Jose Reyes steals 2nd in 9th inning during Mets 5-4 comeback win over Cubs.

Photo via Yahoo! Sports.

When Carlos Delgado took ball four with the bases loaded to push the game-winning run across the plate, he became the instant hero of the evening. Delgado put together a great at-bat, fouling off multiple pitches to stay alive, until Cubs reliever Michael Wuertz finally missed the strike-zone. But the real hero of the night was the game-breaker himself, Mr. Jose Reyes.

Wuertz had just induced two quick outs in the bottom of the 9th and the game seemed destined for extra innings. Mr. Prolific then stepped up and smacked a single up the middle that almost took off Wuertz's foot. With Reyes at 1st base, Chicago's battery of Henry Blanco and Wuertz, Cub's manager Sweet Lou Pinella, the Mets, us fans in the stands; indeed, anyone watching the game knew that Jose would be off and running, it was just a matter of when. The cat and mouse game began. Wuertz threw over to 1st twice, then threw home for ball 1. Another throw to 1st, then home again, this time it was a pitchout. No matter. Reyes simply made everyone else look as if they were moving in a slower gear. Blanco caught the pitchout 5 feet in front of and to the left home plate; in fact his foot wound up on the grass in front of the plate after he threw to 2nd. No matter. The throw sailed over the 2nd baseman's head and there stood Reyes at 2nd base, with his 23rd steal of the young season.

Michael Weurtz, clearly rattled, walked Endy Chavez on 4 pitches. Carlos Beltran was due up next. Again, Weurtz quickly fell behind 3-0 when Pinella gave the signal to finish off the walk intentionally. Reyes had clearly gotten into Weurtz's head. Whether or not Carlos Delgado took umbrage to having Beltran unintentionally intentionally (3 balls and a white flag) walked in front of him is unclear, but Delgado very quickly put together his best AB of the season, eventually earning the 10-pitch walk to win the game for the Mets. Without the sparkplug of the Mets getting the two-out rally going, that game was going into exta innings.

A few notes. The Mets defense was lost in the first two innings. I like Damion Easley's bat off the bench, but there is a major difference between Easley and Jose Valentin at 2nd base. Not only is Valentin head and shoulders above Easley defensively, but he keeps Reyes sharp at short throughout the game. He can't get off the DL fast enough for me. Having both Easley and Chavez in the starting line-up weakens the bench considerably. I'd like to see Carlos Gomez get a few starts in left while Moises Alou is healing.

David Wright has not only broken out of his slump, he's en fuego. D. Wright has gone 12-for-28 with 2 homers, 4 two-baggers and 6 ribbies in the last 7 games, including a 3-4, 2-run homer, 2 singles, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored last night. Great to see you back in form David, it wasn't the same without you. If Carlos Delgado's last AB of the night can spur him onto a hot streak, watch out NL East. Jose Reyes has been consistently great and Beltran, although cooled off from his hot start, is looking good at the dish. The pitching staff has been absolutely superb and their statistics in comparison to the rest of the league undoubtably bear that out.

Tonight's match-up features April pitcher of the month John Maine against Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano. Should be a good one...