He overcame a first inning jam with one out and runners on first and third. And to Mets manager Terry Collins, that was impressive. “That first inning set the tone for the whole club,” said Collins.  He would pitch seven good innings and an Ike Davis go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning that was reviewed was enough to get Pelfey (1-2) his first win of the season.

Palfrey gave up five hits and a run, walked two and struck out four. The command on his fastball and use of other pitches got him through the evening as he fought a stomach ailment that developed prior to the game. Said Pelfrey, “While in the pen, I said, ‘I’m just going to throw strikes. I don’t feel great. We’re going to grind through this and we’re going to get through it.’”

“If he continues like this I don’t think there’s any question he will continue to get people out,” said Collins. Pelfrey used a variety of pitches including the sinker and the fastball to perfection. “He had a great game,” added Collins.

The bullpen tossed two scoreless innings, including a perfect eighth from Jason Isringhausen. Francisco Rodriguez got his third save with a scoreless ninth walking two and striking out one. Isrinhausen has become the new man for the Mets out of the pen in late innings now that Bobby Parnell is on the 15-day disabled lit.

“He’s not afraid and he’s making the pitches,” commented Collins about the veteran Isringhausen who was a spring training invite and was signed to a minor league contract before being called up. “He’s going to be big for us,” he said.

And for the second consecutive game Davis got the home run, the second go-ahead home run for the Mets in consecutive games. At first the ball hit by Davis to center off eventual loser Esmerling Vasquez (0-1) was ruled a double that hit above the orange line on the black wall. Collins asked for a review and it was ruled a homer, his third of the season and team leading 16^th RBI.

Prior to the home run, the improved Diamondbacks pen had not allowed an earned run in the last six games. Starter Joe Saunders who entered the game with a 0-2 record was shutting down the Mets allowing two hits and a run in six innings. Saunders, making his first career start against New York felt he had enough to stay in the game but Arizona manager Kirk Gibson stuck with his decision.

“It was my decision and it didn’t work out,” he said about pulling his starter. “I accept that.” Saunders was pulled after walking David Wright and after Davis struck out twice. “I’m just a little mad at myself,” he said about the walk to Wright.

Added Saunders, “As a pitcher and competitor out there you don’t want to come out of there. And up until the walk to Wright, and eventual home run to Davis, Saunders was able to set down a Mets team that came into the game hitting .212 against left handed pitching.

“I knew about their problems hitting,” he said. “When the weather is like this you have to go after the guys and be aggressive.”  It was the first Mets win in the opening game of a series at home this season. Carlos Beltran went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and in his last 13 games is hitting .333 with seven RBI and it was the Mets first victory in which they trailed following the sixth inning.

The return of Jason Bay to the lineup has added a spark of optimism who follows Carlos Beltran batting fifth. “We knew one-to six from spring training was going to be pretty good,” said Collins as Bay adds a different dimension to the order.

But the key is Pelfrey, and for the first time this season two good back-to-back pitching outings from Mets starters as Chris Capuano got the win the evening before in the series finale with Houston.

Notes: Righty Dillon Gee (1-0) gets the start Saturday afternoon in game two of the series…. Angel Pagan was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique and outfielder Jason Pridle was called from Triple- A Buffalo. Pridle got the start in center and went hitless in three at bats…

Catcher Ronnie Paulino on a rehab assignment with Buffalo left the game Friday night after five innings with a strained left oblique… Henry Blanco, one of three catchers on the Mets roster last season returned to New York as a member of the Diamondbacks.

The 40 year-old, veteran said he was disappointed that the Mets did not renew his contract, however he has adapted to his new surroundings. “They are a great bunch of guys in here,” he said about his new team. “I miss it here, but it is a good situation for me and my family,” and the Diamondbacks welcome his veteran leadership.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Coming off a win Sunday in Atlanta, that snapped a seven-game losing streak, New York returned home before a slim crowd in the first of four against Houston, and now have dropped 11 of their last 13 games. Last week the talk was frustration from Mets manager Terry Collins. Now there is the talk about being concerned.

“We’ve got to stop it. I’m very concerned about it,” said Collins regarding the latest loss which matched the third worst start in team history at 5-12. “Late in the game we continue to give up big hits.” He was referring to 3-1 Houston lead that got away in the eighth when the Astros scored three.

