Manager Jerry Manuel has been regulated to saying the same thing in his post game press conferences. “We will get better,” he said the past week as his team was the recipient of four shutouts since the beginning of the month. But on Saturday, Manuel was brief and had no time to offer his usual laugh after a comment that has become customary.

His team scored some runs. Santana was effective again, newcomer Jeff Francoeur contributed, and the contributions of Angel Pagan and catcher Omir Santos made it a win the Mets needed. Pagan went 2-for-3 with a double and had two stolen bases in his second game back since returning from the 15-day disabled list.

“Things really worked out for us early,” said Manuel who saw his Mets bang out 11 hits, though once again going without a home run. The Mets have not hit a long ball since that July 2^nd makeup game last week at Pittsburgh. “Pagan kind of set the table for us,” he said and the two bags swiped by Pagan were the first for the Mets in seven games.

And with that, Manuel got up and smiled.  He did not have much more to say as Santana (10-7) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked one in seven innings. The native of Venezuela and recipient of pitcher of the year by the Latino sports writers and broadcast Association, with his 119^th career victory moved past Freddy Garcia for most wins by a Major League pitcher from Venezuela.

“I am proud of being the pitcher with the most wins,” he said about the accomplishment. “I think the most important thing is we got the win.”  Johnny Cueto (8-6) has his second bad start for the Reds as Pagan and Santos got the Mets started.

Pagan is also adding some good defensive play in center field, and when Carlos Beltran on the disabled list with a bruised knee returns, he and Pagan, with the addition of Francoeur in right can give the Mets a formidable outfield in the second half. Francoeur got a warm greeting from the Citi Field crowd and drove in two of the three Mets runs in the first inning.

And that hit for Francoeur, acquired for Ryan Church the night before, hopefully will set the tome for more games like the Mets had Saturday evening. “To be able to dump that one in the first inning,” felt good said Francoeur who became an immediate favorite with his teammates in the Mets clubhouse.

“They showed me around,” he said. “I’m not going to lie to you. That first at bat with a new team, I was nervous. The fans were great and it doesn’t matter where you play as long as you have a uniform and a number.”

Francouer a career .266 hitter and with a good arm in the outfield may be one of the first moves that Mets GM Omar Minaya made before the July 31 trading deadline. Though reports over the weekend continue to get stronger that Beltran will return soon after the upcoming all-star break, and Carlos Delgado is making a quicker than expected recovery from his hip surgery.

So the Mets could be at full strength again soon, and perhaps with one game remaining Sunday before the break, this first half season of misery will just a memory.

The hit was supposed to be a bunt to move runners over which showed a part of his competitive edge. Then there was that move by Manuel, pulling Santana from a game which the Mets eventually won 6-5 in the opener of a three game series with the first place Phillies.

But the talk was about Santana, and the combined seven home runs, three by the Mets and four by the Phils at Citi Field. Santana is the ace of a Mets pitching staff that is fourth in the National League. And with injuries that have taken on toll on this team, in particular to Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes, every time Santana takes the mound it is more significant.

“I just told him ‘that I feel good,’” was the explanation Santana gave to Manuel when he was removed from the game with obvious aggravation shown on his face.  But there was that competitive edge that Manuel also heard when Santana said, according to Manuel, “I’m a man, I’m a man.”

There has been talk that Manuel and Santana are having some differences about the pitch counts and when Santana has had enough. But every Mets fan knows, and so does the team, that they love the competitive edge their ace pitcher provides on the mound.

“What he means by that I don’t know,” said Manuel regarding Santana’s comments about being a man. “He’s a competitor,” added Manuel about his ace, also dispelling any thoughts that their meeting at the mound was something more.

To his credit, Santana, who is 4-0 in eight starts against the Phillies, probably believed he could go another inning. But these three games against Philadelphia are important as the Mets are in a stretch of games this week that also include three against the cross-town New York Yankees in the Bronx starting Friday evening.

Santana is scheduled to pitch the final game of that series Sunday afternoon. “I’m not trying to show anybody up or anything,” said Santana when asked about being removed from the game in which he gave up home runs to Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Jimmy Rollins and the last one to Chase Utley in the eighth inning.\

“I just felt that I had enough stuff to battle through it,” he said. “But he thought different, he’s my skipper and I respect everything he does.”  But Manuel saw the vintage Santana changeup, for a second straight start hanging to the Philly hitters who as a team lead the National League in home runs.

The seven home runs combined, also long balls hit by the Mets Carlos Beltran, his team leading 8^th, David Wright number 4, and Ryan Church his 2^nd, was a record in the short span of Citi Field history.

“He hung his pitches and when you hang those type of pitches against those hitters they are going to hit them out of the park,” said Manuel about the home runs hit by Howard, Ibanez, Rollins, and Utley. Howard hit his 18^th in the fourth inning and Ibanez his 20^th also in the same inning, as Santana allowed back-to-back home runs for the first time since  July 17^th 2008 at Cincinnati.

And the four home runs given up by Santana in a game was done once before when he was a member of the Minnesota Twins on July 23, 2007 at Toronto. And that double which came on an 0-2 count, that was supposed to be a bunt, was Santana’s first RBI since last July 27^th and gave the Mets a 5-4 lead in the 6^th.

“I really feel proud of it, because, you know I haven’t been able to do much, the hitting but tonight I think it was the difference in the game..” And at that time it was a difference because Santana once again showed his competitive edge, indeed at a time when the Mets need it.

They have not been getting the offense, 28^th in baseball when it comes to the home run ball.  And Manuel has been utilizing a make ship lineup with all of the injuries that have also occurred to others. Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy have been hitting a combined .165 the past month with the absences of Delgado and Reyes.

The bullpen did the rest including Pedro Feliciano who induced a double play ground ball to Ryan Howard in the eighth. And Francisco Rodriquez remained perfect saving his 16^th straight game and preserving a win for Santana now 8-3 on the season.

Only two strikeouts for Santana in seven innings and the home run ball may be a concern, but Citi Field with the warmer weather setting in may have suddenly become the other home run park in New York

“The jury is still out,’ said Manuel about the sudden home run surge at Citi Field. “Until we feel we are healthy every game is a big game for us,” he said.  And every time Santana takes the mound it is becoming more evident the type of competitive edge he brings.