Mets down Cards behind Glavine, Floyd

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Tom Glavine has a reputation as a thinking man's pitcher, slick instead of quick, smart instead of swift.

There are times, though, when he thinks he thinks too much.

Glavine was stuck in a rut, beaten up badly in his last three starts for the New York Mets. And at age 39, with opposing hitters batting .333 against him, people were beginning to wonder if the third winningest active pitcher might be done.

''A lot has been said and written about whether I was at the end of the rope,'' Glavine said Friday night.

Turns out there's plenty of rope left.

Glavine was brilliant, limiting St. Louis to four hits over seven-plus innings and benefiting from two huge home runs by Cliff Floyd to beat the Cardinals 2-0 for his 264th career victory. Only Roger Clemens (330) and Greg Maddux (307) are ahead of him.

''It's big to resurrect yourself,'' he said. ''I felt good warming up but I felt good warming up in my last three starts so I didn't pay much attention to that.''

Those starts had bordered on horrible -- 19 runs and 29 hits in 14 innings. When Glavine worked a 1-2-3 first inning Friday night, it seemed a major achievement.

''Sometimes, you overthink and your brain gets in the way. All of us want instant gratification,'' he said. ''When we don't see that gratification, it's tough.''

Glavine (2-4) just did what he's always done, pitching on the edges, inside, outside, fooling the Cardinal hitters.

''You locate pitches and your confidence builds,'' he said. ''Sometimes, you've got to turn your brain off and trust yourself to pitch, getting back to what you've always done well. It seems so simple.''

Manager Willie Randolph said he never lost faith in Glavine.

''I knew he had it in him,'' Randolph said. ''I never worried about him. He has the track record. It's just a matter of time until he finds it.''

Floyd hit his ninth and 10th home runs, two 400-plus foot shots against Jason Marquis (5-2). His homer in the second inning hit the scoreboard in right-center field and traveled an estimated 425 feet. He connected again in the seventh, this one an estimated 415 feet over the fence in right.

By then, the 43,495 fans suspected that might be all the runs the Mets would get and demanded a curtain call. Floyd, who's never had one before, was confused.

''I didn't know what to do,'' he said. ''I was grabbing my helmet. I never had one. When I was in Florida, there weren't enough fans in the stands to ask for one.''

Glavine's task was not simple. The Cardinals came in with the best record in the league (22-12) and had 32 hits and 20 runs in its last two games against Los Angeles.

Marquis was suitably impressed.

''He's got a great track record,'' the Cardinals pitcher said. ''He's one of the best in the game for a reason. He kept our hitters off balance.''

The game resembled Glavine's 3-1 victory over Washington on April 22 when he allowed just two hits over seven innings. His next three starts gave the Mets cause for alarm but he looked strong from the outset against the Cardinals.

Glavine pitched out of trouble in the seventh when Albert Pujols singled and reached second on a throwing error by second baseman Kaz Matsui. Glavine then retired Reggie Sanders and Mark Grudzielanek to end the inning. An inning later, Abraham Nunez's second hit and another error by Matsui gave St. Louis runners at first and second with nobody out and finished Glavine.

Roberto Hernandez relieved and retired pinch hitters Jim Edmonds and John Mabry and then David Eckstein to escape the jam. Braden Looper pitched the ninth inning for his ninth save.

''A tough loss,'' Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. ''You turn the page.''

Notes: Floyd, one of the hottest hitters in the NL for the first five weeks of the season when he had a 20-game hitting streak, was 2-for-22 on the Mets' six-game road trip ... Eckstein had his 13-game hitting streak snapped ... St. Louis had won 10 of the last 12 games against New York, dating to 2003.