Until then, the Mets could not get to Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez. His fourth outing of the young season was his best, seven innings, and after an Angel Pagan double in the second inning he held New York hitless until Carlos Beltran in the seventh inning hit a solo home run. The ball hit to left center-field was his third of the season, all coming at Citi Field, and three of his seven career hits against Rodriguez have been home runs.

The concern is about Bobby Parnell and the Mets bullpen. The pen has pitched the most innings among all teams in baseball in three weeks and Parnell has been ineffective after a strong spring. Parnell balked in a run and allowed a two-run single to Angel Sanchez.

The right hander Parnell revealed later that he has been quietly struggling with feeling in the middle finger of his pitching hand. It is a concern, as Parnell has been slated as the eighth inning guy out of the pen. “It’s a concern of mine,” said Collins who would not comment about Parnell undergoing an MRI on Wednesday before the Mets take on the Astros in the second game of four. “I haven’t seen the real good fastball and I want to know why.”

“I’ve been fighting it and felt I could get through it,” said Parnell afterwards about the discomfort. In eight outings, Parnell has given up nine runs with a 6.14 ERA in 7.1 innings.  “I’m having a hard time gripping the baseball and feeling it,” he said. Though Collins would not offer any comments about whether the team would have an MRI done or give the struggling reliever a rest.

Rodriguez (1-2) allowed three hits, on three walks, and struck out a season high seven with an effective curve. David Wright struck out once and went 0-for-4, now hitless in his last 16 at bats and among the top three among strikeout victims in the National League.

“I had excellent location tonight,” said Rodriguez who allowed one run in 7.0 innings in his lone start against the Mets last August. “Everything was good. “I want to stay consistent, throw a lot of quality starts.”  He said about the Beltran home run ball, “It was a changeup, more like a batting practice fastball.”

But the Mets may need more batting practice to generate runs because their starting pitching has been keeping them in games until the late innings and the offense has scored six runs in their last four games. The five walks were also a season high for Niese (0-3) as the Mets dropped to 1-7 at home including losing their last six at Citi Field.

“I didn’t feel right,” he said. “I felt a little off.” His defense helped a bit in the third inning, thanks to Wright who dived and tagged Carlos Lee on a close play at third. But Scott Hairston did not help Pedro Beato out of the pen in the seventh. He was charged with an error when he could not catch a Lee ball that was hit deep to left,   glancing off his glove. The play resulted in a Houston run.

Pagan is also struggling at the plate. The double was his only hit in four at bats, and he stranded three runners. Another of the four Mets hits was a double by Ike Davis, the 16^th in 17 games for the team and fourth in the league.

“He like a lot of these guys is a key part to this club,” commented Collins about Pagan’s struggles at the plate and about many of the Mets hitters possibly being too aggressive with their bats. “We got to get him going,” he said. And that includes Hairston, who went 0-for-2 striking out twice, another player that Collins would like to see revert to the short swing that was seen in the spring.

Said Pagan, “Tonight was a tough night for the whole team. We have to keep battling. It will change, it will change.” There may be some help, at least some optimism as the injured Jason Bay is slated to return Thursday night at Citi Field. Bay went 4-for-4 and with two home runs and four RBI playing for St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League in a rehab assignment.

“I know with him in the lineup, when healthy, he will do a lot of damage,” added Pagan about Bay who is 5-for 9 in three games down in Florida.  But the Mets need more than Bay at this point.

Because Collins is no longer frustrated and now expressing concern as they give the ball to knuckleballer (1-2) R.A. Dickey Wednesday evening in game three of the series against Houston.

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It was the continued strong pitching of starter Phil Hughes, and the consistent hitting of Robinson Cano that also continued, as the Yankees with four runs in the second inning never looked back and took the second game of a three-game series over the Baltimore Orioles 9-1.

Posada would reach base twice, drawing a walk and getting a single in the fifth. For the moment manager Joe Girardi has placed Posada in the designated hitter spot which posed the question:  Has Posada seen his last days as a catcher, or will he, return behind the plate when the doctors feel his foot has completely heeled?

