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Maine takes mound for banged up Mets in series finale

Jul 29, 2007 - 2:03 PM Washington (45-59) at NY Mets (58-46) 1:10 pm EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Mets are struggling and banged up. Luckily for them, John Maine takes the mound on Sunday.

Maine aims to help the Mets earn a split of their four-game series with the last-place Washington Nationals, and finish their seven-game homestand on a positive note.

Maine (11-5, 3.04 ERA) has been New York's most consistent pitcher and is tied for second in the National League in wins. The 26-year-old righthander bounced back from two poor starts by allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings in an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.

Prior to that outing, Maine had allowed eight runs and 13 hits in his last 10 2/3 innings.

The Mets and Nationals split Saturday's doubleheader as Orlando Hernandez threw seven effective innings in a 3-1 win by New York in the opener, but manager Willie Randolph's club fell in the nightcap, 6-5, as Washington's Ryan Langerhans drove in the go-ahead run in a three-run eighth inning.

New York, which has dropped three of its last four games, has suffered a recent rash of injuries. Catcher Paul Lo Duca left the second game of the doubleheader with a right hamstring injury in the seventh inning and All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran sat out his fourth straight game with a strained abdominal muscle.

Meanwhile, Washington has won 11 of 18 and will send Billy Traber (2-1, 4.09) to the mound.

Traber is making his second start of the season for the Nationals, who have used a major league-high 13 different starters. In his first start of the season on July 20, he allowed two runs - one earned - and three hits in four innings against the Colorado Rockies.

Traber was a first-round pick of the Mets in 2000.