Mets sweep Rockies

DENVER – David Wright hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the New York Mets completed a doubleheader sweep with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

New York won the opener 10-3 behind Kris Benson’s pitching and Mike Cameron’s four RBIs.

The Mets tied the second game in the eighth inning against Tim Harikkala, when Eric Valent led off with his seventh homer.

Richard Hidalgo opened the ninth inning with a popup behind the mound and reached first when Steve Reed (3-3) was charged with an error after colliding with shortstop Royce Clayton. Wright followed with his fifth homer, sending a drive over the wall in left-center.

After the teams labored through the first game in 3 hours, 26 minutes, Jeff Fassero and Al Leiter had things going at a brisk pace in the nightcap – until the lights went out. The game was delayed 13 minutes in the fourth inning after most of the lights around Coors Field went dark.

Fassero worked quickly and effectively before and after the break, allowing two hits in the first three innings before giving up a run on Hidalgo’s sacrifice fly in the fourth. Fassero didn’t yield much after that, leaving after allowing a run and four hits in six innings.

Colorado had the bases loaded with none out in the fourth inning against Leiter, but managed just one run. That came when Matt Holliday slid into second baseman Joe McEwing to break up a potential inning-ending double play.

The Rockies went up 2-1 on another hard slide in the sixth inning, with J.D. Closser taking out McEwing this time. Shortstop Wilson Delgado made a nice play in the hole on Jorge Piedro’s chopper, but his throw was low and McEwing couldn’t get out of the way in time.

McEwing had to be helped from the field by New York’s trainers, not a good sign for the injury-plagued Mets.

New York placed right-hander Victor Zambrano on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day and lost reliever Mike DeJean in the eighth inning of the first game when he was hit on the shin by Aaron Miles’ liner. This for a team that’s already missing slugger Mike Piazza (knee), second baseman Jose Reyes (leg) and shortstop Kaz Matsui (back).

Reliever Braden Looper hit Closser on the leg with a pitch in his next at-bat in the eighth inning and was immediately ejected by plate umpire Lance Barksdale. Manager Art Howe came charging out of the dugout and argued with Barksdale for several minutes, finally heading back to the dugout after Mike Stanton started warming up.

Stanton (1-5) worked the final 1 1-3 innings for the win. Leiter allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. He also walked five.

New York won the opener by roughing up Rockies starter Shawn Estes (13-5).

The Mets batted around against the left-hander in the first inning, capped by Cameron’s career-high 26th homer, a three-run shot to center.

Estes had difficulty keeping the ball down after that, allowing six runs and 10 hits in five innings. He lost for the first time since June 29 against Milwaukee and matched a season high with six walks.

Benson (10-9) did a better job of working out of trouble, allowing three runs and seven hits in six solid innings. It was his second win in four starts with New York since being traded from Pittsburgh.

Notes: Cameron’s 26 homers match the team record for a center fielder, set by Tommie Agee in 1969. … Cameron stole second in the eighth inning of the first game, becoming the sixth Mets player to hit 20 homers and have 20 stolen bases in a season. … Hidalgo hit his 20th homer in the first game.

AP-ES-08-19-04 2331EDT