After roster shakeup, Santana and K-Rod shut down Phils; Francoeur homers for only run

PHILADELPHIA - A day that started with a roster shakeup ended with a 1-0 Mets victory over the Phillies last night at Citizens Bank Park.

Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez combined on a five-hitter and Jeff Francoeur homered in the seventh for the game's only run.

Francoeur learned earlier in the day that he has been demoted to platoon rightfielder because Fernando Martinez was called up, part of a flurry of moves made with one eye on the present and another on 2011.

The Mets promoted Martinez and Ruben Tejada, released Alex Cora and sent Jesus Feliciano to Triple-A Buffalo.

Tejada was in the lineup and will be the second baseman for the foreseeable future. Luis Castillo, due $6 million in 2011, moves to the bench.

The lefthanded-hitting Martinez did not start against the lefthanded Cole Hamels, but manager Jerry Manuel said the 21-year-old will platoon with Francoeur in rightfield. Martinez is a low-cost option for the Mets' 2011 outfield if he can stay healthy and prove he can hit major-league pitching, two things he has not done to date.

Francoeur's Mets career likely will conclude after this season, barring a trade.

"We just thought we need to change it up some," general manager Omar Minaya said. "These are not main pieces. We felt that Fernando was hitting the ball well down there. With Tejada, we just needed to bring the young guy up. The way we've been playing, we thought we needed to change it up."

At least they still have Santana (9-6). He did not give up a hit until Placido Polanco grounded a clean single up the middle with two outs in the sixth. On the previous pitch, Santana struck out Raul Ibañez for what should have been the third out of the inning, but the ball skipped past catcher Henry Blanco for a wild pitch and Ibañez easily reached first.

Rodriguez entered with two on and one out in the eighth. After a liner to Ike Davis and a walk, he retired pinch hitter Ross Gload on a full-count grounder to Tejada. The 20-year-old's low throw was picked out of the dirt by Davis, averting disaster.

Francoeur's homer, his 11th of the season, came leading off the seventh against Hamels (7-8), who struck out 11 in seven innings.

Martinez was batting .255 for Triple-A Buffalo (.324 in his last 10 games). He hit .176 in 29 games with the Mets last season before having season-ending knee surgery July 15. The Mets have always thought of Martinez as a major talent since signing him as a 16-year-old. He might get the rest of the season to show it.

"He's not going to be here to sit on the bench," Minaya said. "Jerry will use his discretion as far as when he's going to use him. He's going to play."

Tejada hit .212 in two stints with the Mets earlier this season and .280 for Buffalo. The Mets love his defense and believe he added a spark when he played regularly.

Castillo said he "was surprised, because I was starting to hit better . But I don't have any control over this, so they'll do what they want to do. I've got to be ready every day to play."