Mets 11

Marlins 3

It was a reassuring night for nearly everyone wearing a Met uniform. A reeling Pedro Astacio jumped back on the winning track, and he had plenty of offensive support.

Mike Piazza, despite suffering from tendinitis in his left wrist, homered on his 34th birthday. Bobby Valentine had one big move to make, and it came up golden when John Valentin laced a two-run pinch-hit single to center after Valentine removed Astacio in the bottom of the sixth.

Edgardo Alfonzo and Jeromy Burnitz hit their 13th homers of the season back-to-back in the seventh.

Although the crowds at Shea Stadium continue to dwindle as fans refuse to watch meaningless baseball, the Mets won their second straight home game to put a dismal streak farther behind them, posting an 11-3 victory over Florida in front of an announced crowd of 28,473 last night.

Astacio (12-8) was a rare bright spot about five starts ago. Now he’s cause for moderate concern among members of the Met Fan Club, and the subject of countless health questions from reporters’ mouths to Valentine’s ears.

Astacio was cruising along this season as the Mets’ best starter. He owned an 11-4 record as late as Aug. 6. Then the season went down the drain for the Mets, and Astacio was drowning along with everyone else.

In his four starts prior to last night, Astacio was tagged for four straight losses. In 19″ innings, he allowed 34 hits and 27 runs (25 earned). His ERA ballooned from 2.95 to 3.95.

The Mets (63-74) gave him a 3-0 lead after the first by tagging Florida starter Julian Tavarez (10-11) early. Piazza homered for the second time in two games with one out, driving in Roberto Alomar.

Astacio gave it back in the second when Mike Lowell pulled a 90-mile-per-hour fastball for a three-run homer. Astacio then tossed four scoreless innings, retiring the final seven hitters in order.

Prior to the quality start, Valentine said Astacio’s health was perfect.

“I have no question,” Valentine said. “His side work, his bullpen sessions, his games have been consistent throughout the year. I don’t think it has anything to do with his health.”

One psychological factor could be that Astacio was approaching the number of innings he needed for his 2003 contract guarantee to kick in. At 180 innings, Astacio is assured a $6 million salary for next year. He could’ve earned up to $11 million had he reached about 230 innings.

“If he’s thinking about innings at all, he’s thinking about not getting them,” Valentine said. “That would be most advantageous to him.”

Told that probably wasn’t true, since Astacio’s struggles might have made potential free agent suitors wary, Valentine tried to take the comment back.

But he was asked whether an impending incentive has ever psychologically affected one of his players.

“This is one of the few that’s out there publicly,” Valentine said. “I make it a practice of not knowing about those things.

“Sometimes afterwards I find out and I think maybe it has been.”

Piazza, who is seeing a hand and wrist specialist today, again proved he can hit as long as the wrist is properly taped. He hit his 26th of the season. Burnitz had one of his best nights as a Met, driving in two runs and getting two hits.

The only negative of the night was the fact Alomar left the game in the sixth with inflammation of his left knee. He is listed as day-to-day.