METS 7

PADRES 3

The total was zero major-league starts for Orlando Hernandez in 2003, shoulder surgery taking him out for the year on May 12.

El Duque, though, says he is at his apex more than three years later.

Yesterday in the Mets’ 7-3 triumph over the Padres at Shea, Hernandez went seven innings and earned the win again for the Mets.

His last month and a half continues to be exceptional.

Hernandez has won four straight decisions, and since June 30, he has gone 4-1 with a 3.30 ERA in seven starts.

“I have maybe a little more confidence in me, in my arm,” Hernandez said in talking about his better outings lately. “I think that after the surgery I think right now this is the best moment for me.” Yesterday’s moment resulted in three runs and only four hits in seven frames, as Hernandez walked one and struck out four.

The 36-year-old right-hander is continuing to showcase his credentials as a strong starter.

“When he gets into a rhythm, when he’s using his breaking ball and throwing that backdoor slider, he’s tough, and the more and more he goes out there, the more comfortable he’s starting to get,” manager Willie Randolph said.

“So he’s rounding into shape really nicely, and we need him to be strong for us to pick up the back end of our rotation.” The Mets, meanwhile, swept San Diego, breaking a 3-3 tie with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The win gave them a 14game lead in the NL East, tying their previous season high.

David Wright (two hits, two walks, two steals) drove in the goahead run with an RBI double, while Jose Valentin added a tworun single in the inning and Michael Tucker – debuting as a Met – provided an RBI double.

As for Hernandez, he gave up a two-run homer to Adrian Gonzalez in the first inning, then tossed five shutout frames while allowing only one baserunner – a Dave Roberts single in the third.

In the seventh with the Mets up 3-2, Hernandez surrendered doubles to Brian Giles and Josh Bard to make it 3-3. In the bottom of the seventh, though, the Mets put runners on first and second after singles by Jose Reyes (two hits, two RBIs) and Endy Chavez (two hits, two steals). With Carlos Beltran out of the lineup yesterday, Wright was hitting third.

“I want to be up there in that situation,” he said of the seventhinning spot.

The Mets were only 2-for-12 with runners on base at this point, but Wright lined a Doug Brocail pitch down the leftfield line for an RBI double.

After Carlos Delgado was intentionally walked, Valentin went the opposite way and grounded the ball down the left-field line for a two-run single.

Reliever Alan Embree then entered, and Tucker hit an oppositefield RBI double to left-center to push the lead to 7-3.

In the second inning down 2-0, Reyes tied the game with a two-run triple to center and scored on Chavez’s sacrifice fly to put the Mets up a run. El Duque couldn’t hold the lead in the seventh but he was strong – and victorious – again.

Additional reporting by Andrew Marchand