POSTGAME: Mets 7, Marlins 1

The New York Mets (9-10) beat the Florida Marlins (11-8) tonight at Citi Field, thanks to some early power from unlikely candidate Omir Santos. John Maine (1-2, 5.40) picked up his first win of 2009, pitching six solid innings of one-hit ball while surrendering no earned runs.

Mets Pitching
John Maine (W, 1-2): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Sean Green: 1.0 IP, 0 H
J.J. Putz: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER
Francisco Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K

Marlins Pitching
Anibal Sanchez (L, 1-3): 6.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Dan Meyer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 K
Runyel Pinto: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER

Notables
Gary Sheffield: 1 for 4, RBI, R
David Wright: 2 for 4, 3B, RBI, R
Ryan Church: 1 for 3, RBI
Omir Santos: 1 for 4, GS, 4 RBI

The Good:

• John Maine looked like John Maine tonight. He continues to own the Marlins.
• David Wright had a couple of solid at-bats. He missed putting one into the Apple cave (for lack of a better name) by about ten feet.
• Omir Santos continues to prove he should be the Mets primary backup behind Brian Schneider. Heck, he may even deserve to split time with Brian.
• Bullpen was stellar, again, combining with Maine to allow just two hits and no earned runs.

The Bad:

• Luis Castillo left the game with muscle spasms. Let's hope he is ok (never thought I'd say that).

The Ugly:

• Gary Sheffield joins the circus in the outfield as he dropped a routine fly ball in the first inning, an error that would cost the Mets their only run allowed tonight.

Mets Players of the Game: John Maine (2), Omir Santos (2)

This was the best game to watch this year, hands down. Omir Santos' first inning grand slam may be one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, one that will have Mets fans in his corner for days to come. The best part about that inning? It was all with two outs.

Despite being unconventional, I actually liked this lineup. Switch Tatis with Delgado and the Mets could drive in quite a few runs even without Murphy in the game. Murphy, by the way, collected another pinch hit tonight with a triple in the sixth inning.

The storyline tonight, however, was John Maine and his stellar performance. Despite being let down by his defense in the first inning, Maine recovered well and did not allow a single hit after the fourth batter of the game. He was in control tonight, using his fastball exclusively early on the set up his breaking stuff. When Maine challenges hitters, he usually sets himself up for success later in the game.

This is exactly what John needed, a great boost of confidence. Now, if Pelfrey follows suite the Mets could finally get rolling.

Good win tonight, boys. Let's get another tomorrow.