New York – Like a raging bull, Carlos Beltran charges when he sees Cardinals red.
On a blustery Thursday night at Shea Stadium, the all-star center fielder blasted a 430-foot, two-run homer to right in the sixth inning, lifting the Mets to a 2-0 victory over St. Louis in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
Beltran’s one mighty swing and superb pitching from 40-year-old warhorse Tom Glavine showed why the Mets are the National League’s lone superpower.
“Carlos is a big-game guy and he’s shown what he can do in the postseason,” New York manager Willie Randolph said. “He seems to have a flair for it.”
Up until Beltran’s homer, Cardinals starter Jeff Weaver appeared every bit as good as Glavine. Weaver got two quick outs to open the sixth before giving up a single to Paul Lo Duca. Then Beltran stepped into the box and crushed Weaver’s 2-2 inside fastball off the scoreboard.
Perhaps it should have been expected.
Playing for Houston in the 2004 NLCS, Beltran hit .417 with four homers in a seven-game series loss to the Cardinals. Beltran parlayed that performance into a seven-year, $119 million deal with the Mets in January of 2005.
“Of course I remember,” Beltran said. “Anytime you do something in October it means a lot. That was a great postseason, so having a game like that today brings back memories. But I can’t be thinking about what I did in 2004, this is 2006.”
Glavine, making his 34th postseason start, conjured memories of his days with the Braves when he won two Cy Young Awards. The lefty allowed no runs on four hits in seven innings. Coupled with his victory against Los Angeles in the division series, he’s thrown 13 scoreless innings this postseason.
“I feel like I’m pitching as well right now as I have at any point in the year,” said Glavine, who notched his 14th postseason win, which is tied with Houston’s Andy Pettitte for second all-time. The leader is John Smoltz with 15.
The Cardinals had only four hits but had chances to strike early. However, poor baserunning by Albert Pujols and slick glove work by Mets left fielder Endy Chavez defused two St. Louis rallies.
With one out in the fourth, Pujols walked, only to be doubled off first when Juan Encarnacion hit a shallow fly to Beltran.
Beltran gobbled up the ball and threw a laser to first, beating Pujols by a couple of steps for the inning-ending double play.
“Let me tell you, Albert is an outstanding baserunner and I’m not exaggerating,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. “That was an exception. When he first read it, he read blooper, but the ball hung up in the wind and he basically made a mistake. A rare one for him.”
Pujols, whom Glavine called the best hitter in baseball, went 0-for-3, lining out twice and striking out.
“When he’s in the box and you have to face him, you have to be aggressive and attack him,” Glavine said. “And you can’t go in with the same speed and same location very often, because if you do, he’s going to catch you and make you pay for it.”
Chavez – a third-inning replacement for Cliff Floyd, who re-injured his Achilles tendon – made a diving snow-cone catch in the fifth, robbing Ronnie Belliard of an extra-base hit that might have scored Jim Edmonds from first.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
