Johan Santana needed no help in shutting down the Pittsburg Pirates on Sunday, as he threw a complete game shutout for the Mets who dispatched the Bucs 4-0 to maintain the NL East lead.

A two-run homer in the second inning by Brian Schneider would have been enough for the Mets to taste victory in and of itself, but Carlos Beltran added some additional run support for Santana with a solo home run of his own in the sixth inning. For Beltran, it was his 17th long ball of the season, while Schneider took his fourth trip around the bases.

For Pittsburg, their lack of offense was nearly matched by their lack of defense and pitching. Jeff Karstens gave up all four runs (all were earned) in addition to nine hits in six innings pitched, while the Pirates defense made two fielding errors that allowed innings to continue. Jack Wilson and Andy LaRoche provided all of the Pirates offense with two hits for Wilson and one for LaRoche.

The Mets and Pirates are scheduled to meet again on Monday with John Maine taking the hill for New York, while Paul Maholm is set to take the mound for Pittsburg. Mets tickets are still available for the game so get out to the ballpark for some August baseball!

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