Spencer delivers for Mets

Yankees can do no better than tie in Subway Series

? The New York Mets rushed out of the dugout and mobbed Shane Spencer at first base, jumping up and down in jubilation. It could have been a scene after the final out of the World Series.

This one merely put the Mets in position to win the regular-season Subway Series for the first time.

Spencer’s bases-loaded dribbler between the mound and first base, a ball that traveled only 40 feet or so, drove in the winning run against his former team, capping an afternoon of comebacks and giving the Mets a thrilling 10-9 victory Saturday over the Yankees.

“For us it was a test,” Spencer said. “It shows we can play with the best.”

Coming a day after the Mets’ 11-2 rout, the ending had the season-best crowd of 55,120 looking ahead to today with shouts of “Sweep!” Fans also took note of the Yankees’ three wins over the Red Sox coming in, yelling: “We’re not Boston!”

“To sweep ’em would be pretty sweet,” Spencer said.

Tony Clark homered twice on the sunny summer afternoon and tied his career high with four hits, but the Yankees wasted leads of 3-1, 6-4 and 8-6. They loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth and were one pitch from taking the lead when John Franco (2-4) went to a 3-0 count on pinch-hitter Jorge Posada.

But Posada took a strike, then took another fastball at the knees for strike two, a pitch he thought should have been ball four. Franco came back with another fastball, this one a smidgeon lower.

After a tiny delay, plate umpire Chuck Meriwether called it strike three.

The Mets' Shane Spencer, center, is mobbed by teammates after hitting a game-winning single against the Yankees. The Mets defeated the Yankees, 10-9, Saturday at Shea Stadium in New York.

“It seemed like a lifetime,” Franco said.

Posada threw his bat, argued and had to be pushed away by Yankees manager Joe Torre. Posada didn’t want to talk about the call.

“That was the game basically right there,” Mets manager Art Howe said, “because you know who (Mariano Rivera) is coming in if they score there.”

Cliff Floyd, Ty Wigginton and Richard Hidalgo homered off Jose Contreras, but the Mets made two errors that led to four unearned runs and failed to hold leads of 4-3 and 9-8.

Cubs 4, White Sox 2, 51/2 innings

Chicago — Greg Maddux pitched around three rain delays for his 296th win, and Sammy Sosa backed him with a homer and a great sliding catch as the Chicago Cubs beat the White Sox on a wet day at Wrigley Field. The game was called after it was delayed a fourth time for 77 minutes after the top of the sixth inning. Umpires inspected the field, as did managers Ozzie Guillen and Dusty Baker, before the game was declared over because of unplayable conditions.

Returning to the mound after delays of 31, 15 and 59 minutes, Maddux (7-6) allowed five hits and two runs in 51/3 innings.

Blue Jays 2, Expos 0

San Juan, Puerto Rico — Roy Halladay showed his Cy Young form, pitching seven sharp innings in Toronto’s victory over Montreal. Eric Hinske went 4-for-4 and scored twice on RBI singles by Chris Gomez. Halladay (7-5), winner of the AL Cy Young Award last year, allowed only five hits. He struck out six and walked one. Vinnie Chulk pitched the eighth, and rookie Jason Frasor the ninth for his eighth save, completing the six-hitter. Montreal, which has the worst offense in baseball, was shut out for the 11th time this season, most in the major leagues. It was Toronto’s sixth shutout of the year.

Cards 8, Mariners 1

St. Louis — Jim Edmonds returned to the lineup with a home run and three RBIs, and Jason Marquis pitched effectively before and after a one-hour rain delay, helping St. Louis beat Seattle. Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer, and Edmonds, making his first start in center field in eight days, showed no rust by going 2-for-3. The Cardinals have won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 19-3, holding the Mariners to 12 hits. The Cardinals are 10-1 in interleague play with one game to go.

Phillies 7, Orioles 6

Philadelphia — Pinch-hitter Tomas Perez’s RBI single in the eighth inning lifted Philadelphia over Baltimore. David Bell’s two-run homer off Jason Grimsley (3-5) tied it at 6 in the eighth, and Perez delivered against B.J. Ryan. Placido Polanco and Mike Lieberthal also homered for the NL East-leading Phillies, who improved to 4-2 in the midst of their season-high 14-game homestand.

Astros 10, Rangers 8

Houston — Morgan Ensberg hit a grand slam, Mike Lamb and Raul Chavez each drove in two runs, and Houston beat Texas. The Rangers and Astros combined for 13 runs in the nearly hourlong fifth inning, giving the sellout crowd of 42,889 an offensive outburst on fireworks night.

Rockies 11, Tigers 6

Denver — Vinny Castilla had three RBIs, and Preston Wilson put an emphatic end to his slump with a two-run homer, lifting Colorado over Detroit. Castilla, who missed Friday’s game while attending to a personal matter, was 2-for-4, leaving him two hits short of tying Jorge Orta (1,619) for most by a Mexican-born player.

Dodgers 8, Angels 5

Anaheim, Calif. — Adrian Beltre hit two of his team’s four homers, and Los Angeles scored in each of the first five innings to beat Anaheim. Eric Gagne, the fifth Dodgers pitcher, pitched a perfect ninth to extend his major-league record for consecutive saves to 84, including 21 this season. Beltre has hit five of his 21 homers in four games against the Angels since June 26 and is two shy of his career high.

Reds 4, Indians 2

Cincinnati — Paul Wilson won for the first time in more than a month, D’Angelo Jimenez hit a two-run homer, and Cincinnati rebounded from its worst loss of the season with a win over Cleveland. Wilson (8-2), who was 0-2 with three no-decisions — he left with leads in all three games — since improving to 7-0 on May 25, limited Cleveland to two runs in 62/3 innings.

Red Sox 6, Braves 1

Atlanta — Curt Schilling stopped another Boston losing streak by pitching a six-hitter, Nomar Garciaparra homered, and Doug Mirabelli had a grand slam, leading the Red Sox over Atlanta. Johnny Damon also hit a home run for the Red Sox.

Devil Rays 6, Marlins 1

Miami — Victor Zambrano gave up four hits in seven shutout innings and drove in his first career run, leading Tampa Bay over Florida. The Devil Rays improved to 30-10 since May 20 and moved two games over .500 (40-38) for the first time since starting the 2002 season 3-1.

Twins 8, D’backs 4

Phoenix — Doug Mientkiewicz drove in three runs with a home run and double, helping Minnesota beat Arizona and move into a virtual tie with the Chicago White Sox atop the AL Central. Mientkiewicz has just five homers all season but two in the last two games. Luis Rivas and Joe Mauer also homered for the Twins, and Terry Mulholland earned his first victory in his first start of the season.

Athletics 6, Giants 2

San Francisco — Mark McLemore’s tiebreaking RBI single sparked a four-run ninth inning, and Oakland rallied for a victory over San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 1-for-2 with two walks, snapping his streak of homering in four straight games with an at-bat. But he now has 2,189 walks for his career — including 119 this season — to trail Rickey Henderson’s career record by only one.