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Beltran, Church Power Mets To Victory

By RACHEL COHEN The Associated Press

Published: May 12, 2008

NEW YORK - Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning to support Oliver Perez and lead the New York Mets to an 8-3 victory Sunday against the bumbling Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds batted out of order in the ninth after an earlier double switch, with backup catcher David Ross coming to the plate in the No. 8 spot instead of Corey Patterson. Ross flied out to right. Once Mets manager Willie Randolph informed the umpires of the mistake, the out was charged to Patterson after a prolonged discussion by the umpires, and Ross batted again. This time, he singled.

Reflecting their inconsistent offense, the Mets hadn't hit back-to-back home runs this season before Saturday. They've done it twice in two days.

Perez (3-3) got his first win since April 19, though the left-hander still had trouble with his command at times.

Reds shortstop Jeff Keppinger had a hit in seven straight at-bats before striking out in the eighth. He went 5-for-5 in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader before adding a single and triple Sunday.

The Mets have had at least 11 hits in four of their last five games.

The Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. remained stalled at 597 home runs in his bid to become the sixth player with 600. He went 0-for-2 with two walks.