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Mets break out of slump with five-run ninth in win over Florida

May 26, 2007 - 5:59 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Orlando Hernandez was exceptional in his return. The New York Mets' offense was dismal for eight innings before waking hit.

The Mets broke open an outstanding duel between Hernandez and Sergio Mitre with five runs in the ninth inning en route to a 6-2 triumph over the Marlins. Paul Lo Duca had four hits and Carlos Beltran hit a three-run double for the Mets, who had lost three of four and scored just seven runs in those contests.

"It just sort of snowballed," Lo Duca said. "We finally put something together. ... We took advantage of some breaks. That's what you have to do. A good team takes advantage of those (mistakes) and we've got a good team. When you get breaks like them you've got to take advantage of them."

With the game tied at 1-1 in the ninth and runners on the corners, Shawn Green hit a grounder to shortstop Hanley Ramirez, whose throw home was dropped by Miguel Olivo, allowing speedy Carlos Gomez to slide in for a 2-1 lead.

Jose Reyes and Endy Chavez each drove in runs with singles off Reynel Pinto (0-2) and Beltran followed with a ground-rule double to left-center field for a 6-1 lead.

"It's a tough one (to lose)," said Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, whose error in the eighth inning allowed the Mets to take a 1-0 lead. "(Mitre) pitched his butt off and gave us every chance in the world to win. You have to take your hat off to him, but 'El Duque' (Hernandez) was pretty nasty tonight too. That's kind of the way it worked out and it sucks but we've got to come back tomorrow."

Aaron Heilman (5-2), who allowed a run in the eighth, was the winner and Billy Wagner allowed a home run to Miguel Cabrera in the ninth before shutting down the Marlins.

Carlos Delgado had two hits for New York, which has won five straight in Florida for the first time in nine years. Hernandez, who had been out since April 25 with elbow bursitis, pitched like he never left.

"I feel OK, but tired," Hernandez said. "I can throw today every pitch. I threw (my) fastball, curveball, and I didn't feel the pain. I had a good rehab in Port St. Lucie, I don't remember how many bullpens I threw. I'm ready to throw five or six innings and 90 or 100 pitches. I'm not surprised (by how I pitched.)"

Hernandez allowed a leadoff single to Alfredo Amezega and then retired 17 in a row.

"He never ceases to amaze me, so I wasn't surprised at anything (he did)," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He threw a great ballgame for us. "(It was) a great job picking us up," Randolph added.

"It's good to have him back in the rotation. ... When he's healthy and feeling good about himself he's a hell of a pitcher. Hopefully, we can keep him in the rotation. That's the key for us right now, so he can continue to work his magic as he has."

The righthander, who struck out a season-high 10 Marlins in seven innings in an 11-3 win on April 19, allowed just two hits in six shutout inning with four strikeouts and threw 57 of 88 pitches for strikes.

"For not having pitched in a while, he had unbelievable command," Lo Duca said. "That's probably the best stuff he's had all year. He threw his curveball wherever he wanted too. We didn't even use his changeup tonight. He had all kinds of arm angles. He was dominant."

Mitre, who was aiming for his career-high third straight win, was Hernandez's equal.

The righthander struck out a career-high eight and allowed just one run and eight hits in 7 2/3 innings. But Mitre has been a bit of a hard-luck case. Despite lowering his ERA to 1.89, he dropped to 0-6 at Dolphin Stadium.