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Beltran drives in five as Mets roll

May 10, 2008 - 9:48 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Fans at Shea Stadium got two things that they had been waiting for - a big day by Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana's first home win.

Beltran had a season-best five RBI and Santana pitched in and out of trouble through six innings as the New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 12-6, in the opener of a day-night doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider hit back-to-back solo home runs in the seventh as the Mets improved to 10-5 at home. Moises Alou also drove in a pair of runs for New York, which has totaled 24 runs and 25 hits in its last two contests.

"You can tell when guys are getting ready to click," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "A lot of my guys have been up and down. We've been right there for a week and a half."

While the Mets received production throughout the lineup, the day clearly belonged to the slumping Beltran, who fell one shy of his career best for RBI and also drove in five runs for the fifth time with New York.

"Everyone needs a good day but at the same time, I was able to feel good in the batter's box," Beltran said. "That's what you look for as a hitter. Sometimes you feel good and you go 0-for-4 but you know that everything's good."

Beltran entered with a .218 batting average and a .186 average in 14 home games. He also came into Saturday's game with just 13 RBI for the season - none in his previous nine contests.

That changed as Beltran drove in runs in his first three plate appearances. He had an RBI single in New York's three-run third and lifted a sacrifice fly in the fifth as the Mets took a 6-1 lead.

Beltran's biggest hit - a bases-clearing triple - came against Cincinnati's bullpen in the sixth, when New York took advantage of three hits and a pair of walks against the combination of Bill Bray and Mike Lincoln to break open the contest.

"I wasn't looking for anything," Beltran said. "The big thing was keep it fair. Maybe a few weeks ago I would have pulled that ball foul. It was a good feeling that (I) keep my hands inside and shoot the ball down the line."

Bray allowed a leadoff double to Delgado and a single to Schneider before Lincoln came in. Lincoln recorded two outs but also walked Jose Reyes to load the bases before forcing in a run by issuing a free pass to David Wright.

The Mets did not have to wait long for the bases to empty as Beltran lined a triple over right fielder Ken Griffey's head to extend New York's lead to 10-3.

The production from Beltran enabled Santana to win his third straight decision and first in three home starts as a Met. It also came on a day in which his final line was not the greatest as the lefthander allowed three runs and tied a career worst by surrendering 10 hits.

"The biggest thing you could do is help him," Schneider said. "He deserved to win a couple of times, but we didn't do that (for him)."

"Today was a great day," Beltran added. "We scored a lot of runs and Johan pitched a good game."

Santana threw 38 pitches in the sixth, when the Reds scored twice. They pulled within 6-3 on pinch hitter Scott Hatteberg's RBI single, but Santana struck out Corey Patterson, stranding runners at the corners.

Santana, who was been battling allergy problems, was pulled after throwing 116 pitches.

"His eyes were running," Randolph said. "There will be days when you're not feeling well and you don't have your best stuff and you have to grind it out."

"Even though I didn't feel good and didn't have my best stuff, I was able to battle through," Santana said. "I've been battling allergies since spring training. My eyes and nose were running, but no excuses."

Santana allowed 10 hits for the fifth time in his career. He had lost in the previous four instances.

"I've seen him sharper, but they've got a good offensive team," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "The day he wasn't sharp was the day they scored runs."

The Reds had 15 hits but still dropped their sixth straight road game. Cincinnati was 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position against Santana, 4-for-14 overall and stranded 10 runners.

Cincinnati also was not helped by starter Matt Belisle (1-3), who allowed six runs and seven hits in five innings.