Carlos Beltran can’t do it alone. It takes a team effort, or at least another Carlos involved, to make this Mets’ offense purr.
Beltran did his part last night with three more RBIs in his torrid August, but how many rallies can Carlos Delgado kill? And why is Guillermo Mota still pitching for the Mets?
These questions were at the forefront of a 7-5 loss to the Padres that ended the Mets’ winning streak at four games.
Delgado left six runners stranded before Mota allowed three runs in the seventh inning, leaving the Mets with an uphill battle against the Padres’ bullpen – though the Mets made it interesting by scoring three runs against Kevin Cameron and Trevor Hoffman in the ninth. Maybe it was only fitting Delgado, the potential tying run, made the final out, throwing his bat at a Hoffman pitch for strike three.
“Not a good night,” Delgado said. “I didn’t have good at-bats today.”
Squandered was an opportunity for the Mets to widen their NL East lead on the Phillies and Braves, both of whom lost. The Mets lead Philadelphia by five games and Atlanta by six.
The Mets stole five bases, including three by Jose Reyes to give him a new single-season franchise record with 67, but the big hit never arrived against Jake Peavy (14-5). The right-hander went six innings and allowed two earned runs on two hits with 11 strikeouts and five walks.
“You’re talking about one of the best pitchers in the game,” David Wright said. “And he’s not one of the best because he gets everybody out. He’s one of the best because he knows how to work out of jams.”
Brian Lawrence (1-1) allowed four earned runs on seven hits over five innings for the Mets, his second straight clunker after two straight solid starts earlier in the month. Lawrence walked four and had the leadoff runner aboard in three of the five innings he pitched, not a recipe for success.
Nevertheless, the Mets still were in striking distance until Mota, who had retired the first five hitters he faced, began imploding in the seventh. With two outs, the Padres got three singles and a walk against the right-hander, who has been scored upon in five straight appearances. Willie Randolph evidently has run out of excuses for the struggling Mota, whose ERA ballooned to 6.28.
“He’s going to have to find a way to get it done, that’s the bottom line,” Randolph said.
After 41/3 hitless innings, the Mets finally got something against Peavy, pulling within 4-2 on Beltran’s two-run double to deep center. But Delgado popped out, leaving at least one runner in scoring position for his third straight at-bat. Delgado’s batting average dropped to .249 with an 0-for-5 effort.
After Reyes had singled with one out in the fifth, Wright walked and a double steal followed. The stolen base was Reyes’ 67th, breaking the single-season record established by Roger Cedeno in 1999. Beltran followed with the double to center. Later, he added another RBI, with a single against Hoffman in the ninth. That gave Beltran 21 RBIs since returning from the disabled list Aug. 10.
The Mets wasted a chance in the third inning, leaving the bases loaded, as Beltran struck out and Delgado flied out. Reyes had reached first base on a wild pitch on strike three and stolen second and third before Luis Castillo and Wright walked in succession.
“[Peavy] is always tough, but we let him off the hook a couple of times,” Randolph said. “That was just weird game. We had couple of chances to get on the board, and that would have set the tone a little bit.”
mpuma@nypost.com
Padres 7 Mets 5