El Duque Keeps Rolling In Win

Anthony Di Como at Mets.com, writes about the Mets 4-2 win over the Giants last night:

Orlando Hernandez did his best to ease the pains of a banged-up outfield -- and his best turned out to be plenty good.

It didn't seem that way early on Thursday, when El Duque's struggles with the top of San Francisco's lineup brought lingering worries over his still-tender right shoulder to a boil. But it took just three batters for the right-hander to transform, morphing the game and the series along with it.

And by the time El Duque was done, he had turned in his second straight stellar performance since returning from the disabled list, pitching seven innings of two-hit ball to lead the Mets over the Giants, 4-2, at Shea Stadium.

"He was good again," said catcher Paul Lo Duca. "The first couple of batters, I think, he let up a little bit, and then he bore down after that and he was just dominant."

Chavez, in particular, made his presence felt with two hits, his role increasing in importance after Beltran was replaced in the lineup behind him by the light-hitting Carlos Gomez. Chavez created his own brand of chaos with his RBI hit, beating out a bunt single in the second to plate the fourth run.

"That's a big part of his game," said manager Willie Randolph. "He can beat you in many ways. That's another smart play, taking advantage of his skills."

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