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Perfect night by Delgado powers Mets past Braves

Aug 22, 2008 - 4:21 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Carlos Delgado went 5-for-5, including a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning, to lead the Mets to a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Delgado's two-run double sparked a five-run eighth in a 7-3 triumph. He stepped up once again, turning in his second career five-hit game.

"I think what he has done is he has really invested in the team,"Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of Delgado. "He is the head guy (leader). So the investment that he has made in his teammates and (himself) to kind of carry the load says a lot about his leadership.

"When healthy, he's an important guy coming down the stretch for us."

With one out in the ninth, David Wright doubled to right-center field before Carlos Beltran drew an intentional walk. Delgado stepped in and completed his first five-hit game in 10 years, sending a 1-1 pitch from Vladimir Nunez (0-1) off the glove of left fielder Omar Infante for a single that scored Wright with the winning run.

Delgado's sharp liner appeared like it was going to turn into a double play and send the contest into extra innings as Wright ran on contact and stopped briefly before reaching third.

But Infante slipped, the ball deflected off his glove, and the Mets had their seventh walk-off win and the 16th in their final at-bat.

"I got lucky," said Delgado, who is batting .321 since July 1. "I hit the ball into the lights and, in that situation, I knew that he usually keeps the ball down and away. So I hit a changeup. I hit it pretty good but I caught a break."

Wright also homered for the Mets (71-57), who completed a three-game sweep of the Braves and won for the ninth time in 10 contests. New York's victory came minutes after the Philadelphia Phillies (68-59) lost to Washington, giving it a 2 1/2-game lead in the National League East.

Infante's failure to make the play sent Atlanta to its fifth consecutive loss and 10th in 11 games.

"He lost it in the lights," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Too bad, it could have been a double play, too. But you can't fault him."

Luis Ayala (2-8), who was acquired from Washington in a trade on Sunday, pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the victory.

The Mets won despite a sub-par performance by Pedro Martinez, who let a 3-1 lead slip away . The righthander allowed four runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings.

Martinez surrendered a leadoff home run by Yunel Escobar in the first but cruised until the sixth, when Brian McCann lined a two-run double and scored on a base hit by Infante, giving the Braves a 4-3 edge.

That forced the Mets to rely on their bullpen, which was rested Wednesday as Mike Pelfrey tossed a three-hitter. Lefthander Pedro Feliciano relieved Martinez and induced a double play before walking Chipper Jones and allowing a single by McCann.

Ayala entered into a one-run game with two on for the second time in as many appearances and just like he did in his Mets debut on Tuesday, Ayala stranded two baserunners by getting Infante to fly out to center.

"This guy's Cy Young, the first two outings," Delgado said of Ayala. "He's coming in. He's throwing the ball good for us. He's getting some big outs. The guy's been around. He knows how to pitch and he got some good movement. If he throws strikes and keeps the ball down, he's going to get a lot of outs."

Ayala began the ninth by recording two groundouts before Martin Prado singled and took second on a passed ball. But pinch hitter Gregor Blanco grounded out to second, setting the stage for Delgado.