This time, Mets avoid the trap, continue to rake

Wednesday night's game against the Tigers was the classic trap game that the Mets, in recent years, always seemed to stumble into.

They get a win in the first game of the series, and face a less-than-impressive starter in game two, knowing that the opposition's ace awaits in game three.

The Mets won game one on Tuesday, then faced Phil Coke in game two, the ex-Yankee of the 1-7 record, with Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander (who was drafted by Detroit one spot ahead of the Mets, ugh) going in game three. The middle game was the winnable one, the one that would clinch the series win.

In the past, the Mets would find a way to botch this scenario, then inevitably get throttled by the ace in the final game and lose the series.

So it was great to see them hammer Coke the way they did, the offense continuing not only to hit but to hit with two outs, something they couldn't do at all in April. And pile on runs, which came in handy when the Tigers kept scratching and clawing to stay in it, until the relentless of the Mets offense — did I just type that? — became too much to overcome.

Angel Pagan had a huge night, as did Daniel Murphy, who had two, two-out, two-run singles. Of course Jose Reyes had another multi-hit game, what else did you expect? Guy is hitting EVERYTHING. Turner and Tejada also had two hits each, and Ronny Paulino, batting FOURTH, had four hits and four runs scored.

I hope Terry Collins had some time to take a ferry to Ontario for some casino action, because everything he does is coming up gold right now.

Jason Bay was 1-for-2 but drew four walks and made an incredible diving catch in left early in the game to keep the Mets comfortably in front. He also had two steals as the Mets continued to run at will on the bases, this time against the ineffective Victor Martinez.

What more can you say about how this team is playing now? They have scored a franchise-best 52 runs and amassed 69 hits in the last four games, with an RISP average of .484. Good Lord.

Enjoy the ride.