Mets 10, Pirates 1: Tied for first, at least until the Phils play
By Adam Rubin, NYDN, May 9, 2009
Surfing The Mets

The Mets had season-highs with 10 runs and 17 hits in a rout of the Pirates on Saturday for their sixth straight win.

Some game tidbits:

* Ramon Castro left the game after six innings with a tight right quadriceps. He described the trouble as just cramps, and predicted he could come off the bench Sunday and play if needed. Omir Santos clearly will start the series finale against the Pirates.

* John Maine allowed only a solo homer to opposing pitcher Paul Maholm. He allowed three hits in six innings for the second straight start, the other coming in Atlanta. Still, Maine wasn’t pleased. He suggested he got “lucky” the Pirates hit the ball at people and didn’t think he had a particularly good slider or changeup.

* Gary Sheffield had his first multi-hit game as a Met with a 2-for-4 game and also had a nice sliding catch at the right-field line on Jason Jaramillo. Given Ryan Church’s struggles, it wouldn’t be shocking if Jerry Manuel starts Sheffield in the series finale against righthander Ian Snell.

* Carlos Beltran had a solo homer, giving him 123 longballs as a Met. That moves Beltran past Kevin McReynolds for seventh on the franchise’s all-time list. Next up: Todd Hundley with 124.

* Jose Reyes, who didn’t have a multi-hit game in 14 straight, now has done it back-to-back. Reyes acknowledged he didn’t have hard-hit balls, but hits are hits. He said he’s doing a better job of putting breaking balls in play after previously flailing at them.

* Daniel Murphy’s career-high hitting streak ended at nine games when he grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the sixth.

* J.J. Putz acknowledged he’s “felt better” at other points in his career than he does now because of extensive early season work, but the reliever described the trouble as general fatigue and not an injury. Before being idle Saturday, Putz had appeared in 16 of the team’s first 28 games, tied with Pedro Feliciano for most in the bullpen. Both were two shy of major-league leader Kiko Calero’s 18 appearances with the Marlins.

* Brian Stokes returned to action with a scoreless ninth, and has now tossed 12 scoreless innings this season. He had not appeared in a game since April 28.

* The last time a Mets manager served a suspension before Manuel sat out Saturday was in 1999, when Bobby Valentine was benched for his mustache disguise affair in Toronto after being ejected.

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STREAKING METS TOP PIRATES, 8-4
Bart Hubbuch, NY Post

Yes, it really was just two weeks ago that Jerry Manuel threatened to blow up his starting rotation.

Look how far the Mets have come in the meantime.

Manuel’s club is standing alone in first place in the NL East and the proud owner of a seven-game winning streak after this afternoon’s 8-4 throttling of the woeful Pirates, and basically the same starting staff has been the driving force.

With Oliver Perez now mercifully out of the equation, the Mets’ rotation isn’t just The Johan Santana Show anymore. That was obvious once again today as the Amazin’s turned in their seventh consecutive quality start of at least six innings and fewer than three runs.

The Mets couldn’t seem to buy a quality start from anyone other than Santana in April, but Livan Hernandez delivered one for the second time in less than a week as Manuel’s 17-13 team completed its third consecutive sweep overall and first three-game sweep of the Pirates since 2001.

Combine the terrific starting pitching with an offense that couldn’t be much hotter and a bullpen that remains in lockdown mode, and it’s easy to see why smiles are abounding in the Mets’ clubhouse these days.

“We knew we had to do something to help Santana, because he has been amazing for the team, and we knew we had to be better,” Hernandez said of himself and fellow starters Mike Pelfrey and John Maine. “We struggled early, but now we are starting to pitch very good.”

Hernandez (3-1) continued to boost the Mets’ confidence in him holding the Pirates to just two runs despite giving up seven hits and four walks in six innings.

With the way the Mets are clobbering the ball this month, a two-run deficit is nothing. They pounded out double-digit hits for the fourth game in a row and, even more encouragingly, produced runs late against Pittsburgh’s awful bullpen.

Adding on runs has been the Mets’ Achilles’ heel since last season, but that hasn’t been a problem since the month began with a series in Philadelphia.

The stars on offense were once again plentiful. Jose Reyes continued his recent rejuvenation act with two more hits, Carlos Beltran added a two-run double and catcher Omir Santos remained a revelation by driving in two runs and throwing out a baserunner.

It was Reyes’ third consecutive multi-hit game, and the shortstop hit .538 (7-for-13) in the Pittsburgh series after slumping much of the latter half of April and in early May.

“Patience is definitely the key for Jose,” Manuel said. “He has remained patient throughout the at-bat and let his ability and talent take over for him.”

The constant throughout the Mets’ winning streak, however, has been the starting pitching, which appears to have adjusted to cavernous Citi Field and found its groove in the new park.

Hernandez has never been afraid to pitch to contact, but Maine, Pelfrey and Perez replacement Jonathon Niese are starting to get the hang of that, too, at least at home.

“What they are doing for the most part is throwing strikes, and if you throw strikes in this park and play pretty good defense, then you’ve got a chance to win games,” Manuel said.

That excellent starting pitching, in turn, seems to be energizing the entire team.

Sole possession of first place in the division has gone from a pipe dream just a couple of weeks ago to practically a given with how the Mets are playing.

“We feel pretty confident that, if we put up a couple of crooked numbers, we’re going to win the game,” David Wright said.

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