Pagan's walk-off HR in 10th lifts Mets

It was a perfect pitch.

A fastball. Right down the middle. And right in Angel Pagan's wheelhouse.

The Mets centerfielder crushed the first pitch he saw from the Cardinals' Fernando Salas over the rightfield wall and off the Pepsi Porch to lift the Mets to a 6-5, 10-inning walk-off win Wednesday night at Citi Field.

It was the third such win for the Mets this season, but the first walk-off for Pagan.

"It was right down Broadway, like they say," he said, flashing a broad smile.

The Mets, who are back over .500 at 49-48, have a chance to sweep the Cardinals this afternoon behind lefthander Jonathon Niese.

Jason Isringhausen (2-0) tossed two scoreless innings to get the victory. Starter R.A. Dickey (eight hits, four runs in 61/3 innings) got a no-decision as the Mets rallied from a 4-0 deficit.

The Cardinals (50-47) took a 5-4 lead in the eighth on Gerald Laird's two-out bunt single that scored Matt Holliday. But the Mets tied it in the bottom half on an RBI single by Josh Thole.

Pagan reached on a throwing error by shortstop Daniel Descalso to start the inning and advanced to third on back-to-back groundouts by Willie Harris and Lucas Duda.

With Thole stepping to the plate, St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa signaled for righthander Jason Motte but Thole wasted no time driving in his second run with a sharp single to left.

The Mets, however, failed to take the lead as pinch hitter Scott Hairston lined out softly to second baseman Nick Punto to end the inning.

Isringhausen showed his velocity in the ninth when he struck out Albert Pujols on a high 91-mph fastball to end the inning.

But the Mets failed to put it away in the bottom of the ninth when Carlos Beltran grounded into a double play to send the game to extra innings. Beltran did have a big hit earlier, a two-run homer in the fifth.

But Pagan's big blast helped shift the focus -- albeit temporarily -- from Beltran and the ongoing speculation about his future in Flushing.

"I've been struggling at the plate and I never lose my confidence," Pagan said. "I was just trying to get my pitch to hit and just drive it to the outfield. I was not looking for a homer, I was just trying to get in scoring position for the team.

"My wife and kids were watching so I'm pretty sure it's a big moment, not only for me, but for my family."

Citi Field and its expansive dimensions can be an unfriendly place for hitters. But Pagan left little doubt that the ball would clear the outfield wall -- and then some.

"That's all I got. So if I didn't hit it out, man. I don't know what to do then," he joked.

If Beltran is bothered by the swirling rumors, he didn't show it. Instead he crushed his 15th home run of the season -- the two-run shot that tied the score at 4.

"I feel great, man," he said. "I feel good at the plate, I feel like I'm seeing the ball good and making good contact . . . and every hitter looks forward to that. I guess I'm just having a good time right now."

Asked if he has considered that Thursday could be his last home game at Citi Field, he said: "I'm not really thinking that far ahead. Like I said, I'm approaching every day the same. Coming to the ballpark and prepare myself and try to help the team any way I can.

"If it is, then it is. It's not there yet so I can't assume anything right now. I haven't heard anything from nobody so right now I'm not concentrating on that. I hear it, rumors, and people talking about it. About the situation that I am in. but at the same time right now, I haven't talked to nobody. So I'm just trying to concentrate on the game.

" . . . I'm playing baseball. I'm not thinking about where I'm going to be tomorrow, what's going to happen this day, what's going to happen tonight. You can't live like that."