Mets beat Cardinals, 4-2, force game 7 tonight

NEW YORK (AP) - With the New York Mets on the brink of elimination, John Maine pitched a game to remember.

The rookie dominated the St. Louis Cardinals with the poise of a veteran, Jose Reyes sparked the offense with a leadoff home run and the Mets rock 'n' rolled at boisterous Shea Stadium to beat St. Louis 4-2 on Wednesday night and force the NL championship series to a decisive

seventh game, to be played in New York tonight on FOX at 7 p.m.

Reyes had three hits and two stolen bases, Shawn Green boosted the lead with a fourthinning RBI single and Paul Lo Duca let the loud crowd of 56,334 exhale with a two-run single in the seventh off Braden Looper that made it 4-0.

Now the pennant comes down to Thursday night, when the Cardinals send Jeff Suppan to the mound to save their season.

The Mets, carefully piecing together their pitching following injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, most likely will start Darren Oliver, Steve Trachsel or Oliver Perez.

Of 11 prior teams to trail 3-2 in the LCS and force a seventh game, eight won pennants. The exceptions were the 1988 Mets, the 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates and 2003 Boston Red Sox.