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Maine, bullpen pitch two-hitter as Mets maul Cardinals

Apr 5, 2007 - 6:00 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- John Maine showed the St. Louis Cardinals that he's not just a flash in the pan.

Maine and the bullpen allowed just two hits and Carlos Beltran homered twice and drove in four runs as the Mets posted a 10-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jose Reyes homered, scored twice and drove in three runs and Paul Lo Duca had three hits for New York, which outscored the Cardinals, 20-2, in the three-game sweep.

Maine allowed only a leadoff single to Scott Rolen in the fifth inning and dominated St. Louis through seven frames, yielding just two walks while striking out six.

"He was throwing tons of strikes, working quick and changing speeds," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "That's the best I've seen John Maine. He pounded the zone and I just loved his aggressiveness. Whether it's Albert Pujols or whoever he went right after them."

Maine, who went 6-2 after the All-Star break last season, also beat St. Louis, 4-2, in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against St. Louis.

"It's a good start but already it's behind me and in five days I have another start," said Maine, who downplayed his success. "It was good while it lasted but I have to think about my next start."

Mets manager Willie Randolph thought otherwise.

"He did a great job," Randolph said. "I just like what I see in the way he's going about his business. He's real focused, something that I've challenged him to do and he's get better and better at it."

The game was scoreless in the sixth when Lo Duca singled and was plated by Beltran's homer on a mistake pitch by Cardinals starter Braden Looper, who was making his first career start. Wright later scored in the frame on a base hit by Shawn Green.

"I got ahead of Beltran 0-2 right where I wanted to be," Looper said. "I was trying to bury a pitch in and I just left it over the plate."

"He was throwing hard and I think he got a little tired," Beltran said. "It was a pitch up and in and I was able to hit it good." Reyes homered off reliever Josh Hancock in the seventh to give the Mets a 4-0 lead and one out later Beltran homered to right.

"Beltran opened the flood gates with his home run," Randolph said. "We just kept piling on after that. You always love to play crisp, sound baseball and that's what we did this series." The Mets scored five in the eighth, including a two-run double by Reyes, to help New York gain a season-opening sweep for the first time in 13 years.

"This was a good test for us right out of the gate," Wright said. "Everybody pulled together and we're off to a good start. It's definitely a confidence booster when you come into St. Louis, on the road and sweep the defending World Series champions." Looper surrendered three runs, eight hits and a walk in six innings. It was the 32-year old's first career start in 10 seasons after 572 relief appearances and 103 saves.

"Starting to me is limiting mistakes," Looper said. "If I can do that that's the key. With the exception to that one pitch to Beltran, I pretty much did that. I felt great the whole game. That one pitch I wish I could have it back."

The Cardinals are 0-3 for the first time since the 2001 season.

"We had three games that really weren't all that competitive," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "We have to be better than that if we expect to have a season in contention. I think we'll fix it. ...sooner rather than later."