Yes, it really was just two weeks ago when Jerry Manuel threatened to blow up his starting rotation.
Look how far the Mets have come in the meantime.
Manuel’s club is standing alone in first place in the NL East and is the proud owner of a seven-game winning streak after yesterday afternoon’s 8-4 throttling of the woeful Pirates, and basically the same starting staff has been the driving force.
With Oliver Perez now mercifully out of the equation, the Mets’ rotation isn’t just The Johan Santana Show anymore. That was obvious once again as the Amazin’s turned in their seventh consecutive quality start of at least six innings and fewer than three runs.
The Mets couldn’t seem to buy a quality start from anyone other than Santana in April, but Livan Hernandez delivered one for the second time in less than a week as Manuel’s 17-13 team completed its third consecutive sweep overall and first three-game sweep of the Pirates since 2001.
Combine the terrific starting pitching with an offense that couldn’t be much hotter and a bullpen that remains in lockdown mode, and it’s easy to see why smiles are abounding in the Mets’ clubhouse these days.
“We knew we had to do something to help Santana, because he has been amazing for the team, and we knew we had to be better,” Hernandez said of himself and fellow starters Mike Pelfrey and John Maine. “We struggled early, but now we are starting to pitch very good.”
Hernandez (3-1) continued to boost the Mets’ confidence in him, holding the Pirates to two runs despite giving up seven hits and four walks in six innings.
With the way the Mets are clobbering the ball this month, a two-run deficit is nothing.
That was the case again as they pounded out double-digit hits for the fourth game in a row and, even more encouragingly, produced runs late against Pittsburgh’s awful bullpen.
Adding on runs has been the Mets’ Achilles’ heel since last season, but it hasn’t been a problem since the month began with a series in Philadelphia.
The stars on offense were again plentiful. Jose Reyes continued his recent rejuvenation act with two more hits, Carlos Beltran added a two-run double and catcher Omir Santos remained a revelation by driving in two runs and throwing out a baserunner.
It was Reyes’ third consecutive multi-hit game, and the shortstop hit .538 (7-for-13) in the Pittsburgh series after slumping much of the latter half of April and in early May.
“Patience is definitely the key for Jose,” Manuel said. “He has remained patient throughout the at-bat and let his ability and talent take over for him.”
The constant throughout the Mets’ winning streak has been the starting pitching, which appears to have adjusted to cavernous Citi Field and found its groove in the new park.
Hernandez has never been afraid to pitch to contact, but Maine, Pelfrey and Perez’s replacement, Jonathon Niese, are starting to get the hang of that, too, at least at home.
“What they are doing for the most part is throwing strikes, and if you throw strikes in this park and play pretty good defense, then you’ve got a chance to win games,” Manuel said.
That excellent starting pitching, in turn, seems to be energizing the entire team. The starters have gone 6-0 with a 2.44 ERA during the winning streak. Sole possession of first place in the division has gone from a pipe dream just a couple of weeks ago to reality.
“We feel pretty confident that, if we put up a couple of crooked numbers, we’re going to win the game,” David Wright said.
bhubbuch@nypost.com
