Glavine Outpitches Moyer in Matchup

NEW YORK (AP) _ Tom Glavine got the win in the oldest matchup of left-handed starters in major league history and wasn&#39;t exactly sure how to react. <br/><br/>``Glad to be part of it, I guess,&#39;&#39;

Friday, April 13th 2007, 7:31 am

By: News On 6


NEW YORK (AP) _ Tom Glavine got the win in the oldest matchup of left-handed starters in major league history and wasn't exactly sure how to react.

``Glad to be part of it, I guess,'' the 41-year-old Glavine said.

Other than a pair of Jimmy Rollins homers, Glavine pretty much shut down the Phillies in New York's 5-3 victory over Philadelphia and Jamie Moyer on Thursday night. He got it done with his arm and his bat, making a little in-game adjustment after a rocky start.

``I was rushing in my delivery and rushing to try to make pitches,'' Glavine said. ``After the second inning, when I threw my warmup pitches in the third inning, I kind of tried to make a little conscious adjustment and it felt good. It felt like my pitches were a little bit better during the warmup and just tried to go with it, and it seemed to work.''

In the only other NL game Thursday, Washington beat Atlanta 2-0 to snap a six-game losing streak.

Moyer and Glavine (2-1) hooked up in the oldest matchup of lefty starters (85 years, 163 days) in major league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Yankees' Tommy John and White Sox pitcher Jerry Reuss on May 2, 1988, were the previous record holders (83 years, 299 days).

Moyer (1-1) allowed four runs, three earned, and four hits in six innings.

``I pitched myself into some jams today,'' said the 44-year-old Moyer, who also hit three batters with pitches. ``I probably deserved what I got.''

Jose Reyes hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the fourth for New York, and Moises Alou had three hits.

The defending NL East champion Mets took two of three in their first series against Philadelphia, which finished second last year and is off to a slow start again. The Phillies have lost seven of their first nine.

``We need to win some series,'' manager Charlie Manuel said. ``We need to take two out of three. We need to play better.''

Their inability to knock out Glavine after his slow start was the biggest difference in the latest loss. Glavine allowed three runs and four hits in six innings to pick up his 292nd career win. He struck out four, walked three and helped out with two important sacrifices.

Alou scored in the second inning when third baseman Wes Helms threw wildly to first on Glavine's bunt down the line. Glavine's second sacrifice advanced runners to second and third in the fourth, and Reyes followed with his go-ahead hit.

``He's going to compete. That's something I love about Jose,'' Mets manager Willie Randolph said. ``When the game is on the line, I think most managers see that, he's going to compete real hard.''

Billy Wagner got three outs for his second save and the 326th of his career, tying Roberto Hernandez for 10th on the career list.

Rollins, who boasted in spring training that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East, drove in three runs as the Shea Stadium crowd continued to boo him every time he came to the plate.

``I love it,'' Rollins said. ``It's just a lot of fun. They give you energy whether they realize it or not. I thrive on the booing.''

Glavine and Moyer likely haven't started many colder games. The first-pitch temperature was 44 degrees after it rained for much of the day, and there were puddles on each dugout. Many of the fans pulled the hoods on their coats and sweatshirts tight around their ears and sat with their arms folded to keep warm.

Both pitchers struggled early. Glavine went to 3-1 on Rollins, who hit his 18th leadoff homer. Glavine then walked three of the next four hitters but catcher Paul Lo Duca threw out Shane Victorino trying to steal second and Helms ended the inning by striking out with two on.

Moyer allowed three straight singles starting the bottom half, with Carlos Beltran's hit tying it at 1. But Moyer struck out Carlos Delgado and got David Wright to ground into an inning-ending double play to limit the damage.

Wright bounced back in the seventh. He hit a one-out triple to extend his career-best hitting streak to 21 games and scored on Alou's single.

Nationals 2, Braves 0

At Atlanta, Ronnie Belliard hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning off John Smoltz to help Washington get the win.

Ryan Zimmerman also hit an RBI single for the Nationals (2-8), who had never before led a game this year at the time a pitch was thrown. Their only previous win was April 4, when Dmitri Young hit a game-ending single that capped a three-run ninth inning in a 7-6 victory over visiting Florida.

Washington has been outscored 61-23 this season and hasn't scored during the first three innings of any game.

Jason Bergmann, Jesus Colome (1-0), Jon Rauch and Chad Cordero combined on a two-hitter. Cordero struck out Scott Thorman with the bases loaded for his first save.

Smoltz (1-1) gave up four hits and four walks _ two intentional _ in eight innings, striking out six.
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