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Mets pound Vanden Hurk, Marlins

Apr 20, 2007 - 4:03 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets made Rick Vanden Hurk's second major league start very uncomfortable.

Beltran homered among four hits and Orlando Hernandez pitched seven strong innings as the Mets blasted the Florida Marlins, 11-2, to complete a two-game series sweep.

The 21-year-old Vanden Hurk (0-1), who hails from the Netherlands, allowed just a run and five hits in 4 2/3 innings in his first start April 10 against Milwaukee before pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief at Atlanta five days later.

"I was ahead in the count to a few of those guys, and should have borne down more," Vanden Hurk said. "I made some mistakes and got hit hard, and stuff hit the fan. I've got to learn to put hitters' away."

Vanden Hurk had never pitched above Class A prior to this season, and the Mets made him know for certain that he was not facing the St. Lucie Mets in the Class A Florida State League.

"You have to have the same mentality (as Class A) and the right approach regardless of what level of ball it is," Vanden Hurk said. "You have to execute your pitches or they make you pay."

Beltran doubled and scored in the first, hit a solo homer in the fourth, singled in the eighth and doubled in a run in the ninth inning.

"This lineup was built to score runs and that's what we're doing," Beltran said. "It's a great feeling every at-bat, and you just want to keep adding more hits."

New York started its bashing in the third inning, when Carlos Delgado doubled home two runs with one out to give the Mets a 3-2 edge. Two batters later, Shawn Green plated two more runs with a double to left field. Backup catcher Ramon Castro then homered to left field for a 7-2 lead.

"He made a couple of mistakes and with our lineup we were able to take advantage of it," said Moises Alou, who started the offensive show with an RBI single in the first inning. "We just came ready to play and had a great series."

Vanden Hurk left after the fourth, being tagged for eight runs and seven hits - six for extra bases - with two walks and four strikeouts.

"The bottom line is that if you don't get guys out when you have the chance, you are going to get in trouble," Vanden Hurk said. "My job is to keep my team in the game and I didn't do that tonight."

The beneficiary of the power explosion was Hernandez (2-1), who allowed two runs - one earned - and three hits with two walks and a season-high 10 strikeouts.

"El Duque was superb tonight, again," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He settled down and got into a nice groove."

David Wright extended his franchise-record hitting streak to 26 games for the Mets with a fifth-inning single.

"It was everyone else tonight," Wright said. "We have so much power and can put up so many runs in a hurry that it takes the pressure off me to have a good night every night."

Florida third baseman Miguel Cabrera left the contest in the second inning with stiffness in his right torso.

"It's 50-50 whether he plays tomorrow," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

First baseman Mike Jacobs said the Marlins should have done a better job in meeting the challenge, and can't use situations like Cabrera leaving the game as an excuse for the lack of production.

"We've got too good of an offense to be held to (a few) hits every night," Jacobs said. "We have to step up as a team and turn this thing around in a hurry."