“I would like George to catch again, I want him to catch again,” emphasized the Yankees manager. “I believe George has a lot of catching left.” In the meantime Posada has accepted his return to the lineup as a DH and it could be a permanent spot with Nick Johnson also disabled for the long run.

Girardi also likes to rotate that role with his lineup and having Posada’s bat back in the lineup is important, and as Girardi said, “We will do what we have to,” regarding keeping Posada healthy.

In the Yankees four-run second inning Posada had no trouble scoring from first on another two- run double from the hot bat of Robinson Cano who extended his American League high hitting streak to 16 games. Cano also hit a two-run home run, his 12^th of the season in the seventh inning and is batting .471 since May 17^th.

“Robbie has unbelievable hitting mechanics,” said Girardi about Cano. “When he hits the ball hard things happen,” he said about his second baseman who has evolved into one of the premier hitters in baseball.

Phil Hughes pitched seven innings, on six hits, striking out seven improving to 7-1. He admitted his curve was not effective but everything else was. Hughes has now held opponents with two earned runs or less in eight of his 10 starts this season.

“He’s been so, so good for us,” said Girardi about Hughes, one four pitches with most wins in the AL.  “He’s doing so many things right.” And if the pitching staff for the AL All-Star team was to be announced today, a team that Girardi will manage in July, Hughes according to Girardi would be on the team.

Prior to the game, Posada did not rule out catching again. He has been a good mentor to Francisco Cervelli who has done a bulk of the catching in his absence.  It was the fourth time in the last two years that he has been disabled.

“Tough to be a DH, it’s not an easy thing to do,” said Posada who commented afterwards that he wanted to test his foot and speed immediately when he got on base in the second inning. “Everything was fine. I’m in the lineup, that’s what matters,” he said.

And Girardi had nothing but praise for his veteran catcher. “Guy coming off a foot injury his first game back had to score from first,” he said. But is this role Posada will accept as the Yankees depend on his bat, realizing the veteran catcher is also 38- years of age.

“I’m going to do what is best for this organization,” commented Girardi when pressed about the issue regarding Posada. In the meantime, the Yankees go for the three-game sweep and fifth straight win Thursday afternoon in the Bronx with CC Sabathia (4-3) on the mound.

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Yankees starter Andy Pettitte continued his daytime undefeated streak. The lefthander hurled seven innings and gave up only one run, a lead-off, solo homer by Jhonny Peralta in the second. Pettitte surrendered only three other hits and did not walk batter. He has not issued a walk in his last two starts.The last baserunner against Pettitte got on with one out in the third. Pettitte retired the final 14 batters he faced to earn his 236 career victory. The total ties the career mark of Yankees icon Whitey Ford. Pettitte said of tying Ford, “That’s awesome. That’s really special. He’s been a huge supporter of mine. We have a great relationship.”

The 37 year-old starter was asked if he was near retirement or intended to continue into his 40′s. He responded as he had previously, “I can’t see myself playing a lot longer. I can’t think long term. I don’t have personal goals.” He explained that his on-the-field performances will not be the deciding factor in determining when he will stop playing”It’ll be when I feel I have to be with my family more. I put a lot of stock in what my wife says. She’s there.”

As in the previous three contests of this series, the seventh inning saw an eruption of runs that made the outcome clear. Thirty-five of the 57 runs scored in the four games crossed the plate in the seventh inning. The Bronx Bombers lived up to the nickname during the game, especially in the seventh.

Brett Gardner led off with a single and was thrown out trying to steal second. Jeter and then Curtis Granderson singled. After a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, Mark Teixeira was walked intentionally. A study of past history by the Cleveland skipper Manny Acta could have prevented history from being repeated. Rodriguez drove the ball into monument Park in deep center field for his 20^th career grand slam. This at bat was the seventh for A-Rod after Teixeira was walked to load the sacks. Unbelievably, Rodriguez is 5 for 5 with three of hits being homers. He also drew a walk and hit a sacrifice fly. He garnered 18 runs batted in the seven plate appearances. Rodriguez drove in two other runs for a season-high of six in the contest.

The second leading hitter in the A.L., Robinson Cano followed with a solo home run. The home run gave Cano a team-high 11 homers and increased his team-high hitting streak to 14. Cano is batting .450 during the 14 games, 27 for 60. He has driven in 17 runs during the streak. Cano’s two hits raised his multi-hit games to 24.

