Thousands of miles, different cultures, numerous leagues and organizations, Nelson Figueroa finally returned home.

Pitching in front of more than 100 family and friends, the Brooklyn-born hurler scripted one of the warmest chapters in the history of the Mets, retiring the first 14 batters he faced in his first appearance as a Major Leaguer since Sept. 23, 2004 as New York doubled up the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2, in front of 46,214 on Friday night at Shea Stadium.

Angel Pagan continued his torrid start with two hits and an RBI for the Mets, who won their third straight to move back over the .500 mark on the season (5-4).

Figueroa (1-0) needed only 85 pitches to maneuver through six innings, in which he surrendered just two hits and two walks while striking out six to earn his first win in the Majors since Aug. 2003. A 30th round pick by New York in the 1995 draft, the 33-year-old pitched last season in Mexico and Taiwan after being cut by the Seattle Mariners last spring. He also toiled for the Dominican Republic during the winter league season.

Figueroa's teammates gave him all of the offense he would need, scoring three times off Milwaukee starter Manny Parra in the fourth. David Wright led off the inning with a single and moved to second when Carlos Beltran walked. Carlos Delgado followed with an RBI single to put runners at the corners for Damion Easley, who increased the lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to left.

Raul Casanova increased the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single.

After Figueroa reached on a throwing error by catcher Jason Kendall, Parra (1-1) escaped further trouble by getting Jose Reyes to ground into an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play with the bases loaded, crushing the rally.

J.J. Hardy ended any thoughts of a no-hit bid, doubling to left with two outs in the fifth to score Corey Hart, who became Milwaukee's first baserunner with a walk. Figueroa, however, struck out pinch-hitter Joe Dillon looking to end the inning.

Prince Fielder's two-out double in the sixth brought home Rickie Weeks to cut the deficit to 3-2, but Beltran made a nice catch to end the frame.

Pagan (2-for-4, RBI) increased the lead to 4-2 with a run-scoring single off Brewers reliever Salomon Torres in the bottom of the seventh.

Joe Smith hurled a scoreless seventh and Aaron Heilman rebounded from three subpar outings to pitch a perfect eighth, striking out two. Billy Wagner retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save of the season and the 359th of his career.

Parra lasted just four innings and was charged with three runs on six hits and a walk while fanning four.

Wright (2-for-4) snapped a 1-for-19 skid with a pair of singles but the news wasn't all good for New York, as Reyes would leave prior to the sixth with what was described as a "tight left hamstring."

He is listed as day-to-day along with Luis Castillo, who missed his third straight game soreness in his surgically repaired right knee.

The Mets (5-4) will look to stretch their winning streak to four on Saturday afternoon when they face Milwaukee in the second of three games. Johan Santana (1-1, 1.93) will make his much-anticipated Shea Stadium debut when he takes the mound for his third start of the season. The 29-year-old was a hard-luck loser in his previous outing, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Braves last Sunday after allowing just one run over seven innings. Santana has faced the Brew Crew nine times in his career (five starts) and has carved out a 3-1 mark along with a 3.32 ERA over 40 2/3 frames.

After suffering their third consecutive loss, the Brewers (6-4) will look to even the series behind their ace. Ben Sheets (1-0, 0.00) will toe the rubber having tossed 15 2/3 scoreless innings in his first two starts of 2008. The oft-injured right-hander hurled a complete game in his last outing, allowing just five hits while striking out eight in a 7-0 victory over San Francisco to pick up his first win of the year. Despite a 3-2 record, Sheets has a 5.45 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. The 29-year-old did defeat New York last May at Shea Stadium, allowing three runs over six innings in a 12-3 rout.

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