The Mets hit two home runs, but it wasn’t enough to top the Diamondbacks as they lost 3-2. Livan Hernandez had his best outing in a while but allowed two solo home runs. He pitched six innings and was pulled for a pinch hitter with bases loaded. Angel Berroa grounded out to quash the potential rally.

David Wright and Daniel Murphy provided all the offense as they both hit solo home runs. Their shots were two of only four hits the Mets had all night. The Mets had one last gasp thanks to a dropped ball by Mark Reynolds in the bottom of the ninth, but Angel Pagan grounded out into a double play. He went 0-5.

The game was tied up 2-2 in the eighth as Sean Green came into the game after Pedro Feliciano allowed a leadoff walk. Green then proceeded to hit the next batter and walked another, loading the bases. He then induced a double play. Against the next batter, he threw the ball into the dirt that got away from Omir Santos and allowed a run to score.

It was a poor way to start their second straight four-game series against a sub-.500 team. Oliver Perez will take the mound Saturday night.

Jerry Manuel said in his post-game interview that although Gary Sheffield is scheduled to come off the disabled list, he might not play until Sunday. This comes on the heels of the news that Jose Reyes suffered a setback in his rehab. He was scheduled to run the bases yesterday but did not. Some days he feels good and some days he doesn’t, general manager Omar Minaya said. Today, he didn’t feel good.

Billy Wagner, on the other hand, pitched a scoreless inning against Minor Leaguers in Port St. Lucie. He struck out two and induced a ground ball. His fast ball clocked in around 94 mph.

Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Fernando Tatis LF
Daniel Murphy 1B
Omir Santos C
Alex Cora SS
Livan Hernandez (7-5, 4.87 ERA) P

Checking the weather radar, it looks like the game will get played tonight, but it might be delayed. The clouds are supposed to move past Queens by 8 p.m. at the latest.

The Mets and the Diamondbacks are two of the teams who did not make any last-minute deals by today’s trade deadline, so there shouldn’t be any new surprises on the field.

Hernandez has won his last five starts against the D-backs and hopes to continue the trend of beating them and of the Mets winning games. If the Mets can take three of four from them, they’ll be just one game under .500.

The trade deadline has passed, and the Mets had not made any moves as of this posting. It was rumored that the Mets were interested in Adam Laroche from Pittsburgh, but he ultimately ended up going back to the Braves for Casey Kotchman.

I, for one, don’t think the Mets needed to make any trades today. They’re finally getting some good news coming out of Port St. Lucie with injured players. Billy Wagner is supposed to pitch in a rehab game tomorrow, Jose Reyes is slated to run the bases today and Gary Sheffield should return to the lineup after his disabled list assignment ends Saturday. Carlos Beltran has said he thinks he’s about two weeks away from returning.

There’s also been some good news for John Maine. He won’t need season- and possible career-ending surgery after all. He was diagnosed as having a dead arm from trying to come back too quickly from off-season surgery.

If the Mets can get these guys back, they might not need to make any trades, aside from some minor waiver deals.

The Journal News sports columnist Sam Borden writes about how the Yankees and the Mets should let the trade deadline pass.

The Journal News sports reporter Mike Dougherty reports that fans aren’t surprised by the news of the new doping revelations.

The non-waiver trade deadline is quickly approaching at 4 p.m. That’s not to say that some deals won’t be announced after then. Mets general manager Omar Minaya has said that he doesn’t think any deals will be made before then. He also said he’s turned down some offers that they weren’t willing to take.

Do you think the Mets should make a trade or stand pat? Who is the player you’d most like to get through a trade and whom are you willing to give up? Chat away.

The Mets succumbed to the curse of the double header and couldn’t finish the sweep of the Rockies. Jonathon Niese started off well, pitching five solid innings before allowing a run in the sixth. The Mets held the Rockies to 27 2/3 scoreless innings.

It really fell apart in the seventh as Niese weakened visibly, allowing a two-run home run to Clint Barmes. He then allowed a double. With one out in the inning, Brian Stokes came into the game and gave up an uncharacteristic triple to Troy Tulowitzki for the fourth run. That would be all the Rockies would need as the Mets offense wasn’t as potent as it had been the rest of the series.

The Mets had a chance to take the lead in the first inning after Angel Pagan started off with a leadoff double. Pagan then stole third. Luis Castillo walked, but David Wright struck out. With Jeff Francoeur at the plate, Pagan was caught trying to steal home.

They scored their first run in the fourth inning after Wright hit a double, stole third and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Francoeur. They would not score another run until Fernando Tatis’s solo shot in the seventh inning. It was his second home run of the series, including the grand slam. Tatis also made an amazing catch in the top of the seventh to save a run for Niese.

So, the Mets lost the game, but they won the series. They are now six games out of the Wild Card race. After facing two red-hot teams in a row, they’ll now take on the rather cool Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. Hopefully, they’ll be able to make up more ground in the next two series. Livan Hernandez pitches Friday night.

Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Fernando Tatis LF
Daniel Murphy 1B
Angel Berroa SS
Omir Santos C
Jonathon Niese (1-0, 4.08 ERA) P

Niese goes for his second straight win after his last excellent outing against the Astros in which he pitched seven innings of one-run ball. He hopes to build on Johan Santana’s shut-out performance this afternoon against the Rockies.