Derek Jeter upped his consecutive game hitting streak to eight games. During that stretch, he has batted .486 (17 for 35). This was also his eighth straight multi-hit game against Cleveland, a Yankee record.

Next up, it’s A-Rod and a grand slam home run. That opened up the game and paved the way for the Yankees and starter Andy Pettitte to take the final game of a four-game series, 11-2 from the last place Indians of the AL Central division.

For Rodriguez it was his seventh home run of the season, and 20^th career grand slam. More so he is now 5-for-5 with a walk, three home runs, a sacrifice fly, and has 18 RBI in seven plate appearances after Teixeira has been intentionally walked to load the bases in front of him.

“At 3-0 on Mark, it wasn’t very difficult at all,” said Acta about his decision to walk Teixeira and get to A-Rod in the situation. “We didn’t want to take a chance and wanted to set up a double play possibility with Alex. By the time it got to 3-1, a hitter like Alex knew what was coming and he didn’t miss it.”

And it was a huge home run to deep center field off Cleveland relief pitcher Chris Perez, 590^th of his career. Rodriguez has had the hitter before him intentionally walked to load the bases 16 times in his career and has now hit three home runs in those situations.

“It felt good coming into that situation especially in a close game,” said Rodriguez about the grand slam which followed with a curtain call from the 44,796 sun drenched Memorial Day fans in the Bronx. “One thing I was trying to do was get the job done with men on base,” he said.

A-Rod had a season high three hits and six runs batted in. The six RBI were the most by a Yankee this season. He also had a two-run double to right-center in the eighth inning as the Yankees scored three more runs.

“They’re both getting much closer,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi about Teixeira, his number three hitter and A-Rod at clean-up when it comes to knocking in runs. “When these two guys get it together we put a lot of runs on the board,” he said.

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Justin Masterson held the Yankees scoreless during the first six frames. The hard-luck hurler, winless in his last 17 starts, ran into trouble in the seventh. Runners were on second and third with two out when Derek Jeter singled to center to score both baserunners.

Jeter’s two runs batted in tied him with Don Mattingly for ninth place in the career listing of Yankees with 1,099. The milestone came one day after Jeter’s 15^th anniversary with the club. Jeter is batting .469 (15 for 32) during his current seven game hitting streak. Despite his two hits off Masterson, Jeter remarked, “He’s not a fun at bat.” The Yankee skipper was also impressed by Masterson’s performance, “Masterson was really tough day. He has a real good sinker.” After Jeter’s single, he was removed from the game.

The Yankees had less problems with the next Indians pitcher, Tony Sipp. The first batter, Curtis Granderson, doubled. Mark Teixeira blasted a three run homer to give New York a 5-3 advantage. Girardi gave full credit to his first baseman, who has been struggling at the plate recently, “It was a huge hit for us. We were having trouble scoring.” The Yankees added two more runs in the eighth.

Yankee starter AJ Burnett performed excellently. He pitched for eight innings, which gave the Yankees overtaxed bullpen a ch needed rest. Burnett surrendered only five hits. He hit two batters, but had a rare start without issuing a base on balls. This was Burnett’s first start in nearly four years, June 27, 2006, in which he has gone at least eight innings without issuing a free pass.

Cleveland manager Manny Acta was profuse in his praise of Burnett, “He’s tough. He’s come a long way from when I saw him with the Marlins. He’s not trying to throw 100 mph out there anymore. He got ahead of our hitters, and when he did, he threw that wicked curveball that he has. He was tough.”

Mariano Rivera entered in the ninth for a rare non-save appearance. He retired all three batters he faced, fanning two. On the final out of the game, Rivera made an acrobatic leap over the bat of Luis Valbuena, yet was able to field the baseball and throw to first baseman Teixeira. None of the Yankees players are surprised by Rivera’s outstanding athleticism. Teixeira explained to reporters, “Mo’s the best athlete on this club. If he wanted to be a center fielder, he end his career as a Hall of Fame center fielder.”

Before the contest, Robinson Cano was honored by latinobaseball.com as Citizen of the Year. He could also be awarded as Yankees player of the year. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the team high. During those games, Cano has batted .455 with 25 hits in 55 at bats. His batting has been exceptionally productive as he has driven in 14 runs in the 13 games.

