The blowout we've been waiting for

You're not only supposed to beat the bad teams, but if you fancy yourself a playoff team you should occasionally pound the daylights of the bad teams. Finally, the Mets did just that by handing a 12-0 beatdown on the Nats Wednesday night.

The victory, combined with the Dodgers' comeback win over the Phillies, pushed the Mets into a first-place tie in the NL East with 42 games left in the season.

You couldn't have asked for a better scenario for John Maine, in his first start off the DL. Handed a big lead early, Maine cruised through five pressure-free innings, allowing just one hit while walking four. No bullpen for him, please!

And the bullpen regulars got a rest as well as Brian Stokes replaced Maine and finished the game for the rare four-inning save, completing the shutout and allowing four hits. Ron Darling liked Stokes and his slider and said in the postgame that he could be counted on "to get big outs."

The offense rolled, scoring eight in the third -- two on bases-loaded walks -- to make it 10-0. And what can you say about Daniel Murphy? Three hits, three RBI, his second homer of the season. How can you not love this kid?

The law firm of Reyes and Reyes had two hits each, Carlos Delgado walked three times, as did Brian Schneider. Even John Maine walked twice. Thanks, Nats!