Carlos Delgado's Career Day Leads Mets In Game One…

Samantha Newman, of www.mlb.com, writes about Carlos Delgado’s career day leading the Mets to a 15-6 win in game one of yesterday’s doubleheader.

Prior to the final Subway Series match-up at Yankee Stadium on Friday afternoon, Mets manager Jerry Manuel talked about his team's reliance on defense in recent games.

After the Mets lit up the Yankees for 15 runs in the first game of the split-stadium doubleheader, no one was talking about their defense.

In fact, the team committed three errors in a shaky defensive outing.

It didn't matter.

Carlos Delgado led the charge with a club-record and career-high nine RBIs, as the Mets (39-39) put on an offensive performance that erased any early mistakes on their way to a 15-6 rout of the Yankees. The win completed the Mets' first road season sweep of the Bombers (42-37), and signaled the first time the Mets have won three straight games at Yankee Stadium.

Delgado broke a tied game in the fifth inning with a two-run double, then broke things open in the sixth when he blasted a grand slam over the right-center-field wall. He followed it up with a three-run home run to right field in his next at-bat.

The veteran's 3-for-5 performance came after a 0-for-10 streak at the plate during the Mets' recent home stand.

"To have that freedom to swing that way he did for us today was a beautiful thing to see," Manuel said. "Here we are trying run and do all these things, and we've got that kind of power sitting there ready to explode, and he just put us on his back today."

After Delgado had a home run called back at Yankee Stadium on May 18, the slugger left no room for question about his two homers Friday, sending both clear over the walls.

The veteran has battled through an inconsistent season during the first 78 games, batting .235. But Delgado said he never gave up and takes his performance upon himself.

"It seems like I haven't caught a break this year," the slugger said. "But I don't complain. I figure that things are going to happen when you make them happen. You make adjustments, you go out there with the right approach, you swing at strikes and you kind of control your own fate."

The victory came more than a month after the Mets' first two wins at Yankee Stadium, making up for a rainout on May 16, but the impressive run support is something Delgado said the Mets always strive for against their crosstown rival.

"You want to come in, especially with guys in scoring position -- you want to come up with a big hit," Delgado said. "You understand how big the Yankees and the Mets series are, and you want to contribute."

(Phenomenal performance by Delgado, who received a deserved standing ovation from the Shea crowd, before his first at-bat in game two of last night’s doubleheader)