 The Mets took a quick 2 – 0 lead with a single by Rickey Henderson to open the game followed immediately by a home run by Edgardo Alfonzo . They added to this lead in the third as Alfonzo drew a walk and then John Olerud hit a double which advanced Alfonzo to third base . Reds starter Steve Parris intentionally walked Mike Piazza to load the bases and was relieved by Denny Neagle . However , Neagle then walked Robin Ventura to score Alfonzo and extend the lead to 3 – 0 . Neagle remained in the game and yielded a home run to Henderson to lead off the fifth inning for the Mets ' fourth run . Neagle then loaded the bases with two outs with walks to Piazza and Ventura followed by a Darryl Hamilton single , but escaped the inning without further scoring . The Reds pinch hit for Neagle in the bottom of the fifth , and Danny Graves entered for them to pitch the sixth inning . Graves walked Rey Ordóñez to leadoff the inning , Mets starter Al Leiter sacrifice bunted Ordóñez to second , and following an out he scored on a double by Alfonzo . Graves remained in the game until Mark Lewis pinch hit for him in the eighth and Dennys Reyes relieved him in the ninth . Graves and Reyes held the score steady after the sixth but the Reds ' offense did not score against Al Leiter and the Mets won the game , and with it the Wild Card , 5 – 0 . 
