Reyes' four hits help the Mets to fourth win in five games

PHOENIX (AP) -- Jose Reyes took New York Mets manager Willie Randolph's pregame instructions to heart.

"He told me every time you go up to the plate tonight try to hit a fastball," Reyes said.

Reyes had four hits and was thrown out at the plate in the eighth inning while trying to complete the cycle with an inside-the-park homer, leading the Mets over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 Friday night.

Reyes had two triples -- the fourth time in his career he's accomplished the feat -- and scored three times. He motored around the bases after hitting a long drive off the center-field wall in the eighth but was easily cut down at home.

"When I hit the ball I didn't think about home plate but when I saw the ball I put my head down and ran," Reyes said. "They made a perfect throw to home plate."

Ryan Church and David Wright homered for the Mets, who have won four of five. Church drove in three runs.

"We all feed off each other," Randolph said. "Everybody feeds off Jose."

John Maine (3-2) scattered six hits over six innings, allowing two runs with two walks and six strikeouts for his fourth win in five starts.

"I wanted to establish I was going throw a fastball for a strike," Maine said. "They started getting on it so I started throwing some different pitches."

The Mets pushed across three in the first and one in the second against Micah Owings (4-1).

Reyes hit the game's first pitch to the right-center field wall for a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Church. Wright singled and Carlos Beltran walked before Moises Alou, just activated off the disabled list, hit what could have been a double-play grounder to second. But the ball slipped just under Orlando Hudson's glove for an RBI single.

"Micah hit it, it hit my glove and it just didn't want to be caught," Hudson said. "It was one of those balls who just happened to skip everybody's glove and go into the outfield. But Moises has been missing a lot of gloves for a long time."

Carlos Delgado followed with a sharp single to right, scoring Beltran to make it 3-0.

Reyes doubled with two outs in the second and scored on Church's looping single to right.

"That's how you're supposed to play baseball," Reyes said. "People tell me, when you're on base something good is going to happen for this team. So I try to get on base."

Miguel Montero doubled in Justin Upton in the bottom half and Chris Young added an RBI single to cut it to 4-2.

Church hit a two-out line drive into the right-field stands in the fourth and Wright went deep for a two-run shot with two outs in the sixth.

"We battled back but Wright's home run took the wind back out of our sails," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said.

Owings allowed seven runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings for his first loss since September 3, a span of nine starts. Owings walked three and struck out two.

Game notes
Alou had been on the DL since March 23 following hernia surgery. He went 1-for-3 with a walk. "The first game's out of the way so now I can play like I've been here a while," Alou said. ... To make room for Alou, the Mets optioned C Gustavo Molina to Triple-A New Orleans. ... Hudson left the game with a mild strain of his right hamstring after doubling in the fifth inning. He will not start Saturday but could return to the lineup as early as Sunday. ... Owings, who had a pinch-hit homer on Wednesday, walked twice against Maine -- the second time after a 12-pitch at-bat. ... Arizona had outscored opponents 28-15 in the first inning entering the game. ... Randolph spoke with Billy Wagner and told him to keep critical comments in-house, two days after the closer ripped pitcher Oliver Perez following a blowout loss to Pittsburgh. Wagner had little to say Friday. "It's all been taken care of," he said.