Henderson Leaves Game; Mora A Hit
ATLANTA - Left fielder Rickey Henderson of the New York Mets did not make it through the second inning yesterday, leaving the game with nausea and lightheadedness.
With two outs in the Atlanta second, Henderson called out the trainer and Met Manager Bobby Valentine and quickly was removed. Melvin Mora, a .161 hitter, replaced him.
There was speculation that Henderson might have had a leg injury because he failed to run full out on a right-side ground out in the top of the second.
Mora, in his first at-bat, hit a home run, becoming the seventh player to hit a home run in his first at-bat in the NLCS. It also was Mora's first career home run and second career RBI.
NOTES
-- This series provides a reminder about how the Mariners have gone the wrong direction on a number of key personnel moves.
Seattle signed the wrong brother, injured and inconsistent Mark Leiter instead of Al Leiter, the Mets' stellar starter.
The M's also signed the wrong Maddux brother, long-forgotten Mike Maddux instead of Atlanta ace Greg Maddux. They signed the wrong Japanese pitcher, departed Mac Suzuki instead of Masato Yoshii, the Mets' Game 1 starter.
And they acquired the wrong Brian Hunter, the one from Detroit with a lowly .280 on-base percentage, instead of Atlanta's Hunter, who has a .367 on-base percentage.
-- The announced crowd of 44,644 was more than 5,000 short of a sellout and only 500 more than Tuesday's Game 1 crowd.
-- The status of Yoshii, who sprained his left ankle in the fifth inning of Game 1 while fielding a ball, is uncertain for Game 5.