The Mets defeated the Astros by a score of 9-1 this evening at Shea Stadium. Mike Pelfrey got his 13th win of the year, and Brian Moehler took his first loss in his last nine starts.

Pelfrey went the distance for the second consecutive start, allowing one run on five hits. Pelfrey was in cruise control throughout the night, until he hit a bump in the road in the 9th, when he allowed a run on an rbi groundout.

Carlos Delgado awoke in a big way tonight, with 2 three run home runs. He finished with six RBI on the night, and also made a defensive gem behind Pelfrey in the 9th.

Jose Reyes added a two RBI triple, driving in Ryan Church and Pelfrey.

As of right now the Phillies are beating the Dodgers 5-0 in the 9th, so if this stands the Mets will have a half game lead going into tomorrow’s mini two game set versus the Phillies. Jamie Moyer will oppose Pedro Martinez.

The Mets and Astros play the final game of their four game set this evening at Shea Stadium, with the Mets looking to split the series. Astros RHP Brian Moehler (9-4) will take on Mike Pelfrey (12-8). The game can be seen on SNY and can be heard on WFAN.

Keys to the Game:

• Avoid the Big Inning: Yesterday, with the Mets up 3-1, the Astros had a man on 2nd with 2 outs with Hunter Pence at the plate. Now, the free swinging Pence can be thrown balls out of the strike zone and he will swing at them, much like Jeff Francoeur. Instead, Ollie Perez threw a first pich fastball down the middle and Pence jumped on it to tie the game at 3. Instead of scoring one, the ‘Stros scored three. If Pelfrey can keep innings like that from snowballing tonight, we should be in good shape.
• Welcome Back, Castillo: With the John Maine being placed on the DL this afternoon, Luis Castillo will make his return to the lineup tonight, batting 2nd and playing second base. Castillo has not played in close to six weeks.

For a lineup, head to the Journal News.

For a chat, head to the Hot Foot Bleachers.

The Mets were defeated by the Astros by a score of 6-4 this afternoon at Shea Stadium. LaTroy Hawkins got the win for the ‘Stros and Pedro Feliciano took the loss for the Mets. Jose Valverde closed it for his 33rd save of the year. The Mets and Phillies are now tied in the loss column in the NL East.

Starter Oliver Perez went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs, most notably a two run shot off the bat of Hunter Pence. Aaron Heilman relieved Perez in the 7th, and pulled a usual Heilman move. He went a third of an inning, allowing two hits, one inherited run to score, and got his only out on a play at the plate when Fernando Tatis threw out Geoff  Blum.

Carlos Beltran did some yardwork today, hitting two homers from the right side of the plate off noted Met killer Randy Wolf. They were only Beltran’s third and fourth homers from the right side of the dish this year.

Joe Smith Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala combined on 2.1 innings of scoreless ball.

In the 10th, Feliciano allowed homers to the unusual suspects, Brad Ausmus and Darin Erstad to put the game out of reach.

On a day where the Astros were basically handing us the game by sitting their big slugger Lance Berkman, the Mets flopped and were not able to get the job done against the weaker part of the Astros lineup.

The last 15 Mets were retired in order. This is the second time the Astros pitching staff has retired more than 15 Mets in a row, the first spanned between the 1st and 2nd games, when Roy Oswalt and Brandon Backe retired 34 straight Mets.

The Mets look for the split tomorrow with Mike Pelfrey opposing Brian Moehler.

The Mets look to take control of their series against the Astros in game three of the four game set. Oliver Perez will oppose Randy Wolf. Gametime is slated for 1:10 EST and can be seen on the CW11 and can be heard on WFAN.

Keys to the Game:

• Breakthrough Against Wolf: Wolf has owned the Mets throughout his career. He has beaten us twice already with two different teams this year (Astros and Padres) and has a 11-5 record career against the Mets. Wolf allowed six earned in his last start, so it’s not like he’s throwing particularly well. Although, look at Brandon Backe. Enough said.
• !Es Tatis Time!: After a few days on the bench after the return of Ryan Church, Tatis will make his first start in three days to spell Church against the lefty. Tatis was huge was this team, so it’s nice to see Jerry Manuel looking for spots to get his guys playing time.

