Bay, Beltran hit grand slams as Mets roll

DETROIT -- Even for the Mets, perennial Oscar winners in the Theater of the Bizarre, what happened Tuesday night at Comerica Park was astonishing to watch unfold.

The Mets' inability to hit a grand slam had become a running joke with the team, and lately, the simple act of getting a ball over the fence appeared beyond their ability.

So when they loaded the bases for Jason Bay in the fourth inning, no one in the Mets' dugout could have been thinking grand slam. Not seriously. No way.

But that's exactly what happened, and in the span of two innings, lightning actually struck twice.

After nearly two years, and 299 games -- the longest drought in the majors -- Bay ended that streak by hooking a fastball off Daniel Schlereth inside the leftfield foul pole. Then, five batters later, Carlos Beltran smacked another slam off Schlereth to cap a historic 14-3 victory before a dazed crowd of 28,480.

"In this game, there are things that take a while to happen," Beltran said. "There's no explanation for it."

Angel Pagan had the last Mets grand slam, on Aug. 1, 2009, and Tuesday night marked only the second time the Mets have hit two in one game. Beltran and Cliff Floyd both did it (in one inning) on July 16, 2006, against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

"It wasn't something we were conscious of," Bay said. "I knew it had been a pretty long time. But to get two in one game is pretty unforeseen."

With all of that grand-slam hysteria, it's easy to overlook the fact that the Mets edged above .500 (40-39) for the first time since April 6, when they were 3-2. After beating on the Tigers, the Mets have 36 runs in three games for the first time since 2005. The beneficiary of all the run support was R.A. Dickey (4-7), who allowed three runs and 10 hits in seven innings.

"I guess the no-hitter is next," Dickey said, referring to the fact that the Mets don't have one in their 49-year history. "I'll sign up for it -- tell me where."

Three days after setting season highs with 17 hits and 14 runs in Texas, the Mets had 18 hits and 14 runs against the Tigers, another AL division leader. Also lost in the shuffle: Jose Reyes went 4-for-4 with three runs before he was pulled after a leadoff walk in the seventh. Reyes is 8-for-9 with two triples in his last two games and is the first Met with back-to-back four hit games since he did it in Toronto in 2006.

In the fourth inning, Bay stepped to the plate with the bases loaded as the unlikeliest of heroes in that situation. Bay was batting .308 (16-for-52) in his previous 13 games, but he has suffered from a baffling lack of power. In his two previous at-bats, Bay had a pair of groundouts to the left side of the infield, but he got the count to 2-and-1 before drilling a 92-mph fastball.

It was the third grand slam of Bay's career and his first since May 18, 2006, as a member of the Pirates.

"I'm thrilled for him," Terry Collins said. "I'm telling you, nobody cares more about being successful and to help the team than Jason Bay does. That was a huge swing for him, I thought. The biggest swing of the game."

The Mets quickly loaded the bases again in the fifth on a walk to Justin Turner, a double by Reyes and Schlereth nailing Harris with a pitch. As Beltran strolled to the plate, it was almost too much to comprehend.

Could . . . he . . . possibly?

Yep. This time, Beltran crushed the second pitch for grand slam No. 9 for Beltran and his first since Aug. 29, 2008, as the Mets made it 13-0.

"I love RBIs, so that's good," Beltran said. "I was telling Jason Bay after his grand slam -- that's four steaks. You like that? Sometimes you get lost mentally, sometimes you get lost physically. I'm just happy to see a guy like him help in the lineup."