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Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran: All-Star duo’s return gives life to Mets, but for how long? – Metro US

Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran: All-Star duo’s return gives life to Mets, but for how long?

The Mets had flatlined.

The doctor brought out the defibrillator Tuesday night.

The barely-hanging-on-to-the-periphery-of-the-playoffs Mets had Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran return to the lineup for the start of a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

They made their impact right away. Beltran had a double in his first at-bat and finished 3-for-3 with a run scored. Reyes was 2-for-5.

And most importantly, they won 4-2.

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The free agents to be are in the midst of remarkable seasons. Reyes is authoring perhaps the finest year by a shortstop in franchise history. His .354 batting average leads the National League and he’s scored 65 runs and stolen 30 bases. Beltran, after missing 179 of 324 games in the last two seasons with leg injuries, leads the team with 14 home runs and 59 RBI while playing in 90 games.

“I think that’s going to be huge,” Jason Bay said about the return to the lineup of both.

Reyes returned from a left hamstring strain suffered while Beltran missed the last two games of the Phillies series and Monday night’s loss to Florida due to the flu. The Mets were 6-6 in the 12 games without Reyes, and lost two-of-three without both.

“Any team that loses guys like that [is] going to have a tough time getting their offense generated,” manager Terry Collins said.

Collins acknowledged that he will have to be especially mindful of the heat and the schedule as it pertains to Reyes’ health. The Mets are in a stretch of 20 games in 20 days.

ESPN?reported yesterday the Mets would “100 percent” not trade Reyes. Beltran is another story. His spark may not last long.