For a lineup, check out John Delcos’ blog for The Journal News.

As always, to chat during the game, head to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

The Mets and Astros play game two of their four game set tonight at Shea Stadium. John Maine will make hie third start off the DL for the Mets, and Brandon Backe will look for his eighth win for the Astros. Gametime is slated for 7:10 EST and the game can be seen on SNY.

Keys to the Game:

• Hold Down Berkman: Astros 1B Lance Berkman has been a stabilizing force in the Astros for all of this year. With Carlos Lee now down for the year, Berkman is the one bat in the Astro lineup that you can’t let beat you.
• Need A Solid Six From Maine: In his first two starts off the DL, Maine has gone five innings in each game. In game one, Brian Stokes was successful in relieving Maine, throwing four shutout innings. The second time, not so much. Stokes allowed a game tieing homer to Adam LaRoche, and it was the only game the Mets have lost in their last 11. If Maine can give us a good six, than we can go to Smith/Feliciano in the 7th, Sanchez in the 8th, and Ayala in the 9th.

For a lineup, head to Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.

For in-game chat, banter, and discussion, head on over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

Over at his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin is reporting that Luis Castillo has volunteered to wait a few days to come off the DL, leaving Argenis Reyes and Nick Evans on the team.

By “a few days” i hope he means a week, so Reyes and Evans can stay on until rosters expand….

Four in a row! The Mets defeated the Astros in the duel of the year, by a score of 3-0. Johan Santana got the win, going another seven scoreless innings, while throwing 121 pitches. Roy Oswalt, who retired the last 20 batters to face him, took the tough luck loss.

Santana was not as sharp as he was in Pittsburgh, but he was just as effective. His pitch count rose early, but he was able to battle and give Jerry Manuel the seven great innings he needed.

In the 1st, the Mets generated a Reyes run. Jose Reyes singled, then went to 2nd on a wild pitch. Argenis Reyes bunted him over, and David Wright drove him in with a bloop single.

In the 2nd, after Ryan Church hit a dribbler down the line for an infield single, Brian Schneider drove an Oswalt pitch over the right field fence for his 5th homer to put the Mets up 3-0. The Mets did not have another baserunner the entire game.

Newly acquired Luis Ayala got the save, striking out two in a perfect ninth.

Keep these wins coming.

As of right now, the Phillies are up 8-1 over the Dodgers.

The Mets look for another win tomorrow with John Maine on the mound. He will face the 7-12 Brandon Backe.

2B Luis Castillo is at Shea Stadium, and according to SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt he will be activated, and in the starting lineup tomorrow. Either Argenis Reyes or Brian Stokes is rumored to be on the way down.

I’d demote Stokes for a week, then bring him up for September callups.

The Mets and Astros begin a four game set tonight at Shea, starting at 7:10 EST. Johan Santana will look for his 12th win, fresh off his complete game shutout of the Pirates. Roy Oswalt will go for the Astros. Oswalt went eight strong in his last outing, allowing only one hit. The game can be seen on SNY and can be heard on WFAN.

Keys to the Game:

• Runs At A Premium: With both team’s aces on the mound tonight, runs will be at a premium and one or two runs could win the game. The Mets had three hits with two outs yesterday, driving in three runs. If they are able to cash in on those big spots tonight, they should be in good shape.
• Jump On Oswalt Early: For much of the year, Oswalt had been having trouble with his hip, and was having the worst season of his career statistically. Well, looks like taking time off to rest the hip has worked. Oswalt was in complete control his last game, and many of his teammates called it the “best game they have seen him pitch”. The Mets cannot allow Oswalt to settle into a groove, as it will be lights out if they do.