“It felt like the old place,” said Jeter who reached base safely four times as the New York Yankees took game one of the American League Division Series with a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. “We couldn’t have drawn it up any better for us,” he said. The Yankees win marked two years to the day of their previous postseason win, an 8-4 victory on October 7, 2007 in game three of the ALDS against Cleveland.

Jeter would tie the score 2-2 and starting pitcher CC Sabathia earned the win snapping a three-game post season losing streak. The Yankees bullpen took over for Sabathia after

6 2/3^rd innings and it reminded everyone of how the Yankees did it in the postseason when they won four world championships under then manager Joe Torre.

More importantly, Rodriquez snapped a 0-for18 career postseason mark with runners in scoring position and two outs. He was 2-for-3, all two out hits that included an RBI single in the seventh inning that drove in Jeter who scored three runs.

“It definitely felt good,” commented Rodriguez who was the center of attention when he came to the plate for the first time. The Yankees failures to advance past the first round of the postseason against Cleveland, and in their previous appearance in 2005 and 2006 partly was attributed to Rodriguez and his failure to get runners home from scoring position.

So Rodriguez getting the pos t season monkey off his back, Jeter doing his usual postseason heroics and Sabathia doing what he came here to do was definitely what the Yankees needed as they look to take game two Friday evening in the Bronx. In that game A.J., Burnett gets the start for New York, and they could go for a sweep Sunday with Andy Pettitte on the mound at Minnesota for game three facing former Yankee pitcher Carl Pavano. .

“This is what you come here for,” said Sabathia. “It was electric tonight,” he said about the ovation he received with every pitch and when manager Joe Girardi removed him from the game after throwing 113 pitches. “The place got loud,” added Sabathia. “Him (Jeter) starting out the game with a single and then tying the score right back. It just made me want to go back out there and get three quick outs.”

The Twins, who clinched the American League Central division the evening before at home in an extra inning tie breaking win over Detroit, were not blaming their late arrival in New York as the reason as to why they lost game one.  The loss was attributed more to Sabathia on a night when the wind was blowing to all sides of the field.

“I kind of think CC Sabathia stress,” commented Twins manager Ron Gardenhire when asked if the late night arrival of his team had an effect on the game. “That was what we envisioned when we signed him, that CC would be pitching in October and November,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi who got his first postseason win as a manager.

Added Gardenhire, “I think the big thing is you get a two-run lead quick and as soon as you get back out, it’s a 2-2 ball game with a homer. That’s a little deflating. When you get a lead, you want to go back out there and shut them down. And Jeter does what he does best. He got his team right back in it.”

Designated hitter Hideki Matsui hit his seventh career postseason home run, his third in the postseason against the Twins. That came in the fifth inning with one on and opened a 6-2 lead for New York. And of course, Mariano Rivera would close the game and lowered his all-time postseason ERA 0.76.“

Everything worked to perfection for the Yankees, just like it has the entire season. With the exception of a couple of passed balls that got by catcher Jorge Posada, it was the first of hopefully ten more wins that will get the Yankees their 27^th world championship.

“We wanted to come out here and set the tone,” said Jeter. They certainly did that Wednesday evening and as Jeter said, “we have to come out with the same intensity and win game two,”

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Pitcher A. J. Burnett attempted to get his the 100^th win of his career at Yankee Stadium Tuesday evening, but the Kansas City Royals with a two-run seventh inning, helped by a throwing error from reliever Phil Coke, put the Royals ahead.  The Yankees would eventually win 4-3 on their 15^th walk off win of the season in the ninth.

The rookie, Juan Miranda this time was the hero. Miranda, who replaced first baseman Mark Teixiera in the eighth inning, lined a pitch off the leg of former Yankees relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth that scored Eric Hinske with the winning run giving the Yankees their Major League leading 102^nd win and 50^th come from behind victory that also leads baseball.

Sunday, in the Bronx, the Yankees won their 16^th American League east title since divisional play began in 1969.  The work started since spring training returning to the post season was accomplished, and the Yankees can relax a bit having secured the best record in Major League Baseball and home field advantage in the playoffs.

