Tom Glavine pitched 6 strong scoreless innings, allowing just 4 hits, and the Mets scratched out 4 runs behind the hustle of Endy Chavez (2 hits) and Jose Reyes (2 RBI) to defeat the Los Angeles Thursday night, 4-1. The Dodgers managed just 5 hits with their lone run coming on a homer by Wilson Betemit. L.A. starter Hong-Chih Kuo lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. New York takes now leads the series 2-0 as the teams head west for game 3 on Saturday.

Quotes from Game 2 of the NL Division Series between Los Angeles and New York

Q. Was it like an old feeling for you since you had pitched so much in the postseason in the past? You showed a little emotion, there was clapping from you, that kind of thing out there.
TOM GLAVINE: You know what, it's the kind of thing that I guess more than anything else I want to enjoy it, you know? I mean, I've waited a while to do it. Gone through some tough times here in New York, personally. You know, it's the kind of thing you try and persevere and find yourself in this position, which I obviously wanted to be in when I came to New York. So it's the kind of thing that first and foremost I want to enjoy, but, you know, I think honestly, today, tonight was probably the most relaxed I've been all year long. I don't know why. You know, I was pretty nervous and anxious about it all day long. I was anxious driving in today with Wags. For some reason, once I got to the ballpark and got in the clubhouse, everything just kind of fell into place, and I felt extremely relaxed when I got out there on the field. But, you know, there's certain situations, obviously, that are bigger situations than others, and I got in a couple jams tonight and I was able to make some pitches and get out of them. You know, there's certainly -- you know, those are big emotional moments in the game. I guess I'm not one that usually shows that kind of stuff, but I just wanted to have fun.

Q. What will be the message to your team going back to LA after losing the first two games?
GRADY LITTLE: I think that we're in a tight spot, you know. That pretty much sums it up. We've been there before this year where we've had games we've had to win and we were able to get the job done. So we're in that spot again. We've got to come out ready to win three in a row. That's all.
That will be one of the first times in any of our lives we'll be looking forward to flying back here so shortly.

Q. Can you fill us in on what's happening with Nomar?
GRADY LITTLE: Today he strained his quad, the same injury he's been operating with for the last two or three weeks. He's trying to get through it, and it's very difficult. But we'll check him again tomorrow and see how he is.

Marcus Thames had 3 hits, Curtis Granderson drove in 2 runs, and the Detroit bullpen slammed the door on the potent Yankees offense as the Tigers went on to edge New York, 4-3. The series is now tied at one game apiece as the teams travel to Detroit for game 3 on Friday. New York's Hideki Matsui had 3 hits, and Johnny Damon added 2 hits, including a 3-run homer that gave the Yankees an early lead. Justin Verlander allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks over 5 1/3 innings. His counterpart, Mike Mussina, went 7 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits.

Quotes from Game 2 of the AL Division Series between Detroit and New York

Q. For a team that has not convinced everybody by your own statements, how difficult is it in Yankee Stadium, how different is Yankee Stadium for a new team in the playoffs?
JIM LEYLAND: I don't think Yankee Stadium is any different. You know what makes Yankee Stadium different? It's the same thing that made Shea Stadium different in the early 60s. Everybody talked about Shea Stadium being a tough, tough place to hit. Yeah, it was, because
they had Seaver, Koosman, Ryan. That's why it was a tough place to hit. There was some years
where Shea Stadium was not a tough place to hit at all. Same thing with Atlanta. So it's not Yankee Stadium. It's the players that the Yankees have. They are fantastic. This is a fantastic team. I don't think it has anything to do with the stadium. I mean that sincerely. The Yankees played this stadium when they have not had some good teams and they have not done very well. So it's not the magic of the stadium. It's the magic of the Yankee players. They are real good.

Q. A-Rod of course struck out with the bases loaded, but it was everybody today, wasn't it?
JOE TORRE: Well, we had opportunities. We had men on I think the first four innings, three or four innings we had the lead-off hitter on and we just couldn't do anything. Our game is swinging
the bats and hitting the ball. They did a hell of a job. They really did. I mean, they pitched well
against us, starter was terrific. I mean, you know, for a youngster coming in here in that situation, Verlander did one whale of a job. And getting them to where they were, keeping them in the game, and then they went to their strength.

