Carlos Delgado hit a three-run homer and Maine handcuffed the Braves over seven innings Friday night, and the NL East-leading Mets snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-1 victory at Atlanta.
The Mets, who had lost four straight to division rival Philadelphia, remained two games ahead in the East after the Phillies beat Florida 9-2. The Braves are 5 1/2 games back in third.
The only run Maine (14-8) gave up came in the sixth, when he loaded the bases and Pete Orr scored on a wild pitch. Maine went on to strike out eight and walk three, and won for only the second time in his last six starts.
Mets manager Willie Randolph said Maine showed new maturity with his ability to pitch through the sixth-inning jam.
"He's getting better and better in crucial situations," Randolph said.
Added New York's David Wright: "He was lights-out today."
In other NL games, it was Colorado 7, Arizona 3 in 10 innings; San Diego 6, Los Angeles 4; Houston 6, Chicago 1; Milwaukee 3, Pittsburgh 2; St. Louis 8, Cincinnati 5; and San Francisco 3, Washington 2.
Jose Reyes also homered for the Mets, who had losing months in June and July but finished 15-13 in August. They also won for only the third time in seven games in Atlanta this season.
"There's no panic," Wright said. "Everybody is calm in here. ... People say this is a must-win game and all that. We're the ones in the driver's seat. We have to remember that."
Braves pitcher Tim Hudson certainly does.
"Every game against everybody is huge for us," he said. "We've got to start playing better. We've got to start playing with a little more passion."
Maine's strong outing came after Martinez threw well in a bullpen session before the game. Martinez had surgery Oct. 5 to repair a torn rotator cuff and hasn't pitched in the major leagues in almost a year, but he may start Monday in Cincinnati.
Hudson (15-7) was 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his first two starts against New York this season, but surrendered six hits and four runs in six innings. He had allowed only five homers in his first 28 starts before giving up the homers to Delgado and Reyes.
Hudson recorded two outs before finding trouble in the fourth when Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou reached on singles. Delgado crushed a pitch over the middle of the plate for a homer to center, his 20th of the season, to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.
"The cutter to Delgado stayed pretty straight," Hudson said.
Delgado's response when told of Hudson's comment: "Why does every time I hit a home run it have to be a cutter that doesn't cut?"
Hudson again had two outs in the fifth before Reyes lined a homer about 15 rows deep in the right-field seats. The Mets went on to score three more runs in the ninth.