Castillo is back at second after being out of the first game to be with his wife while she presumably gave birth to their new addition. Murphy has been moved out of the cleanup spot, probably because the Mets are facing lefty Jorge De La Rosa. Francoeur moves into the cleanup spot. Tatis starts his first game since last Friday.

In a previous post, this blog posed the question of which news would come first: the Omar Minaya apology or the news on John Maine’s condition. Well, the answer is in and it’s the general manager’s apology to The Daily News reporter Adam Rubin.

Minaya made the apology yesterday not only to Rubin but also to the team’s ownership and fans. He said it was out of character for him and it came about because of the tough task of firing his friend Tony Bernazard. He said he was also sorry about making the statements in such a public forum.

Now that he’s made his apology, perhaps Mets management, players, fans, Rubin and Minaya himself can move on. I’m already tired of this story. Let’s focus on the resurgent Mets and their bid for the Wild Card. The only off-the-field distrations should be whom the Mets acquire and when injured players are coming back. Who’s with me?

Angel Pagan CF
Alex Cora 2B
David Wright 3B
Daniel Murphy 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Omir Santos C
Angel Berroa SS
Johan Santana (11-8, 3.12 ERA) P

Top 1: Santana looks pretty good in the first. He retired the side in order. Robinson Cancel has been brought up from Triple-A to be a backup catcher to Santos. Brian Schneider is not on the disabled list, but he is hurt. To make room for Cancel, Elmer Dessens has been designated for assignment. Cancel performed pretty well the last time he was called up.

Bottom 1: Pagan grounds out. Cora singles. Cora is in for Luis Castillo who went to be with his wife as she gives birth to their new baby. Congratulations to the Castillos on their soon-to-be new arrival. Cora thrown out at second. Wright flies out. He hit it well but not hard enough.

Top 2: Santana strikes out two and again retires the side in order. He’s looking really sharp right now. It’s time for the offense to kick it in gear.

More after the jump.

Johan Santana will now pitch the first game in the day-night double header today. The game starts at 12:10 p.m. Jonathon Niese will take the mound at 7:10 p.m.

The Mets and their fans are hoping the day off yesterday won’t wreck the momentum of their current four-game winning streak. With the Phillies losing yesterday, the Mets could up make some ground both in the division and in the Wild Card race. The odds aren’t good that the Mets will sweep the series now that it’s ending in a double header. Even a split would allow the Mets to win their second straight series in a row.

Stay tuned for an inning-by-inning account of the afternoon tilt.

In the first good news on the injury front in months, Carlos Beltran stated Wednesday that he thinks he might be able to return in two to 2 1/2 weeks. He said his right knee has done well during rehab training but that he won’t be 100 percent healthy if he does return. He followed that by saying he doesn’t need to be pain free to come back to the team.

Read the rest of the story on Mets.com.

Personally, I won’t believe it until I see it. I’m not going to get my hopes up just to be let down.

The Mets will play a day-night double header Thursday to finish up their series against the Rockies, with the night game starting at 7:10 p.m. People who had tickets to tonight’s game will be able to use them for tomorrow night’s game.

The day game is an early start at 12:10 p.m.

Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Daniel Murphy 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Omir Santos C
Alex Cora SS
Johan Santana (11-8, 3.12 ERA) P

The Weather Channel is calling for thunderstorms and strong storms throughout the night in Flushing, so we’ll see if they can get the game in. The radar map is looking equally ominous. I just hope it’s not one of those games where Santana starts and then gets pulled in the second inning because of a rain delay.

If they think that might happen, how about trying this novel idea? Start a long man like Tim Redding or Elmer Dessens and then after the rain delay, put in Santana. That way, Santana’s start isn’t blown. Of course, that won’t help if the game is delayed again.

If they can get the game in, Santana will vie for his National League-tying 12th win. The lineup is virtually the same as last night’s with the exception of Santos doing the catching. I like the consistency I’m seeing in the lineup. Pagan and Castillo are making a good leadoff tandem and even Murphy is contributing in the cleanup spot. This kind of consistency has been lacking this season and right now it’s working. Jerry Manuel finally seems to have found the correct order.

So what if the Indians traded left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco to the Phillies for pitching prospects Jason Knapp and Carlos Carrasco, as well as shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson?

Those trades won’t affect how the Mets have to play in the here and now. They don’t even face the Phillies again for a month. What’s important for the Mets right now is to keep winning. They shouldn’t be focused on winning the division. They need to focus on winning the Wild Card, and they’re closer to accomplishing that goal. The Mets are now 5 1/5 games behind the leader, the Rockies. With Johan Santana on the mound tonight, they could pull within 4 1/2.

Forget the Phillies. Let them trade until the cows come home. The Mets are 10 1/2 games out of first place, and the Phils can’t seem to stop winning anyway. The Marlins and Braves, two of the six teams ahead of them in the Wild Card race, are within reach, however. The Mets need to continue pitching well, play good defense and keep the hitting hot. That’s the formula for success and run into the post-season. And if the Phillies have a meltdown in the meantime, all the better.

How long will it be before Omar Minaya makes his public apology to The Daily News’s Adam Rubin?

How long will it be before we know the status of John Maine?

Which news will break first?

Stay tuned.