--RHP John Maine tossed a baseball for a second straight day, this time at distances up to 100 feet, with the hope of contributing in October out of the bullpen. Maine will need offseason surgery to shave down a bone spur behind his right shoulder. "I don't know why I'd be going through this if I wasn't going to pitch," Maine said, referring to his postseason ambitions. "I could have had the surgery three weeks ago."

--1B Carlos Delgado is one six finalists for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, joining Derek Jeter, Justin Morneau, Albert Pujols, Michael Young and Barry Zito, the Players Association announced. The recognition is for humanitarian achievements and will be voted on by players.

--RHP Brandon Knight, who won a bronze medal with Team USA in China last month, will try to halt the Mets' three-game losing streak with a spot start Wednesday against the Nationals. Knight has logged just two innings this month, raising the question of how sharp he can be. "Not throwing, to be quite honest, normally I'm not very sharp in situations like that," he said. "That was the issue I had when I was with the Yankees. I was normally a starter and I was pitching middle relief. I'd pitch like every 10 days, and they'd expect me to be sharp. That just wasn't my style. I think I'm a better pitcher overall now, so I can usually figure things out and make adjustments."

BY THE NUMBERS: 100 -- RBI plateau reached by David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. It marked the third time the Mets have three 100-RBI players.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "He was scared. He tells Cody Ross, 'Let's go!' Tells Elijah Dukes, 'I didn't do it on purpose.'" -- Reliever Joe Smith, lightheartedly, about teammate Mike Pelfrey's disparate reactions after plunking Florida's diminutive Ross and Washington's imposing Dukes with pitches that drew the opponents' ire in recent starts.