Error! Mets Beat Reds In 10th

It wasn't exactly deja vu, but it was close.

Twice in two games, the New York Mets' Rich Becker was on third with the game on the line when a grounder is hit to Cincinnati third baseman Willie Greene.

Friday night, Becker is thrown out at the plate trying to score the tying run in the eighth. In the 10th inning on Saturday, Greene's throw to first takes Dmitri Young off the bag, allowing Becker to score as the Mets beat the Reds 5-4.

Greene declined to come out of the player's lounge after the game.

"All I can tell them is I (fouled) up," Greene said through team spokesman Rob Butcher.

Reds manager Jack McKeon was typically mellow.

"We're going to make mistakes, and they're going to cost us, but we'll get our share. It always turns around," McKeon said.

"Willie probably figured it was routine. It happens once in a while. He's played his tail off. But in the late innings, there's no margin for error; you can't make mistakes."

Mel Rojas (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, and John Franco had a perfect 10th for his fourth save.

Edgardo Alfonzo had two RBIs and Becker scored three times for the Mets, who are 7-3 in one-run games this season.

"That's how we've been doing it," Becker said. "Our offense isn't clicking on all cylinders -- including me -- so this is what we have to do."

Bret Boone went 4-for-4 and Eddie Taubensee and Jon Nunnally homered for the Reds.

After Becker singled to open the Mets' 10th, Reds reliever Stan Belinda hit Edgardo Alfonzo with a pitch. John Olerud sacrificed, and Butch Huskey was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Belinda (0-2) got Brian McRae on a pop up, and pinch-hitter Jim Tatum to tap a bouncer to third. But Becker scored when Green's throw took Young up the foul line.

Until that point, thMets had just one base runner after the fifth inning.

"We had opportunities early," said Mets manager Bobby Valentine. "I'm just glad we're not crying in our beer over lost opportunities."

Taubensee led off the second inning for Cincinnati with a homer, his first, off Mets starter Masato Yoshii.

It was the first earned run off Yoshii in three starts this season. The 32-year-old rookie from Japan walked one and struck out three in five innings.

"Yoshii was pretty good coming back from the home runs," Valentine said. "He stayed away from any kind of catastrophe and made some good pitches when he had to."

New York went up 3-1 in the third on a two-run double by Alfonzo and a sacrifice fly by McRae.

Cincinnati tied it 3-3 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Young and a double by Boone. Boone also had three singles in his third four-hit game this season.

Huskey had an RBI single to give the Mets a 4-3 lead in the fifth, but Nunnally countered for Cincinnati in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer, his first.

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