Reyes glad to be home at top of order

MIAMI - How happy was Jose Reyes to return to the leadoff spot for last night's game against the Marlins? You be the judge. "I feel like I'm going home to see my family," Reyes said, smiling.

It was apparent to everyone around the Mets that Reyes was never comfortable hitting third in the lineup, but no one really suspected just how much until his reaction to the switch back. Manager Jerry Manuel, anxious to generate some offense, told Reyes of his plans after Friday's 7-2 loss to the Marlins, and he's optimistic that this might shake him out of his funk.

"I think that when someone is struggling, then as a manager you try to find something that will give him some hope," Manuel said before last night's game. "Does it make a world of difference? It could. But it's still baseball. And if he is elated, that's a good thing. But we also won eight straight games when he was in that spot. If we have a chance to make him feel like, 'Yeah, I'm ready. I'm fine,' if it does that, then maybe it accomplished what it needed to accomplish."

Manuel dropped Reyes from leadoff to third on April 23, ending a streak of 591 starts atop the order, and during his 20-game stay at No. 3, he batted .207 (17-for-82) with four doubles, a triple and six RBIs. In his last eight games, Reyes was 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

"If you see my numbers, they're not too good," Reyes said. "This will help me out. That's what I was doing all my life in the big leagues."

As a result, Manuel also dropped Angel Pagan to the third spot, his first appearance there since 2006 with the Cubs.

Blanco's back

Catcher Henry Blanco returned from bereavement leave after helping his mother through an illness at home in Venezuela. He hopes to avoid missing any more games by having her go through tests either in Miami or New York this week. "You just got to do everything you can for your mom," Blanco said.

To accommodate Blanco's return, the Mets optioned Josh Thole back to Triple-A Buffalo.

Extra bases

Ryota Igarashi allowed four hits and two runs in two-thirds of an inning last night for Class A St. Lucie in his first rehab appearance. Igarashi, who is at least a week away, threw 17 pitches . . . Carlos Beltran visited his teammates Saturday but declined to talk to the media because he didn't "want to be a distraction," according to a team spokesman. Manuel said Beltran plans to do more baseball activities later this week . . . With Rod Barajas and Luis Castillo likely to get today's series finale off, Manuel said he also could rest a corner outfielder and give Chris Carter his first start.