DODGERS 1; METS 12

Over the past years, the NY Mets has proven their worth as an outstanding team. However, it had been almost a year since a New York Mets starter pitched more than eight innings. John Maine ended that drought and his teammates made it easy for him with their second-best offensive output of the season.

Furthermore, John Maine took a shutout into the ninth and the Mets routed the LA Dodgers and Brad Penny, 12-1 on Wednesday. "Offense, offense, offense - it makes a world of difference," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "Johnny obviously set the tone with a nice job of pitching. He almost got a complete game. Maine (4-2) helped his cause with a two-run single off Penny, and was two outs from his third shutout and complete game in the majors when Matt Kemp hit an RBI single on the right-hander's 117th and final pitch. A day before his 27th birthday, Maine allowed four hits in 8 1-3 innings and won his third straight start - all following Mets' losses. "I felt good from the first pitch to the last pitch. It was the sixth straight outing in which Maine allowed fewer than three runs. I think we have 115 appearances in 32 games. That's tough. And for him to step up and pitch a big game like that with a day off tomorrow, it'll speak volumes down the road."

In addition to this, Brad Penny (5-3) was charged with a career-high 10 runs over 4 2-3 innings in his 236th career start and gave up 10 hits for the third time in his eight starts this season. Penny's previous worst outing was on June 29, 2003, with the Florida Marlins, when the two-time All-Star right-hander surrendered nine runs and four homers in an 11-7 loss at Boston. So if you get him early, you're going to be all right," said right fielder Ryan Church, who singled twice against Penny and homered off reliever Scott Proctor.

On the other hand, Luis Castillo, David Wright and Raul Casanova also drove in two runs apiece, helping the Mets avoid getting swept in the three-game series. The Dodgers had won 10 of 11. “We hit some fastballs early in the count and we just battled. That's what you have to do to beat good pitching and win a championship.” Penny has always had problems against the Mets in New York. The Mets blew it open with a six-run fifth that equaled a season high. Maine singled with the bases loaded to make it 7-0, and Penny departed after walking Jose Reyes. Proctor walked Castillo, forcing in another run, and Wright - in a 1-for-20 funk - hit a two-run double. Castillo scored on Proctor's wild pitch. Pagan stayed on the hard cement for a few anxious moments but returned to his position, rubbing his left shoulder and flashing a huge grin as the crowd of 40,696 applauded his effort.

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