MET NOTES

SAN DIEGO – Both of the Mets’ ailing outfielders were back last night, as Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran returned to the lineup against the Padres.

Floyd had missed two-plus games with a left rib cage strain, while Beltran had missed four-plus games with a bad right hamstring.

“Good enough to play,” Floyd said before the game, admitting he is not 100 percent.

Beltran initially wasn’t as much of a certainty to return, but was in Willie Randolph’s starting lineup.

“If he feels like he’s ready to go, I’m going to put him in there,” Willie Randolph said in pregame.

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Kaz Matsui, who has been on the DL with a right knee MCL sprain, was set to make his 2006 debut last night with Anderson Hernandez on the DL with a bulging disc.

Matsui, who said there were “no problems” with his knee, was hitting eighth in the lineup. But being back is another chance for him to prove he can be a regular player.

“I feel this is an opportunity, but obviously we want to [help the team] first,” he said. “I’m just going to do whatever I can to help us get the W.”

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Mike Pelfrey, the Mets’ No. 1 draft pick from last year and the team’s top pitching prospect, delivered his third straight strong outing in Single-A St. Lucie on Wednesday. The 22-year-old Pelfrey went five innings against Daytona, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks while taking the loss. He struck out five.

For the year, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings.

St. Lucie manager Gary Carter said he believed Pelfrey “topped out at 96 [Wednesday] night.” He said Pelfrey’s pitch count is “on no more than 75 right now. That could escalate to 85, but his pitch count was around that [Wednesday].”