Entering Sunday afternoon’s game, Carlos Delgado had just 3 hits in his last 9 games. However, the slumping New York Met hit 2 home runs against the Atlantas Braves en route to a 6-3 Mets victory, giving the Mets the series victory over Atlanta. Despite hitting the 2 home runs, Delgado didn’t emerge from the dugout following the 2nd shot for a curtain call.

“The way I look at is I hit a solo home run in the seventh inning,” Delgado said. “I’ve got a great deal of respect for the game. I don’t think that’s a place for a curtain call.”

The Mets scored early and frequently on Sunday; Jose Reyes scored for the Mets’ first run on a wild pitch int he first inning. In the 2nd inning, veteran catcher Raul Casanova hit a deep home run to right field, scoring him and Delgado.

“When our offense gets going, it cures a lot of things that go on around the team,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said. “When we’re consistent in getting hits and scoring runs, it’s able to take some pressure off our bullpen.”

Future hall of famer John Smoltz got the start for the Braves; he’d last just 4 inning, throwing 83 pitches, allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits. Though there’s still a possibility that Smoltz just had a bad outing, he could have been pitching injured. There had been speculation prior to the game that Smoltz had been pitching with a stiff upper back.

“I don’t have an answer now,” Smoltz said after the game. “But I think within a couple of days, I should know what we are looking at.”