Beltran's homer in 16th gives Mets win in longest game of season

NEW YORK (AP) -- As the innings went by Tuesday night and into

Wednesday morning, there was a sense of urgency for the

Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.

"You can't lose that kind of game," Mets manager Willie

Randolph said. "You use all your roster, you have to win the game.

You're out there that long, you don't want to waste it."

Elias Says
Madson Ryan Madson pitched seven innings of scoreless relief for the Phillies before surrendering Carlos Beltran's game-winning homer in the 16th inning Tuesday night. Over the past 15 years, the only other reliever to pitch at least seven innings and lose was Steve Sparks of the Tigers in a 17-inning loss to the Yankees in 2003. For more, see Elias Says.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel felt the same way.

"We had the game won a couple of times but it got away from

us," he said.

Carlos Beltran settled this battle of attrition by leading off

the 16th inning with his 12th home run, ending a 5-hour, 22-minute

marathon that was the longest game in the major leagues this

season. There were 521 pitches and Beltran hit the last one into

the New York bullpen.

The Mets used 21 players and the Phillies 18. The only position

player who didn't get into the game was Philadelphia reserve

outfielder Chris Coste.

Ryan Madson (4-3) worked seven scoreless innings in relief,

uncharted territory for him, before Beltran's homer ended it and

gave him the loss.

"I never thought I would (go that long)," said Madson, who

threw 105 pitches. "I felt better later. I felt comfortable. I had

no idea how many pitches I threw."

Madson said he was prepared to go as long as necessary. Only

closer Tom Gordon and Real Cormier were left in the Phillies

bullpen and Cormier had received an injection in his shoulder and

was unavailable.

"I knew I was it," Madson said.

Beltran caught up with a high fastball to end it.

"As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone," he said. "It was a

fastball up and in and I was able to hit it good."

Darren Oliver (2-0) worked four shutout innings to earn the

victory that stretched the Mets' lead in the NL East over the

Phillies to four games.

Jose Reyes capped a furious New York comeback with a two-out,

two-run homer in the eighth, tying the score at 8-8. The rally

started when Endy Chavez beat out an infield hit and scored on a

pinch double by Chris Woodward. Reyes, who had been 0-for-4,

followed with his fourth homer of the season.

"I don't know how I got that one," he said, after golfing the

ball over the wall, one of four homers hit by the Mets.

Home runs by David Wright and Cliff Floyd erased an early 2-0

deficit for the Mets. But David Bell drove in five runs with a

three-run homer and a double to put Philadelphia ahead.

Rookie Shane Victorino's RBI single to right broke a 2-2 tie in

the fifth and then Bell, who had just 13 RBI before Tuesday night

and had flied out to end a bases loaded threat in the third,

followed with his fourth homer of the season for a 6-2 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Chavez singled and pinch-hitter

Jose Valentin walked. After two outs, Beltran's infield single

scored Chavez, who had stolen third.

An inning later, consecutive doubles by Floyd and Kaz Matsui

made it 6-4. Then Julio Franco, appearing in his 2,400th major

league game, delivered a pinch double against reliever Aaron Fultz,

scoring Matsui.

In the seventh, Mets reliever Aaron Heilman walked Ryan Howard

and Victorino, and Bell followed with a two-run double to left

center. But the Mets came back again in the eighth on hits by

Chavez and Woodward before Reyes' home run tied the score at 8.

Game notes
Mets RF Xavier Nady was a late scratch from the lineup

because of lower back stiffness. ... Wright's second-inning homer

was the first run the Mets scored for Steve Trachsel in three

starts. ... Floyd's homer was his second in the last three games.

... It was the longest Mets game since 1995. ... Rob Bell of the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays was the last pitcher to have a seven-inning

relief stint, getting the win with seven shutout innings against

Arizona on June 19, 2004.