Lineup:

• SS Jose Reyes
• 2B Argenis Reyes
• 3B David Wright
• CF Carlos Beltran
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• LF Daniel Murphy
• RF Ryan Church
• C Brian Schneider
• P Johan Santana

As always, to chat during the game head to the Hot Foot Bleachers.

At his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin is reporting that Ryan Church has been activated from the disabled list, and will be playing right field tonight against the Astros. Robinson Cancel has been sent down to make room for Churchie.

Welcome back, Church. His bat will be a welcome addition back to the lineup.

Anyone have a broom? The Mets swept away the Braves by a score of 5-4 this evening on a Carlos Delgado walkoff single. Luis Ayala picked up the win, and Vlad Nunez took the loss for the Braves With the Phillies loss, the Mets are now 2.5 games ahead in the NL East.

Starter Pedro Martinez went 7+ innings, allowing four runs, three of which were in the 6th inning. Martinez was in cruise control throughout the night, but hit a bump when Brian McCann doubled home two to tie the game at three. He also allowed a leadoff homer to SS Yunel Escobar in the 1st.

The Mets offense got started early, as Delgado had a pair of RBI singles in the 1st and 3rd innings, off Mike Hampton. David Wright later added a solo shot, his 25th.

With the Braves ahead 4-3, who else but Delgado hit a groundball that was stopped by 1st basemen Martin Prado, but than he made an errant throw to pitcher Will Ohman, allowing Nick Evans to cross the plate to tie the game at four.

Ayala continues to impress, throwing 1.1 innings of relief.

With the game tied at four in the bottom of the 9th, Delgado hit a liner to LF Omar Infante. Infante looked to have a beat on it, but looked like he lost the ball in the lights, and his knees buckled and he fell backwards. Wright scored the winning run. Delgado finished 5-5, with four rbi.

Keep on chuggin’

The Mets open a four game weekend set versus the Astros tomorrow. Roy Oswalt will face Johan Santana.

The Mets defeated the Braves by a score of 6-3 this evening at Shea Stadium. Mike Pelfrey got his 12th win of the year, and Jair Jurrjens took the loss for the Braves.

Pelfrey was great once again. He threw a complete game three hitter, allowing three runs. The  inning the Braves scored two of their runs, Pelfrey did not let a ball out of the infield. Yeah, you read that right.

The Mets got to the young Jurrjens early, as they tagged him for five runs on four hits. Daniel Murphy had a two rbi single, and Fernando Tatis had an RBI single. Evan Big Pelf added a run scoring single. Of course, two Brave errors added fuel to the fire.

David Wright added a solo homer, his 24th.

Another solid game, and another stellar pitching preformance by Big Pelf. He’s becoming one of our horses, let’s just hope he doesn’t tire.

The Mets look for the sweep tomorrow. Mike Hampton will face Pedro Martinez.

The Mets and Braves play game two of their three game set tonight starting at 7:10 EST. Mike Pelfrey will oppose Jair Jurrjens. The game can be seen on SNY and can be heard on WFAN.

Keys to the Game:

• Timely Hitting is Crucial: With the Mets facing a tough pitcher tonight in Jurrjens, timely hitting will be huge. The Mets will need to get the guys in from 3rd with less than two outs, and have to avoid the strikeout.
• The Big Pelf: Pelfrey has not lost to anyone but the Marlins since May 26th, but the Braves have roughed him up a bit in the two starts he made against the team this year. Pelfrey surrendered five runs in 5.1 innings April 25th, and allowed six runs in four innings on May 21st. Pelfrey will need to get the fastball in on the Braves right handed hitters to limit the damage the lefties in the lineup can do.

For a lineup, head to Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.

As always, to chat during the game head to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

The NYPost is reporting that the Mets have signed former Tampa Bay Ray reliever Al Reyes to a minor league contract. Reyes was 2-2 with a 4.37 ERA this year while pitching for Tampa.

Reyes has good stuff, and could serve as a nice setup man for whoever closes for this team in the absence of Billy Wagner.