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Wright, Delgado rally Mets past Giants

May 10, 2007 - 4:48 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- John Maine did not get his sixth win, but the New York Mets emerged victorious regardless.

David Wright's two-run double with the bases loaded in the ninth inning was the difference as the Mets rallied for a 5-3 triumph over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series.

Maine, who entered tied for the National League lead with five victories, was facing his first loss of the season before the Mets rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the final two innings.

"That's my goal, at least six innings," Maine said. "I had very average stuff today, but I was able to keep us in it, not make it any worse, and we came back to win it, which is a good thing. The last two games, I haven't had really great stuff, but it happens sometimes, so I'll be all right."

Aaron Heilman (3-2) was the beneficiary of New York's rally, recording the win after retiring both batters he faced in the eighth. Billy Wagner worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

"With the talent level and the experience that we have, I think that's one reason why we're able to play so relaxed," Heilman said. "If we come out here and play well and play up to our potential, we have a really good shot at winning."

The victory concluded a 4-2 road trip for New York.

"We wanted to go home, obviously, on a positive note. We wanted to sneak one and get out of town," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "Nice trip to have. It's always tough playing on the West (Coast), no matter where you go, especially in a four-game series. It'll be nice to have an off-day tomorrow, make the plane ride a little quicker and the off-day a little nicer and look forward to this weekend, playing the Brewers."

After tying the game with a run in the eighth, the Mets went ahead in the ninth against former teammate Armando Benitez (0-1). Paul Lo Duca opened the inning with a single but was forced out at second base on a failed sacrifice attempt by Ruben Gotay. Endy Chavez followed with a walk to put Gotay in scoring position.

It appeared the Giants had the second out of the inning when Jose Reyes hit a high, shallow fly to right. But the ball dropped between second baseman Ray Durham and right fielder Todd Linden, who were trying to avoid a collision on the play.

"(Durham) wasn't calling me off, I just didn't come get it," Linden said. "It carried a little bit further than I expected, but I need to continue on in and make that play. I thought it was further on in the infield and I kind of gave up on it a little too early. I've got to get in there and make that play."

With the bases loaded, Wright ripped a double into the left field corner, plating Gotay and Chavez to put New York in front.

"It was a sinker, but Wright is a good hitter, I give him all the credit," Benitez said. "In a situation like that, it forced me to throw a strike. He got what he was looking for. He got me today, but how about next time?"

"When you're in the lineup, this is what you have to want - to be in this situation no matter if you're hitting .350 or .250," said Wright, who is hitting a mere .254. "No matter what I'm hitting, no matter what I feel, I still want to be in that situation because I feel like I can take a deep breath. No matter what you've done the rest of the game or the rest of the 30 some-odd games before that, you have to want to be the guy in that situation."

Matt Morris had a strong start for the Giants, allowing two runs, seven hits and one walk while striking out four in seven innings.

"Going down 2-0 right off the bat there, a couple of solo shots put us in a hole," Morris said. "Maine has been pitching well all year. He's had a minuscule ERA and throwing a good hard sinker, and you're trying to keep it as close as possible and give your team a chance."

Having thrown 100 pitches, Morris gave way to Brad Hennessey in the top of the eighth. Trailing 3-2, the Mets took advantage of the pitching change and tied the game.

"Henney made some great pitches, even ball four was a great pitch," Morris said. "The slider in to Delgado was down and in, a tough pitch to hit, but it doesn't always go our way."

"We made a couple of mistakes and we've got to tighten it up a little bit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We walked some guys, but Morris threw great. He pitched well, and it's a tough one not to win for him."

Carlos Beltran drew a one-out walk and took off for second base on a 3-2 pitch to Carlos Delgado, who lined the ball into shallow left-center field. But it was deep enough to score Beltran, who motored home with the tying run.

"Earlier in the year, I wasn't swinging that good, and it's hard to go to the opposite field when you're not swinging good," Delgado said. "Most of the time, they pitch you into the shift, so it's hard to get that pitch up and in and force it that way.

"You don't want to get caught up in the mind games of trying to go away from your power. But if they throw you away, you want to think about going that way, but you want to be in a good hitting position before you start punching the ball that way."

Maine allowed three runs, five hits and six walks in six innings. The righthander, who struck out four, left after throwing 109 pitches. Wednesday's outing was the first this season in which the 26-year-old has allowed more than two runs.

The Giants pieced together their own rally earlier in the game after falling behind on solo home runs by Gotay and Delgado.

With San Francisco trailing, 2-1, in the fifth, Eliezer Alfonzo singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Morris. Dave Roberts followed with his second home run of the season, driving a 3-2 pitch from Maine over the right field wall to put the Giants ahead.

San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds went 0-for-2 and walked twice. The seven-time MVP, who hit his 745th career homer on Tuesday, needs just 10 to tie Hank Aaron's all-time record.