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Delgado, Mets complete sweep of Marlins

May 27, 2007 - 10:55 PM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Carlos Delgado and New York Mets continued to find their swings in South Florida.

Delgado had an RBI single as the Mets completed a three-game series sweep of the Florida Marlins with a 6-4 victory on Sunday.

It was another solid offensive effort for New York, which outscored Florida, 19-8, en route to winning for the sixth time in eight games in the season series.

"Very nice," Mets manager Willie Randolph said of the 4-2 roadtrip. "Finishing up strong here, and it's tough to win down here. ... I think this is the first time in a while we've swept down here, so it's nice.

One of the main reasons for the Mets' offensive success has been the breakout of Delgado, who had been mired in a season-long slump prior to this series.

After collecting two hits in Friday's 6-2 win, the 34-year-old first baseman hammered the ball in a 7-2 triumph on Saturday with a two-run and a three-run homer to finish with a season-high five RBI.

It was Delgado's first multi-homer game since last August 22 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

In this one, Delgado knotted the score at 1-1 in the fourth inning when his one-out base hit to right field scored Carlos Beltran.

"Hopefully, he's back in the rhythm again," Randolph said of the slugger.

After Delgado and David Wright completed a double steal, Damion Easley followed with a single off of Marlins starter Scott Olsen (4-4) that scored Wright. Delgado also reached home on the play on a throwing error by second baseman Dan Uggla.

New York extended the lead to 4-1 later in the frame on an RBI single by Endy Chavez.

Wright, another Met who experienced a slow start to the season, ripped an RBI double in the fifth to extend it to 5-1.

"That's what makes this lineup so special," Wright said. "We don't necessarily have to be perfect to score runs or win games. I think it showed the first month, obviously, with me and Delgado (starting slowly).

"Now with Delgado getting hot I think it's pretty scary to think what this lineup can do when everybody is clicking at the same time."

That offense was more than enough for Jorge Sosa (4-1), who bounced back from his first loss of the season.

"Sosa did a nice job for us," Randolph said. "He got back to his comfort zone."

The 30-year-old righthander allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He also struck out two batters and issued a walk.

"It was very important for me to come out and have a good outing because we won the first couple of games," Sosa said through an interpretor. "And to sweep (a) series from these guys is very important if we want to make the playoffs."

Sosa had a chance to work deeper in the game, but Randolph opted to take him out during a jam in the sixth. Holding a 5-2 lead, Sosa gave up a double to Alfredo Amezaga and a walk to Uggla before fight back to retire both Miguel Cabrera and Josh Willingham.

However, Randolph decided to turn to Pedro Feliciano, who got pinch hitter Hanley Ramirez to ground out to third base to end the frame.

"I just thought they were hitting it around a bit," Randolph said. "I felt like in my mind he was near the end."

In the eighth, the 48-year-old Julio Franco delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to extend the lead for the Mets to 6-2.

The Marlins, who lost for the fourth time in five games, did manage to cut their deficit to two runs after Cabrera singled home a run in the eighth and Miguel Olivo homered in the ninth off Mets closer Billy Wagner.

"We haven't been playing that well," said Wagner, who has given up two homers to Olivo in 11 at-bats. "We knew we had to come in here and play well because they're a tough team. To sweep them on their home field is tough to do. We wanted to come in here and get two, to sweep is icing on the cake."

Olsen gave up five runs and six hits in five innings to drop to 1-3 in five starts in May.

The 23-year-old lefthander stated that the Mets are not a powerhouse but are a very potent team.

"It's balanced, It's very well-balanced with speed at the top, power in the middle and with guys who get on base and do well at the bottom (of the batting order)," Olsen said. "I don't know if it's overpowering. I just think it's well-balanced from top to bottom, but if you make your pitches you'll be all right."

With the sweep, New York, which improved to 32-17, are two games ahead of the pace that won it the National League East Division last year.

"Are we?" Randolph asked. "It just shows how good we are, really. It shows we're still hungry and we want to play our best."