Tom Glavine wasted one prime opportunity to move closer to 300 wins.

He didn’t let a second chance slip by.

Paul Lo Duca doubled twice and drove in four runs as the Mets jumped out to a 6-0 lead for the second straight time for Glavine, who was able to last six innings to secure his 299th career victory, 6-3, over the Pirates on Wednesday night at Shea Stadium.

Glavine (9-6) rebounded from his horrific start last Thursday in Los Angeles, when the veteran southpaw was unable to record an out in the third inning despite being handed a 6-0 lead after one frame.

Lastings Milledge singled and doubled to collect his fourth straight multi-hit game and Marlon Anderson and Damion Easley drove in a run apiece for the Mets, who won their third straight and for the fifth time in six games, overall.

Bucs starter Tom Gorzelanny labored through 2 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks while fanning one before leaving with ‘left shoulder stiffness.’

Jason Bay ripped his third home run in two days for Pittsburgh, which has lost 10-of-11 since the All-Star break.

Looking more like the team that steamrolled through the National League last year and through this year’s first two months, New York jumped ahead quickly off Gorzelanny (9-6) in the first.

Following a one-out double by Milledge (2-for-4, 2B), David Wright and Carlos Delgado walked to load the bases. Lo Duca, who had driven in just four runs in his past 14 games, doubled down the line in left to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Marlon Anderson followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Delgado to cap the three-run first.

New York was back at it again in the third, putting up another three-spot to grab a 6-0 edge.

After Milledge was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double to start the frame, Wright laced a two-bagger of his own. Following another walk to Delgado, Lo Duca (2-for-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI) slammed his second double of the night to center, scoring both runners for a 5-0 lead.

Anderson ripped a single to right to put runners at the corners and Easley, making his first appearance since leaving the team last week to be with his ill father, singled up the middle for a 6-0 lead.

Glavine wouldn’t let another six-run advantage go to waste as he moved to within one victory of the 300-win plateau.

The 41-year-old worked out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the first by getting Xavier Nady to ground into a 6-4-3 double play and breezed through the Bucs lineup until the sixth.

Pinch-hitter Matt Kata singled and moved to third on Freddy Sanchez’s double to right two batters later. Adam LaRoche lifted a sac fly to get the Pirates on the board and Bay (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) followed with his 16th homer of the year, cutting the lead to 6-3.

Aaron Heilman fired two scoreless innings and Billy Wagner retired the Bucs in the ninth to notch his 23rd save of the season and the 347th of his career, tying him with ex-Met Randy Myers for seventh on the all-time list.

Carlos Beltran was a late scratch from New York's lineup after straining his abdominal muscle during batting practice. He's listed as day-to-day.

The Mets (57-43) will have a quick turnaround as they go for the series sweep of Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon at Shea. Oliver Perez (9-6, 3.00) will go for his third straight win as he faces his former team for the first time since he was traded to New York along with Roberto Hernandez at last year’s deadline. The 25-year-old has surrendered just three runs over 13 1/3 innings in victories over the Reds and Dodgers after spending two weeks on the disabled list with a stiff lower back. Perez faced Pittsburgh twice as a member of his first team, the San Diego Padres, going 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA.

The slumping Pirates (41-58) will try and escape Gotham with at least one victory in a matchup with their former teammate. Paul Maholm (6-12, 4.57) will take the hill for his 21st start, hoping to avoid his 13th defeat of the season. The young southpaw has alternated wins and losses over his last eight appearances (4-4) while sporting a solid, 3.73 ERA. Maholm has faced the Mets three times in his career, going 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA spanning 19 innings.

  E-mail this story |  Printer-friendly |  Discuss