Mets win without Jose Reyes

The Mets beat the Florida Marlins 6-5 in the finale of the three-game series in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The win leaves the Mets just 1.5 games behind first place Atlanta. But the bigger story could end up being Jose Reyes, who was scratched from the lineup with what the team initially described as a stiff lower back.

That diagnosis changed somewhat after the Mets' 6-5 victory, when Reyes said that his back was fine, and the problem was more in the right oblique area, which is often a red flag.

"I wanted to play, but you have to be careful with this," Reyes said. When asked if he would be available for Thursday's series opener in Washington, which was only 18 hours later, Reyes was unsure.

The Mets have an important stretch coming up with a four-game series in Washington beginning tonight (the Mets face phenom Stephen Strasburg on Saturday afternoon), then a three-game series with NL Central-leading Cincinnati and then a huge three-game series against the Braves next weekend.

Meanwhile, Johan Santana, tonight's starter against Washington in the series opener, says he thinks he's solved his tipping problem. Santana believes he was tipping his changeup to Minnesota last Saturday. So he's been working on his delivery. Expect to see a different Santana tonight.