El Duque's Return Nears

Anthony Di Como at Mets.com, writes about Orlando Hernandez and how he's close to returning:

Randolph said that simulated games should be the extent of El Duque's rehab, with no Minor League assignment in the works. And though there's no telling how many of those simulated outings he'll need -- the staff first wanted to see the effects on his arm a day later -- general manager Omar Minaya hinted that it's feasible El Duque's next outing could be with the parent club.

"It's a possibility that his next start could be a game for us," Minaya said. "We haven't determined which way we want to go on that yet."

El Duque Leads Mets Way Past Fish In Win

Charlie Nobles at Mets.com, writes about the Mets 11-3 win over the Marlins:

BOX SCORE

The Mets overwhelmed Florida in two straight games. They scored 20 runs and had 33 hits, and Thursday night's 16-hit, 11-3 rout before 18,115 at Dolphin Stadium served as an exclamation point as they head home to play the Braves in a three-game series.

"We expected to be a good offensive ballclub," left fielder Moises Alou said. "But we had a great series. We're not going to get that many runs on a road trip all the time.

"Center fielder Carlos Beltran, hitting in the No. 2 spot because of catcher Paul Lo Duca's absence with a sore right index finger, led the way with a 4-for-6 game that included a home run and two RBIs. Beltran had a chance for the cycle in his last at-bat, but settled for a double. He said he never even thought about going for a triple.

"With the score of the game, I don't think it would have been good if I had tried to go to third and was thrown out," Beltran said. "That would have looked like I was trying to show them up -- not a good thing."

Mets Keep Cards Down

Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez kept the trend of beating the Cardinals in tact. After the ring ceromony was over the Mets proceeded to hand the Cardinals a 4-1 loss.

Quick Hits:

Reyes - 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SB; 2 R
El Duque - 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 RBI
Green - 0-4 with 2 SO; 5 LOB

To get a closer look at the game and the box score use the link in the header.