With consecutive subpar outings under his belt, John Maine simply did what any good starting pitcher would do.

He hit a home run.

Maine went seven strong innings and added the first homer of his career and Lastings Milledge also went deep and drove in three runs as the Mets rolled over the visiting Pirates, 8-4, on Tuesday night at Shea Stadium.

Jose Reyes, Ruben Gotay and Paul Lo Duca had two hits apiece for New York, which improved to 9-2 in their last 11 home contests while winning for the fourth time in five games, overall.

Jason Bay supplied most of the offense for the slumping Pirates, belting two homers and driving in three runs.

Bucs starter Ian Snell (7-8) was saddled with his third straight loss after allowing six runs on 10 hits while fanning five over four innings. The right-hander held the Mets to a pair of runs through the first three frames, but was unable to escape trouble in the fourth.

With the game tied, 2-2, Lo Duca (2-for-4, 2B) ripped a one-out double to center and came home with the go-ahead run on Shawn Green’s line drive single. After moving to second on a wild pitch, Green scored on a nifty slide when Milledge (3-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) ripped a single into left.

Maine, who entered the game with only four hits in 62 career at-bats (.065), followed with his first home run as a professional to give his club a 6-2 edge.

The Pirates, for all intents and purposes, were done after the fourth.

Maine (11-5) cruised over his final three innings of work, surrendering just one walk to finish up strong. The 26-year-old was charged with two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven.

The Pirates had taken a quick, 1-0, lead in the first with consecutive two-out hits. Adam LaRoche dropped a single in front of Green in right and raced home with the game’s first run on ex-Met Xavier Nady’s double.

New York would answer back immediately, tying the game on back-to-back doubles by Reyes (2-for-5, 2B) and Gotay. A single by Carlos Beltran moved Gotay (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) to third and David Wright put the Mets on top with a sacrifice fly.

Bay (3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI) tied the game at 2-2 with a solo homer, his 14th, in the fourth. It was the first home run for the struggling Pirate since July 8, a span of nine games and 31 at-bats.

Milledge clubbed a two-run shot, his second, in the bottom of the eighth to extend New York’s lead to 8-2. The 22-year-old outfielder has three straight multi-hit games, going 7-for-12 (.583) with four runs scored, a homer and five RBI.

Bay capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth off Guillermo Mota.

Winners in eight-of-12 games since the All-Star break, the Mets (56-43) will try for their third straight victory on Wednesday night. Tom Glavine (8-6, 4.51) will take aim at career win No. 299 for the second time after blowing a prime opportunity in his last start. The 41-year-old southpaw was staked to a 6-0 lead after one inning against the Dodgers, but he only lasted two-plus frames himself, allowing six runs on 10 hits. Glavine is 20-12 with a 3.09 ERA in 42 career starts against Pittsburgh, including a 1-0, 2.25 ledger in two outings last season.

The slumping Pirates (41-57) have lost nine-of-10 and are just a half-game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds, who reside in the basement of the N.L. Central. Tom Gorzelanny (9-5, 3.20), one of the few bright spots for the Bucs this season, will take the mound looking to snap a two-start winless streak. The 25-year-old lefty suffered the hard-luck loss in his last outing, allowing two runs over seven frames in a 2-1 defeat against the Astros. Gorzelanny has faced the Mets twice in his career, both coming last season, and is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA spanning eight innings of work.

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