On the Mets beat

BY DAVID LENNON

SAN DIEGO – A handful of Mets trickled onto the empty field more than four hours before last night’s game at PETCO Park. From a baseball perspective, these particular players represented a group of lost souls looking for direction.

The slumping trio of Carlos Beltran, Paul Lo Duca and Jose Valentin were among the headliners that chose to skip lunch in La Jolla or some other seaside retreat yesterday for some extra swings. By night’s end, the Mets were thankful for their efforts, as all three had RBIs to back a masterful performance by Orlando Hernandez in a 7-0 win over the Padres.

Beltran had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and both Lo Duca and Valentin had RBI singles. Lastings Milledge added a sacrifice fly and Carlos Delgado iced it with a two-run single in the ninth. As for El Duque, simply shutting down the Padres was not enough.

Hernandez (6-4) allowed two hits – both doubles by Adrian Gonzalez – over seven scoreless innings and struck out four to outduel Padres starter Jake Peavy. But he also sparked the Mets’ fifth-inning rally with a leadoff single and stolen base, his second in as many starts.

“He was competing tonight,” Lo Duca said. “He had a look in his eye like he was going to buckle down.”

Hernandez became the first Mets pitcher with two stolen bases in a season since Tom Seaver in 1967 and later came around to score on Valentin’s one-out single. El Duque simply was determined to do whatever was needed for the win.

“Not only the stolen base,” Hernandez said through an interpreter. “Even at the plate. Anything you can do to help the team win a ballgame, you’ve got to do it.”

Said manager Willie Randolph: “He’s just a competitor, man. I love his energy and his fight. He forces you to play the game. He just loves to compete. If you don’t pay attention to him, it’s almost insulting to him.”

The last time the Mets scored as many as six runs was July 5 in a 6-2 win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park and it was no coincidence they drew eight walks in the process. After watching his team come up empty on Monday, Randolph was thrilled with last night’s approach.

“Some guys don’t think it’s glamorous to walk,” Randolph said. “I think it’s glamorous. I think it’s sexy.”

For new hitting coach Howard Johnson, it had to be satisfying to see results immediately after that day’s extra session, even with a tough stretch still ahead with Greg Maddux tonight and four games against the pitching-rich Dodgers.

“No, it doesn’t help,” Johnson said of the tough schedule. “But these guys are up for the challenge. We’ve got to get back to the point where we believe in ourselves as an offense again.”

Peavy, coming off his second All-Star appearance, had his first start after the break pushed back until last night because of a sore right biceps muscle. He also was winless since June 12, a stretch of three starts, but probably looked at the struggling Mets like a hungry dog eyes a piece of filet mignon.

Early on, however, there were signs that the Mets might not be such a pushover. In the first inning, Beltran got lucky when his hard grounder ricocheted off first base for a freakish two-out double. But the Mets failed to score when Brian Giles made a spectacular backhanded catch to rob David Wright of extra bases. Giles ran into the asymmetrical crevice in rightfield and disappeared from view as he grabbed the ball before crashing into the wall.

The Mets didn’t stay frustrated for long. In the fourth inning, Beltran drew a leadoff walk, and after Wright whiffed, Peavy wound up walking Delgado, too. Next up was Shawn Green, a lifetime .304 hitter (14-for-46) against Peavy, but he flied out.

That left it up to Lo Duca, who was 4-for-21 against Peavy, and he ripped a 97-mph fastball up the middle for an RBI single. It was Lo Duca’s second RBI in as many games after a six-game drought dating to July 1.

“[Monday] night when I got that two-out RBI it felt like it was 2005,” Lo Duca said. “We did a good job against one of the best pitchers in the game.”

On Monday, Jorge Sosa tied to jump-start the Mets’ offense with a double and walk of his own. Hernandez didn’t want to be a spectator either. He opened the fifth with a single to centerfield and then stunned the Padres by stealing second. It was El Duque’s second stolen base in two starts and it paid off when Valentin followed with an RBI single.

Valentin’s line drive to center was hit hard, but third-base coach Sandy Alomar didn’t hesitate to wave around Hernandez, who chugged home and scored without a slide. Valentin took second on a wild pitch and Beltran slapped a grounder that skipped over third base for a run-scoring double.

The Mets stranded Beltran when Wright struck out for the second time and Delgado bounced to first base, but their persistent attack took its toll on Peavy. Instead of getting themselves out early in the count, as they have too often this season, the Mets forced Peavy to throw 104 pitches through six innings and he was replaced by reliever Kevin Cameron for the seventh.

For one night, it seemed, the Mets’ decision to take early batting practice worked like a charm. Was the solution to their offensive woes really that simple?
“Hitting is like running,” Beltran said. “One day you run one mile, the next day two miles. You get stamina. Over a long season like this, you get tired, but if you hit every day, it helps.”