--RHP John Maine was activated from the disabled list Wednesday for potential bullpen duty. Maine warmed up as extra innings approached, but interim manager Jerry Manuel said he did not intend to use Maine in the game. Maine will require offseason surgery to shave a bone spur behind his right shoulder.
--LHP Pedro Feliciano tied the franchise record for relief appearances in a season on Tuesday. He matched Mike Stanton's 83 appearances in 2004. --2B Argenis Reyes, who started at second base Wednesday with veteran Luis Castillo slumping, snapped an 0-for-25 skid with a third-inning single against Chicago RHP Carlos Zambrano. Castillo was hitless in nine at-bats over the previous three starts.
--LHP Jon Niese, RHP Nelson Figueroa and RHP Brandon Knight are candidates for Saturday's start against the Marlins. Niese allowed six runs in three-plus innings against the Cubs on Monday, including a grand slam to Cubs RHP Jason Marquis, creating uncertainty about which pitcher the Mets would tab for the start. The Mets are averse to using LHP Johan Santana on short rest that day after a 125-pitch outing Tuesday, but that may have to be revisited with the Mets now in a precarious position for a postseason berth.
--INF Ramon Martinez recorded his first hit as a Met with a pinch double. The 35-year-old, a September call-up with 10 previous seasons of big-league experience, had batted just once the entire month before Wednesday's game.
BY THE NUMBERS: 50 -- First-inning hits by SS Jose Reyes this season through Sept. 19, setting a franchise record. Reyes, who had 49 first-inning hits in 2006, had shared the record with Felix Millan, who had 49 in 1975.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "That speech I gave, I won't be selling any CDs." -- Interim manager Jerry Manuel, after a 15-minute pre-game meeting on Sept. 16 in Washington failed to inspire the Mets, who lost that night's game, 1-0, to the Nationals.
