CINCINNATI -- Jeff Branson knocked in the winning run for the second time in three nights Saturday -- but three members of the New York Mets weren't around to witness the feat.
A half-inning before Branson capped a two-run ninth that gave the Cincinnati Reds a 6-5 victory, Mets manager Jeff Torborg, along with Eddie Murray and Chico Walker, were ejected.
Murray was batting with the bases loaded when he tipped his helmet, signalling to second-base umpire Terry Tata that he wanted him to move.
'I moved three steps, if you noticed,' Tata said later. 'But he wanted me to move to the shortstop side of second. With a man on second (Ryan Thompson), there's no way you can get an angle to see a pickoff play from shortstop.'
Murray reportedly cursed Tata and was said to have bumped home-plate umpire Ed Rapuano.
'That will be in my report, too,' said Tata. Torborg was ejected for continuing to argue and Walker for yelling from the dugout, both of them tossed by Tata. Murray was thumbed by Rapuano.
'We weren't trying to be bad guys,' Torborg insisted later. 'We were just trying to move the guy (Tata) over, that's all. It was just a matter of courtesy on the part of the umpire.'
In the Cincinnati clubhouse, the controversy was lost in the euphoria of another comeback win, which enabled the Reds to stay 6 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL West. The Braves staged a ninth-inning rally of their own Saturday, scoring four runs to beat Philadelphia.
That made the Reds' victory especially important.
'That was a big one, a real big one,' said manager Lou Piniella. 'These guys battled hard for nine innings and this game might finally bethe one for us.'
With the Reds trailing 5-4, Glenn Braggs began the winning rally with a one-out single off losing reliever Anthony Young, 2-11. Braggs moved to second on Joe Oliver's single, and then Cesar Hernandez ran for Oliver.
Bill Doran singled to score Braggs, and Branson followed with a single to score Hernandez with the winning run.
Branson had grounded out Thursday night in the last of the ninth to knock in Paul O'Neill with the winning run in a 4-3 Reds victory.
'You go up there and try to drive a good pitch,' said Branson, who now has 10 RBI as a pinch-hitter. 'He got one up over the plate to me and I made good contact.'
Reliever Norm Charlton, 4-2, picked up the win.
Eric Hillman, the Mets' 6-foot-10 rookie southpaw, pitched the first 5 1-3 innings, striking out two and walking one. For the Reds, Bobby Ayala, just recalled from Class AA Chattanooga, started and allowed five runs on eight hits in five innings, fanning five and walking one.
The Mets touched Ayala for four runs in the second. Murray led with a double and Bobby Bonilla singled to put runners on first and third. Chris Donnels singled, scoring Murray and sending Bonilla to third, with Donnels taking second on the throw in. Dick Schofield singled, scoring Bonilla and Donnels. Schofield stole second and scored on Vince Coleman's double.
Oliver's 10th homer of the year cut the Mets' lead to 4-1 in the last of the second, but the Mets pulled ahead 5-1 in the fifth on Walker's RBI double.
The Reds made it 5-4 with three in the sixth -- two scoring on RBI singles by Chris Sabo and Glenn Braggs and the third on a balk by reliever Mark Dewey.
