and this is the playoffs and the fans like you to win the games at home, and there are two more games to make a chance for the World Series,” Hernandez said.

Team Towel would love to wave it in everybody’s faces.

N.Y. METS vs. SAN FRANCISCO

GAME 1

San Francisco 5,

New York 1

TODAY

New York (Leiter 16-8) at San Francisco (Estes 15-6), 5:15, Ch. 11

SATURDAY

San Francisco (Ortiz 13-12) at New York (Reed 11-5), TBA

ATLANTA vs.

ST. LOUIS

GAME 1