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Niese strong as Mets earn doubleheader split

Sep 14, 2008 - 3:23 AM By Zachary Braziller PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The resilient New York Mets didn't waste any time bouncing back from their loss to the Atlanta Braves in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Rookie Jon Niese struck out seven and the Mets scored three times in the first inning and once in the second off Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes en route to a 5-0 victory in the nightcap.

The win enabled New York (83-64) to push its National League East lead to 2 1/2 games over the Philadelphia Phillies (81-67).

David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran each homered in support of Niese, who earned his first major league victory with eight strong innings. The 21-year-old lefthander scattered five hits and walked two while throwing 116 pitches - 75 strikes.

"He performed extremely well," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of Niese. "I was very impressed with the way he attacked them. It was an excellent job."

Staked to an early lead, Niese (1-0) ran into trouble only once. He allowed back-to-back hits to Casey Kotchman and Jeff Francoeur with two outs in the fourth, but escaped by fanning Brent Lillibridge.

"I came out relaxed and I executed my pitches," Niese said. "I had a game plan going in. I told myself to take deep breathes between pitches and slow my game down."

Niese even collected an infield hit in the fourth and was serenaded with "Let's Go Niese" chants in his final at-bat in the sixth.

"It was a dream come true," he said of the warm reception. "Every kid in America dreams of that. It just gives you that extra push with your pitches when you have 50,000 people behind you."

Wright cracked his 29th homer in the first, lacing a two-run shot to center field to give Niese all the support he would need. Fernando Tatis added another run, when he plated Beltran with a two-out single later in the frame.

Jose Reyes chipped in a solo shot into the bleachers in left in the second for his 14th homer - his first since August 16 - off Jo-Jo Reyes (3-11), who lasted two innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs.

Beltran added his 24th homer in the seventh, his third hit of the evening.

"When you play a doubleheader and you lose the first game, you want to try for the second," Jose Reyes said. "We did it right away. That was a big win for us."