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Delgado homers twice to power Mets

Apr 27, 2008 - 9:19 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- For the second straight game, Carlos Delgado had an RBI. The difference on Sunday was two better swings.

Delgado hit a pair of solo home runs as the New York Mets recorded a 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the rubber game of a three-game series on Sunday.

Delgado drove in a run in consecutive games for just the fourth time this season. He had an RBI groundout in the third inning during Saturday's 4-3 victory against Tim Hudson but when he stepped to the plate in the third against John Smoltz the ball traveled much further as he lined the first pitch over the left field fence.

The veteran first baseman recorded his 43rd career multi-home run game when he sent Will Ohman's 2-0 pitch over the right-center field wall in the seventh for a 6-3 edge. It was Delgado's first multi-homer game since May 29 against San Francisco.

"It felt good," said Delgado, who had not homered in his previous 65 at-bats. "The first one was a changeup over the plate. The second was a breaking ball."

"It's very encouraging for him," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He got a lot of good balls to drive today. It was a tremendous display of power."

Delgado's two home runs gave him 434 for his career, tying him with Juan Gonzalez for 36th on the all-time list. The blasts also came after he entered the game with just four hits in his previous 46 at-bats and following the second homer, he received a standing ovation from the same fans who had booed him earlier in the game.

"It's nice to see results," Delgado said. "When you have a good game, it's good for your confidence."

"It's good to see him go the other way," New York third baseman David Wright added. "Going the other way and a slider to right was (impressive)."

Raul Casanova had a two-run home run in the second while Luis Castillo collected three hits for the Mets, who won for just the third time in their last eight games.

Nelson Figueroa (2-1) pitched 5 1/3 innings, cruised through the first five before struggling in the sixth. He allowed all three of his runs in the sixth and five of his seven hits in his final frame.

He gave up an RBI double to Mark Teixeira and a run-scoring single to Mark Kotsay. The righthander left with runners at first and third and was replaced by Joe Smith, who allowed Brent Lillibridge's RBI groundout before he retired pinch hitter Brayan Pena on a flyout.

Scott Schoeneweis allowed a two-out double to Jeff Francoeur in the seventh and needed a nice running catch by Church at the warning track in right-center field to get out of the inning.

Pedro Feliciano pitched a hitless eighth and Billy Wagner allowed his first hit of the season in the ninth but still notched his sixth save.

Unlike the previous two games of the series, the Mets scored in multiple innings.

They took a 1-0 lead in the first when Jose Reyes doubled and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Smoltz. They went ahead by three in the second when Casanova deposited Smoltz's 3-1 pitch over the right-center field fence for his first home run as Met.

Two innings after Delgado's second home run of the season and first since the home opener on April 8 against Philadelphia, Wright delivered an RBI single off Ohman for a 5-3 lead.

After Hudson lasted just three innings Saturday, Smoltz (3-2) pitched just four innings and allowed four runs and seven hits.

The veteran righthander also hinted at some discomfort in his right shoulder but did not offer any indications if he would he miss his next scheduled start.

"I say control my shoulder," Smoltz said. "I mean the places that I have to get to to throw certain pitches."

Smoltz entered the game with a miniscule 0.78 ERA and had recorded 20 strikeouts over his previous two starts. He also limited the Mets to two hits in five innings three weeks ago in Atlanta.

"Certainly today, I didn't have some of the stuff I had in the previous four games," Smoltz said. "I was just trying to get as many innings as I could. I didn't have very good stuff today."

"He's been dominating all season," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "This is the only time he hasn't dominated."