However manager Joe Girardi has made it known the remaining games are there to win, also keeping the regulars sharp for the upcoming post season next week   Another seven game winning streak and more milestones make this ending significant. Still to come is a Friday evening start for CC Sabathia, who goes for his 20^th win of the season at Tampa Bay.

“Think you’re evaluating players and trying to keep them sharp and strong,” said Girardi in his post game comments. “But you are trying to win the game and we’ll continue to try and win series and games,” he said.

Still to be determined is who the Yankees will face in the first round of the American League Divisional series. It will be either Detroit or Minnesota who are still battling for first place in the Al central division. So the final games this week in the Bronx against the Royals, and down in Tampa Florida against the Rays, will be time for Girardi to also assess his roster plans and pitching rotation for the first round of October baseball.

Sabathia is slated to pitch game one of the ALDS, and then it could be Burnett or Andy Petttite in game two.  Burnett has held opponents to two earned runs in his last three starts and may have pitched his way to be the number two starter striking out eight, walking three on three hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Explaining his recent success, this after struggling after the all-star break Burnett said “If I am going to pitch in the postseason I definitely have to go one pitch at a time. That’s just me. A little bit of the streakiness was due to mechanics but we looked at some videos and straightened out some kings,”   Burnett also stated that most of his mechanic flaws may have been mental mistakes.

So Girardi will use his roster accordingly in the next few days. Some of the rookies will get playing time, including the newest hero Miranda who became the ninth different Yankee to record a walk off hit this season and the second rookie to do it, the other Francisco Cervelli at the stadium against Toronto earlier this month.

And as the Yankees play out the string and prepare for their quest of a 27^th world championship they also honor their players. Prior to the game Melky Cabrera got a ring for hitting a cycle, Mariano Rivera got the rubber from the mound at Citi Field for recording his 500^th career save and Derek Jeter received numerous items from the old stadium,.

Perhaps the only anticipation remaining besides the milestones is Burnett getting a chance to put a whipped crèam pie in the face of two important players who have yet to have a walk off hit for a win. Jeter and Teixeira are on guard.

“These are the two guys left on the list, Tex and Jeet,” said Burnett with a smile.  And the Yankees hope to continue that smiling, so does Burnett when it gets more interesting in the Bronx next week.

In the game New York continued their drive to home run prominence. Mark Teixeira hit his 39^th home run in the bottom of the sixth that got the Yankees closer and Nick Swisher hit his 28^th in the bottom of the seventh that made it 3-2 Kansas City. The Yankees lead baseball with 239 home runs and are four shy of tying their franchise record of 242 set in the 2004 season

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Sidelined since June 22 with a bone bruise on his right knee, Beltran missed 70 games and was one of the many offensive threats in the Mets lineup that went on the disabled list. Prior to his injury, New York trailed first place Philadelphia by two games in the NL East.

His team is playing out the schedule and perhaps shutting down and preparing for spring training was a better option for Beltran. The bruise has not completely healed but it is good enough to do what Beltran does best, that is perched in his spot out in center field and becoming the offensive threat the Mets hoped to have in what has become a dismal season.

There he was, Beltran leading off the second inning. The announced City Field crowd of 37, 474, but much smaller because of the fans who decided to stay home, gave Beltran a nice ovation. He struck out swinging but his mission was accomplished after a long rehab process.

“It felt good being out there with the boys,” he said.  “Today I felt like a kid in the playground, like when I take my daughter to the playground.  She’s having fun and that’s how I felt today. It felt good.”

Beltran looked good running the bases as he lofted a double to left field leading off the sixth inning. Same result though, with or without Beltran in the lineup as the Mets lost the first game of three to the Florida Marlins 4-2.  And Beltran almost became a hero in the seventh inning. His bases loaded fly ball to deep left was caught and the Marlins had their victory.

“I just got under that one,” he said.  It has been missing, that long ball threat in the Mets lineup since Beltran went down along with Carlos Delgado.  There was also a sliding catch in center off a ball hit by the Marlins Jorge Cantu in the eighth inning.  Mets manager Jerry Manuel could be seen smiling after the catch but will be cautious when using Beltran for the remainder of the schedule.