Carlos Delgado made his playoff debut going 4-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBI, and David Wright added 2 doubles and 3 RBI as the Mets held off the Dodgers to win game one of their NLDS, 6-5. Cliff Floyd also homered for New York who used 6 pitchers in this game. Wilson Betemit, Jeff Kent, and Marlon Anderson each had 2 hits, and Nomar Garciaparra hit a big game-tying, 2-run double in the 7th inning for the Dodgers. LA, however, could very well have cost itself the game early on when both Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew were tagged out at home plate in succession on a throw from right fielder Shawn Green. A more detailed description of this wild play can be found here (Dodgers victims of wild double play) . The series resumes Thursday with New York up one game to none.

Quotes from Game 1 of the NL Division Series between Los Angeles and New York

Q. Carlos, Willie was just asked about how he felt about the day that you had and he said he was really happy for you. Can you describe how you felt after waiting all this time to be in the postseason, have this kind of a day.
CARLOS DELGADO: I was very excited. I mean, I had butterflies in my stomach the first couple innings, I was saying, "Whoa, what is going on here? " But I was able to kind of control my emotions and just go out and play. This is a great team effort. We came up with a big win. So that makes it that much better.

Q. To follow-up, how did you control your emotions? What did you do?
CARLOS DELGADO: I just keep telling myself, don't try to do too much, don't try to do too much. I guess the fact that you facing a guy like Derek Lowe, that he's got a very good sinker, to make you kind of slow it down a little bit. If you want to hit him, that's the only chance you're gonna get.

Q. After Carlos' home run, it looked like you were going to break your arm.
DAVID WRIGHT: That's what I was going to say. For the record, he definitely did not control his emotions. Almost took my arm off, hitting my hand on the home run.

Q. What did you think of Lowe's performance today on the mound?
GRADY LITTLE: Lowe, he pitched his normal game outside of a couple of pitches that he got up there. Then the base hit that took him out of the game there by Wright in the right field corner. The two home run pitches were left in the wrong place and were hit a long way by some awfully good hitters.

Mark Kotsay hit an inside-the-park home run on a terrible defensive play by Torii Hunter, and the Oakland bullpen pitched 4 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, as the Athletics beat the Twins, 5-2. Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau hit solo homers and starter Boof Bosner pitched a solid game for Minnesota. X-rays taken after the game on second baseman Mark Ellis revealed a fractured right index finger. The injury occurred during his at bat against Joe Nathan in the top of the ninth inning. The A's training staff will have a further update tomorrow. The series resumes on Friday in Oakland with the A's leading the series, 2 games to none.

Quotes from Game 2 of the AL Division Series between Oakland and Minnesota

Q. Mark, can you just talk about your in-the-park homerun and what your thoughts were when you saw Torii run after it?
MARK KOTSAY: Initially when it left my bat, I felt the game got in on me a little bit, I thought it might go down, but Torii is a great center fielder, so I kind of hesitated for a second out of the box. Once I saw it get by him, I took off and tried to stay as loose as possible running the bases, but when my third-base coach was watching me, I think I hit a wall and just gave it everything I have, showed a little more emotion than I am used to crossing the plate, but obviously, it's the playoffs and things are exciting, but the ball knuckled, and I think it took a right turn on Torii. As a fellow center fielder, it's not a good feeling when you go after it and it takes off like that and gets by.

Q. Just a comment on the team. Do you expect its demeanor to change at all now that you are in a must-win situation?
RON GARDENHIRE: Well, I think, like I said, we have been backed up before. We have been told "You are done" before. That's not something that this team takes too lightly. We will come out and battle. We will give them everything we can. And we got a lot left in this tank, and we will see what happens when we get to Oakland. Our fans deserve that, and they expect that from this ball club, and that's what you will get, everything we have. If it's good enough, it's good enough. If it's not, then we will pack it up, but you are not going to see us pack it up until they get the final out, and we are hoping that doesn't come for three more days, and we get the final out. The ball club is depressed a little bit, they are down a little bit, but we will find a way to get back up, we always do.