• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Beltran's blast powers Mets

Apr 17, 2008 - 2:50 AM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Carlos Beltran put an emphatic end to a long power drought.

Beltran hit a three-run homer to highlight a four-run fifth inning and Ryan Church and Jose Reyes added solo shots as the New York Mets defeated the struggling Washington Nationals for the second straight night, 5-2, on Wednesday

John Maine (1-1) pitched 6 2/3 effective innings to earn the win for the Mets, who will try to complete the three-game sweep on Thursday night.

Austin Kearns homered for the Nationals, who have dropped 11 of their last 12 games after a 3-0 start.

Beltran had gone the first 12 games of the season without a home run, his longest stretch since he was called up by the Kansas City Royals at the end of the 1998 season and went 14 games without a homer.

"The main thing is to go out there and try to hit the ball hard," said Beltran, who hit 33 homers last season and 41 in 2006. "I'm not worried about home runs. They will come. At the end of the year, they will be there."

The drought ended in the fifth when Beltran belted the first pitch from Matt Chico (0-3) over the left field fence to give New York a 5-2 lead.

Reyes had led off the inning with his first homer of the season, and Church and David Wright had singled to set the stage for Beltran.

"It was one bad inning," Nationals catcher Johnny Estrada said. "They put up a crooked number and that deflated us."

The Mets have hit six homers in their last four games after collecting just three in their first nine contests.

The outburst would be enough for Maine, who allowed two runs and five hits with four walks. He has walked nine in his last two games and admitted to having trouble with his fastball.

"It doesn't feel 100 percent right now. Hopefully the warm weather will help," Maine said.

The righthander left after walking two batters in the seventh, and Joe Smith caught Ryan Zimmerman looking for the final out.

Smith, who stumbled at the end of his rookie season after a strong start, also pitched the eighth, getting Kearns to hit into a double play.

"I know I'll be in situations with guys on base," Smith said. "I feel good right now. I think last year really helped me, being thrown into the mix."

Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his second save.

Chico was charged with five runs and seven hits in five innings.

"I was around the plate, but where I wanted to be," Chico said. "It was pretty much like that the whole game."

Zimmerman drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first. Church, a former National, homered in the bottom of the inning to tie it at 1-1.

Kearns homered to left field in the fourth to give Washington a 2-1 lead.