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Diamondbacks avenge loss, trample Mets

Associated Press Arizona Daily Wildcat New York Mets baserunner Robin Ventura tries to get back to second base, but is caught by Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Tony Womack during the fourth inning of their National League division series game in Phoenix last night. Looking on is second base umpire Dana DeMuth.

PHOENIX - Todd Stottlemyre, partially torn rotator cuff and all, did something Randy Johnson couldn't do. He shut down the New York Mets.

Steve Finley took care of the rest. Finley tied an NL division series record with five RBIs as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Mets 7-1 last night to tie their first-round series 1-1.

The series shifts to New York for Game 3 tomorrow.

Finley, who helped San Diego reach the World Series last year, drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the third, two more with a double in the fifth, then walked with the bases loaded in the seventh for another RBI.

Matt Williams was 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored as Arizona earned its first playoff win.

The loss was the first in October for the Mets, who won the final four games of the regular season - including a one-game wild-card playoff against Cincinnati - and the first game against Arizona.

Rickey Henderson, the Mets' 40-year-old leadoff hitter, stole second three times to break the NL record for most steals in a division series with five. His three stolen bases in a game tied the major league mark for a division series.

Stottlemyre allowed one run on four hits over 6 2-3 innings. The intense right-hander struck out six and walked five, but battled out of trouble throughout.

Stottlemyre, 3-5 in the postseason, threw a complete game for Texas in Game 1 of last year's AL divisional series against the New York Yankees but lost 2-0. This one was sweeter because of what Stottlemyre went through to get here and because it was a win the Diamondbacks knew they must have.

Stottlemyre is believed to be the only pitcher to come back from a serious rotator cuff injury to pitch again without surgery. He tore 70 percent of his rotator cuff in San Francisco May 17.

At age 34, he decided not to undergo season-ending surgery. Instead, he went through intense rehabilitation, strengthening his upper body, especially the area around the injury, then returned on Aug. 20.

Stottlemyre threw 124 pitches, the most he's thrown all season and 21 more than he'd thrown since coming back from his injury, before being relieved by Gregg Olson with runners at first and second and two outs in the seventh.

After a double-steal put runners at second and third, Olson got first-game hero Edgardo Alfonzo to ground out to end the inning. Reliever Greg Swindell pitched the eighth and ninth to complete the five-hitter.