MLB

No Beltran, no problem — Mets sweep Reds

CINCINNATI — Who knew Carlos Beltran was actually killing the Mets lineup all this time?

In much the same spirit in which the Mets rallied when David Wright and Ike Davis hit the disabled list earlier this year, they might have something special going minus Beltran, whose trade to the Giants became official yesterday.

Though Chris Capuano imploded for a third straight start, the Mets had enough runs in the bank beforehand and held on for a 10-9 victory that gave them a four-game sweep of the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

BOX SCORE

The Mets finished the series with three straight games in which they scored at least eight runs. That doesn’t compare to the stretch they had last month when they scored 52 runs over four games, but it’s significant considering they scored 18 runs in two games without Beltran.

“[People] had questions and we did, too,” said Jason Bay, who finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs. “There was a little aspect of how we were going to respond without [Beltran]. We kind of joked there’s a new Carlos Beltran, his name is Daniel Murphy.”

The sizzling Murphy had a first-inning single and finished the series 10-for-17 (.588). Wright and Angel Pagan joined Bay as members of yesterday’s three-hit club.

The Mets (54-51) won their major league best 32nd road game this season — matching their 2010 total. They have won seven of their last 10 road series.

“We’re drained,” manager Terry Collins said, noting the brutal heat — the temperature at first pitch was 91 degrees — and the hoopla surrounding the Beltran trade. “These guys are playing strictly on game adrenaline. They are wiped out physically and they are wiped out mentally.

“These last two games speak volumes, the way this team has played.”

The nail chomping wasn’t complete until Jason Isringhausen got the final out for career save No. 297. Jay Bruce’s RBI double against Pedro Beato in the seventh had pulled the Reds within 9-8, erasing almost all of a six-run lead the Mets held going into the sixth.

The Mets received insurance in the ninth, when Pagan scored on a wild pitch by reliever Logan Ondrusek. That run proved big when Joey Votto homered off Isringhausen leading off the ninth.

Miguel Cairo’s three-run homer in the sixth against Manny Acosta — the runs were charged to Capuano — was the Reds’ biggest hit in their comeback.

Capuano (9-10) allowed six earned runs on eight hits with three walks and four strikeouts. The left-hander has allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last three starts and continued a trend in which he struggles in the middle innings.

The Mets seized control with a four-run fifth inning that extended their lead to 9-3. Bay’s three-run double during a stretch in which six consecutive Mets reached base was the biggest hit.

“We just — I don’t want to say defy the odds — but keep playing baseball,” Bay said.

Lucas Duda’s three-run double an inning earlier gave the Mets a 4-2 lead. After Murphy drew a leadoff walk and Wright and Pagan singled in succession, Duda smashed a Homer Bailey pitch down the right field line to clear the bases.

Duda, the new right fielder, finished 2-for-4 a day after hitting a solo home run that helped the Mets skate to an 8-2 victory.

“We don’t feel like we lost anybody, the last couple of days,” Jose Reyes said, referring to Beltran. “Hopefully we continue to play like that.”

mpuma@nypost.com