NEW YORK -- Nobody saw it coming. Not Anthony Recker, who stood on first not expecting to move. Not even Terry Collins, the man who sent Bartolo Colon up to the plate with the bases loaded in the first place.
"Yes, I was surprised," the Mets manager said. "I'm surprised when he swings."
But with the Mets down just one run in the fifth inning, Collins opted to let his pitcher hit for himself -- the pitcher who went nine years between RBIs before managing one in his last start April 12, the pitcher with just 13 hits in 18 big league seasons, the pitcher, who at age 41, seemingly never stops surprising.