Jose Reyes homered and the resilient New York bullpen shut down the Colorado Rockies after Pedro Martinez left with a sore shoulder, combining on a one-hitter in the Mets' 3-0 victory on Saturday. Fernando Tatis and Brian Schneider also drove in runs for the Mets (50-44), who have won eight straight for the first time since June 7-15, 2006. They're a season-best six games over .500.

Martinez cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit before walking Matt Holliday on five pitches and immediately motioning to the dugout. Manager Jerry Manuel and a trainer came out for a short visit, but Martinez stayed in the game.

Brad Hawpe singled for the Rockies' only hit, but Martinez escaped the fourth inning when Chris Iannetta grounded into a double play.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner was replaced by Carlos Muniz to start the fifth. The team said Martinez had tightness in his right shoulder - the same shoulder he had surgery on late in 2006 and forced him to miss much of last season.

Muniz (1-1) pitched two hitless innings, Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis went an inning each, and Billy Wagner worked a perfect ninth to wrap up the Mets' 17th win in 19 games against the Rockies at Shea Stadium. It was Wagner's 22nd save in 28 chances.

They'll go for a sweep with Mike Pelfrey on the mound against Mark Redman on Sunday.

The Mets bullpen has pitched 18 1-3 innings of shutout ball this homestand, again confounding a Colorado club that suddenly can't score. The Mets pitching staff hasn't allowed more than three hits in a franchise-best five straight games.

The Rockies have dropped five of seven since a season-best five-game winning streak. The defending NL champs managed only five base runners a day after blowing bases-loaded chances three straight innings in a 2-1 loss.

The offensive ineptitude squandered a second consecutive serviceable start by Ubaldo Jimenez (4-9), who constantly challenged the Mets with a 98-mph fastball.

Fresh off his first road win in 12 starts, Jimenez needed just seven pitches to get through the first inning and didn't allow a hit until Carlos Beltran doubled in the fourth. Beltran stole third and scored on a base hit by Tatis.

Reyes homered to deep right-center leading off the fifth, his 10th of the year, and the Mets made it 3-0 in the sixth when Carlos Delgado reached on a base hit and Schneider slipped a double past first baseman Jeff Baker and down the line.

After going career-high eight innings to beat Martinez the last time he faced the Mets, Jimenez gave up seven hits over six innings. He struck out eight, throwing 110 pitches.

Notes:@ Argenis Reyes stole his first career base in the fifth inning. The Mets were 4-for-4 stealing against Iannetta. ... Mets OF Angel Pagan (shoulder), rehabbing at Class A St. Lucie, could be back after the All-Star break, general manager Omar Minaya said. ... Mets 2B Damion Easley, who hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning Friday night, was out of the lineup to rest a sore quad. ... Rockies OF Willy Taveras was out of the starting lineup to rest his ailing quad. He pinch hit in the eighth inning and flied out to center.



Written By DAVE SKRETTA