Lou Piniella called it Johan Santana's "magic bat trick." Santana said his quirky grounder should "count for two hits." Jerry Manuel said if the Mets couldn't score in an inning in which a bouncer hit by his pitcher struck the broken maple bat not once but twice, well, "It's going to be tough for us."
Peculiar happenings have affected games between the Mets and the Cubs in past pennant races - remember 1969's black cat? - and Santana's bat-aided infield single in the fifth inning Tuesday night might have been the break the Mets needed to shake off the ghosts of last September's collapse and the stirring of another this season. Continue
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