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Mets' last-minute comeback finishes off Diamondbacks

PHOENIX - Edgardo Alfonzo ruined Randy Johnson at the start and buried the Arizona Diamondbacks at the finish.

Alfonzo, who had a solo home run in the first inning, hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth off reliever Bobby Chouinard as the New York Mets beat the Diamondbacks 8-4 last night in the opener of their NL playoff series.

''Over the last few years, Edgardo Alfonzo has been a fabulous baseball player who has kind of a star quality,'' said Mets manager Bobby Valentine, in a playoff game for the first time.

''But he's improving. He's gaining confidence, and with confidence you get performances like you saw tonight,'' he said.

Johnson, who left the game with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, lost his sixth straight postseason decision, a major league record. He struck out 11 and held on through an exhausting 138 pitches as Arizona rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie it at 4.

John Olerud became the first left-handed batter to hit a homer off Johnson in two years with his two-run shot in the third that made it 3-0. Olerud and the Mets' other left-hander in the lineup each had two hits off Johnson, who usually dominates lefties.

''The guys came out swinging. I thought they were just great at-bats tonight,'' Valentine said. ''We got four hits left-handed, and that's determination. That's reaching down and wanting it.''

The Diamondbacks rallied on home runs by Erubiel Durazo and Luis Gonzalez to make it 4-all.

Johnson settled down to pitch four hitless innings, but another lefty, Robin Ventura, led off the ninth with a single. With one out, Rey Ordonez singled, then Johnson walked Melvin Mora to load the bases and bring on Chouinard.

Third baseman Matt Williams made a diving stop, his second of the game, on Rickey Henderson's grounder, and threw home to force out Ventura.

But Alfonzo hit Chouinard's 3-1 pitch just inside the left-field foul pole for the grand slam.

Arizona manager Buck Showalter said he felt it was right to leave Johnson in the game, even though the big left-hander had said he was getting close to running out of gas. He said he used Chouinard because he'd been one of the best relievers this season.

''I wish we could have figured out a way to keep Alfonzo in the park, then maybe we could have had some fun in the ninth inning,'' Showalter said.

Johnson, whose postseason record fell to 2-6, allowed seven runs on eight hits. Turk Wendell pitched one inning and was the winner.

''I didn't know if it was a foul or fair ball,'' Alfonzo said. ''I stayed at home plate, going, 'C'mon, c'mon.'''

Johnson now is in sole possession of the longest postseason losing streak by a pitcher. Joe Bush (1914-23) and Doyle Anderson (1973-87) both lost five in a row.

''Randy Johnson is one of the best pitchers in baseball right now,'' Alfonzo said. ''You have to be patient and wait for a pitch to hit.''

In the seventh, Johnson doubled for his first postseason hit. But he was doubled up when took off running on Tony Womack's one-out fly ball to left.

The Mets showed no sign of being emotionally spent despite an overnight flight from their 5-0 wild-card playoff victory Monday night at Cincinnati.

With one out in the first, Alfonzo, who had 27 homers in the regular season, hit Johnson's 0-2 pitch over the left-center field wall. On Monday night, Alfonzo also homered in the first inning the previous day against the Reds.

Olerud and Mike Piazza followed with singles before Johnson struck out Benny Agbayani and Ventura to end the inning. Johnson retired the side in order in the second, but walked Henderson to start the third.

With one out, Olerud made it 3-0 when he hit Johnson's 2-2 pitch over the right-field fence, the first left-hander to hit a homer off the Big Unit since Jim Edmonds did it twice on Sept. 23, 1997.

Arizona cut the lead to 3-1 in the third when Womack tripled to deep left field, then scored on Jay Bell's sacrifice fly. Ventura led off the fourth with a double, moved to second on Shawon Dunston's bunt single and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Rey Ordonez to make it 4-1.

Durazo, who started the season in Double-A El Paso but became Arizona's starting first baseman in July, made it 4-2 with a solo homer in the fourth.

Bell led off the sixth with a single, then Gonzalez hit a home run an estimated 452 feet into the right-field seats to tie it at 4.

Johnson was coming off what he has called his best season, when he struck out 364, fourth-most in baseball history, and led the National League in ERA at 2.48.