Though Manuel and the Mets lost another one, it was a reprieve to see one of their regular guys back in the fold. “It will probably take him a few games to really find his rhythm at the plate,” commented Manuel. “I think once that starts he will get on track. He looked pretty good.”

Manuel thought that eighth inning drive to left would make it.  “He gave it a pretty good ride,” said the Mets manager. But with the bases loaded this season and two outs the Mets are batting an abysmal .073.  A healthy Beltran next season, along with David Wright and perhaps Delgado, or another potent hitter can make a difference with the bases loaded. For now though, having Beltran in the lineup again can bring some optimism during this dull September stretch at Citi Field.

Hanley Ramirez and Cameron Maybin supplied the runs for Florida hitting two-run homers off Mets starter Tim Redding (2-5) in the third and fourth innings. Florida, with the lowest team payroll in baseball stayed in the playoff hunt, six games behind the first place Phillies in the NL east division and 5/1-2 behind NL wild card leader Colorado.

“Probably the worst day I had command with a fastball,” said Redding who threw 102 pitches in five innings. “When you’re not locating your best pitch the other team knows that,” he said.  Luis Castillo went 3-for-4 and his fifth inning single to second base, which allowed Angel Pagan to score form third, was his 38^th infield hit which tied him for the National League lead with Michael Boum of Houston.

But the attention was on Beltran who could make the final weeks of the season a little more interesting for Manuel and Mets fans. And even more interesting if Delgado returns as expected next week.

Second game of the three game series Wednesday evening at Citi Field and Beltran is expected to be in the cleanup spot again.  “The knee feels good,” said Beltran. And those are good enough words to hear for the Mets and their fans in what has been a season of all bad news.

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Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana, who has been making his own adjustments on the mound, was surly glad Martinez was in that center field spot Thursday afternoon at Citi Field, the same area where Beltran would be. Because with the Mets holding a slim 3-2 lead in the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, Martinez made a diving catch on a sinking line drive off the bat of Yadier Molina that ended the inning and a Cardinals threat to score more.

And what did Santana, the two-time LatinoSports MVP Award winner and two-time AL Cy Young Winner say to Martinez about the catch when they retired to the dugout? “Nice catch kid, he said to me,” commented Martinez who has been struggling at the plate with a .167 average but playing a solid outfield at center, his natural position, and also in left field when called to do so.

Santana (9-5) would get the win, his second straight since his bad outing of giving up nine runs to the Yankees June 14th at Yankee Stadium. The Mets for the first time since early June won a series, winning 3-2, thus taking three-of-four from the Cardinals

Santana gave up two runs of which one was earned in seven innings. And he kept Albert Pujols from hitting the home run ball, a plus for Santana who leads all Mets starters in giving up the long ball with 12.

“My fastball was moving all over the place,” said Santana who once again was ahead of batters though he would be removed after throwing 110 pitches and the velocity  resembled the old Santana, at times clocked at 96.  For the first time in his last eight starts he did not allow a home run ball, and Nick Evans gave him the run support he needed with a two-run double in a three run fourth inning.

Martinez continues to struggle at the plate but the youngster, who many say may be too anxious, is also realizing that this is the time to make things happen. If it isn’t at the plate, and many say the production will come in due time, Martinez may as well do it on the field.  That has to help Manuel put a smile on his face as the Mets wait for Beltran to recover from a bruised bone on his right knee.

And plays like the one Martinez made in that seventh inning may help his cause as to not being optioned once again to Buffalo. Because soon the Mets expect to get healthy again in the outfield as Angel Pagan, on the disabled list with an injured groin is expected to rejoin the team next week when the Mets hit the road at Milwaukee.

“If I don’t hit I need to catch,” said Martinez after the game when asked if this latest stay with the big team will last.  “I need to catch that ball to keep us in the game. I want to play and I want to hit and I am still adjusting,” he said.

And Santana has seemed to have made his adjustments. He, along with other Mets starters kept Pujols, 4-for-13 in the series off the bases and from hitting the home run ball.  “He is arguably the best hitter in the game and when you do that it is a challenge,” commented Santana about keeping Pujols in check.

Frankie Rodriguez recorded his 20th save pitching a scoreless ninth. The Mets now prepare to host the cross-town Yankees for three games in the second inter league subway series of the season that begins Friday evening at Citi Field.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com