MLB

BELTRAN ‘EMBARRASSED’ AS PIRATES SWEEP METS

PITTSBURGH — What Carlos Beltran saw from the Mets here this week made the center fielder sicker than any stomach illness.

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A visibly angry Beltran — usually one of the quietest of Mets — let loose on his teammates yesterday after an 11-6 loss to the lowly Pirates at PNC Park completed a three-game Pittsburgh sweep.

Beltran, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and a double after missing 3½ games and spending two days in his Pittsburgh hotel room with a stomach ailment, said he was “embarrassed” by the rain-shortened series.

Even after a deluge of injuries that could soon claim shortstop Jose Reyes, who has a torn right hamstring, and reliever J.J. Putz, who may need surgery on his right elbow, Beltran was bewildered that the 28-24 Mets could by swept by Pittsburgh after last week’s 5-1 homestand.

“After we lose the first game, which I thought we were going to win, it really changed the tempo of how we were playing the game,” Beltran said. “Basically, the opposing team gained confidence and they came back and basically outran us.

“We have to find a way to play better, there’s no doubt. Overall. I’m not pointing fingers at anybody. Offense, defense, pitching — we have to find a way to play better. The reality of this is, coming here to Pittsburgh and being swept — personally, I feel embarrassed.

“I don’t think it’s fun. We have to find a way to play better and to focus better and focus more on what we need to accomplish.”

The specific source of Beltran’s ire was the fact the three losses came to the pitiful Pirates, who are working on their major league record 17th consecutive losing season.

“I know they’re a big league ballclub, but we’re better than them,” he said. “We’re better than them. We know we’re better than them, but we have to do something about it.”

And the Pirates had traded their best player — All-Star center fielder Nate McLouth — to the Braves for three prospects on Wednesday.

“McLouth wasn’t there and they still come out and score how many runs? Eleven? Eleven runs,” Beltran said, waving his hands. “So we have to play better.”

Pitching was the culprit this time as the usually reliable Mike Pelfrey turned in his shortest start since April 25, 2007. The big right-hander was shelled for nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits, four walks and a hit batter in just 3 2/3 innings.

A red-faced Pelfrey, who had allowed just seven earned runs in 27 2/3 innings over his previous four starts, called it “the absolute worst outing of my career.”

Pelfrey put the Mets in a 4-0 hole in the first inning, then exited after giving up another four runs in the fourth. The Pirates sent nine batters to the plate in each of those big innings and, even more embarrassingly for the Mets, got a four-hit day from career journeyman Ramon Vazquez out of the No. 8 spot.

“When we pitch in that way, then obviously you’re not going to get good results,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “This series, it seems like we’ve been here a month. We had some setbacks physically, but today I thought the issue was more pitching than anything else.”

That awful pitching negated an otherwise encouraging day at the plate by the Mets, who got two hits apiece from David Wright, rookie outfielder Fernando Martinez and Beltran.

“We need to put this series behind us and really move forward,” Wright said. “It’s funny how this game works. We were playing such good baseball coming into the series, then fell kind of flat here in Pittsburgh. There’s nothing we can do about this. You move forward.”

Beltran wasn’t so quick to dismiss this shameful episode.

“We have to take this personal, because this can’t happen,” he sputtered. “It can’t happen for us to come here and lose three games just like that. It can’t happen.”

bhubbuch@nypost.com