The Mets finished their six game homestand 5-1 and 19-9 in the Month of May after a bad April start. It’s the last day of May and the Mets won their first rubber game of the year. John Maine pitched well, which is great to see. Maine will be an X-factor as this season progresses. He’s that in between pitcher, if he gets hot then the Mets can sustain some winning streaks, with him pitching behind Johan and Pelfrey in the rotation.

Maine had to be pulled with the same stomach virus that has spread through the team. I really hope we can look back later in the season and laugh about the irony of how all these injuries have occurred at once. Angel Pagan also got hurt and is day to day with a groin injury. Hopefully he’s not hurt too bad, he always seems to get injured at an inopportune time. Pagan was starting in center today for the stomach virus ridden Beltran.

The Mets now head to Pittsburgh for four games and then D.C. for three. Livan will start the road trip tomorrow. A great opportunity to take advantage of the schedule. The Phillies remain a half game ahead of the Mets, but 10 of their 28 wins on the year have come against the Nationals, who are horrible.

Notes: Shout out to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog for posting our Q&A session on his blog. Frankie Rodriguez is now 14-14 in save opportunities. Let’s hope his first one doesn’t come against the Phils or Yanks. Omir Santos continues to be the man with another clutch RBI today.

Photo: AP