July 14, 2000: Piazza and Mora Slug Red Sox
From The Met Wiki
| Date: July 14, 2000 |
| Mets starter: Glendon Rusch |
| Mets: 6 |
| Red Sox: 4 |
| Winning pitcher: Pat Mahomes |
| Key player(s): Mike Piazza, Melvin Mora |
| Key play: Piazza's two homers, Mora's homer |
The Mets and Red Sox began an interleague series at Fenway Park on a Friday night. Each team had 12 hits, but home runs by Mike Piazza and Melvin Mora proved to be the difference in the game. The Mets defeated Boston, 6-4.
The Red Sox scored in the second inning against Mets' starter Glendon Rusch. Nomar Garciaparra led off with a double and later came home on Troy O'Leary's single. The Sox got three more singles off Rusch before the end of the third, but didn't add to their 1-0 lead.
Piazza homered off Boston starter Pete Schourek to begin the top of the fourth. In the fifth, Todd Pratt led off with a single and Mora hit a two-run homer. The Sox got another run against Rusch in the sixth when O'Leary again singled to score Garciaparra.
In the bottom of the seventh, Jose Offerman drew a walk from Mets' reliever Turk Wendell. Offerman advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt and scored the tying run on Brian Daubach's single off Dennis Cook. Against reliever Rich Rodriguez, O'Leary drove home Garciaparra with a single for the third time to give Boston a 4-3 lead.
Sox' reliever Hipolito Pichardo retired the first two Mets in the top of the eighth inning. Against Derek Lowe, Edgardo Alfonzo followed with a single and Piazza hit his second home run of the game to put the Mets in front, 5-4. Mora added a single in the ninth off Bryce Florie to bring home Benny Agbayani for another New York run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Armando Benitez gave up a one-out double to Garciaparra and walked O'Leary with two out. He then struck out Manny Alexander to end the game. The Mets had a win to start the weekend series.
