Edition: U.S. / Global

BASEBALL; Mets Slink Into Series Against the Yankees

Published: July 9, 1999

Yesterday kept resembling one of those perilous afternoons for the Mets, the kind of lethargic game in which they were in front of the Expos yet were not really in control. There was a listless atmosphere and the Mets always seemed to be in danger of being lulled to sleep and into feeling that they were fine. But they were not.

After the vaunted bullpen faltered and the Mets fizzled during what could have been a dramatic ninth inning, the Expos sneaked out of Shea Stadium with a 4-3 victory and a surprising split of the four-game series. For the post-season conscious Mets, it was bewildering to lose two straight to a weak team that had lost 15 of its last 19 games.

With the Yankees invading Flushing for three games starting tonight, the Mets prepared for the important visit from their talented neighbors with a shabby precursor.

The Mets lost because they could not protect a 3-1 bulge, they could not manage much offense after left fielder Ryan McGuire's unreliable glove helped them score two runs in the first, and they did not overpower Montreal when they had chances. Instead, the Mets remained vulnerable and it destroyed them.

''I'm so upset that we lost the game and that we lost two games to these guys,'' Turk Wendell said. ''These are the games we got to capitalize on.''

Even after Wendell and Dennis Cook had allowed the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh and eighth and proved precisely how dangerous yesterday could be, the Mets had life in the ninth because Montreal's Ugueth Urbina struggled to throw strikes. The closer walked pinch-hitter Rickey Henderson to begin the inning and Manager Bobby Valentine eschewed the sacrifice bunt because he figured the career stolen base leader could swipe his 1,320th. Valentine's strategy failed as Chris Widger made a powerful throw to the right side of the base, where Orlando Cabrera tagged Henderson.

The Mets had two outs left, but they were deflated. ''I should have bunted,'' Valentine said. ''Again, it's tough to predict a perfect throw by the catcher.'' Indeed. Widger had thrown out only 11 of 69 runners and Henderson did not dispute a theory that Widger would nab him in 1 out of 25 attempts.

''That's when they get you, 1 out of 25 times when they make a perfect throw,'' Henderson said.

Urbina also walked Luis Lopez, but Roger Cedeno swung at ball four on a 3-1 pitch, then struck out, and Edgardo Alfonzo grounded into a fielder's choice as the Mets stranded their eighth and final runner. That forced the Mets to address two topics that they despise: losing to the Expos and playing the hated Yankees.

Mike Piazza, who smacked his 17th homer, said falling to the Yankees can make a player feel ''like an outcast in the city'' and like ''complete losers.'' Yesterday, the Mets were losers. Masato Yoshii had a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Vladimir Guerrero reached out and belted a shoulder-high fastball over the right-field fence. It was a stunning homer because the 0-2 pitch was so high and Guerrero still crushed it for Montreal's first homer in 64 innings. Even Yoshii called Guerrero's homer incredible.

Still, Yoshii left with a 3-2 lead after six decent innings and complained of a cramp in his right thigh from a knee brace that was too tight. Wendell made his team and major league-best 45th appearance and it is not one the quirky reliever will want to remember. After jumping ahead of Cabrera by 1-2, Wendell threw another slider and Cabrera turned it into a souvenir to even the score, 3-3, in what amounted to an amazing explosion of power by the homer-deprived Expos.

It was the Mets' fifth botched save in 34 chances and Cabrera's first hit in five at-bats off Wendell.

''It was a slider that didn't slide, it hung,'' Wendell said. ''That's why he is a big-league hitter. He's supposed to hit that pitch.''

Wilton Guerrero, who is more of a big-league hitter, doomed Cook in the eighth when he smacked a fat fastball off the left center-field warning track and hustled it into a triple. Pinch-hitter Shane Andrews then followed with a flyball to medium center field. Brian McRae retreated a few steps to corral it before making a high throw that floated home too late and allowed the Expos to go ahead, 4-3. That is when the Mets really knew it was a perilous afternoon.

''We're humans,'' Cook said. ''We're going to go through some bad stretches. We gave up some runs today. It's one of those things. I'm not going to go home and slit my wrists.''


ROBIN VENTURA's left big toe is still bruised and swollen and Manager BOBBY VALENTINE said he was doubtful to play against the Yankees. ''I'm not expecting him to,'' Valentine said. ''If he does, it'll be a pleasant surprise.'' Ventura, who was not in uniform for the game, hopes to play again before the All-Star Game break. ''It feels better,'' Ventura said. ''It's just sore.'' . . . OCTAVIO DOTEL was not scheduled to start until July 19 in Baltimore, so the Mets optioned him to Class AAA Norfolk and promoted infielder MIKE KINKADE to allow the rookie to pitch in a game and to increase their bench flexibility. Dotel will start for Norfolk Monday. . . . RICKEY HENDERSON did not start yesterday and strolled into the clubhouse 65 minutes before the first pitch, but Valentine said the 40-year old has permission to arrive late anytime he wants.

Photos: Rickey Henderson, above, was out stealing as Mets' hopes flagged in the ninth against the Expos yesterday. Turk Wendell, right, toweled off after Orlando Cabrera's game-tying homer in the seventh. (Barton Silverman/The New York Times)