Maine succesful, unsuccesful in Met loss

Game Overview:
Starter:John Maine pitched well in his first start of the season for the major league Mets. Maine pitched 5.1 innings, and allowed four runs, which sounds bad, but for a young player's first start in New York it's a solid outing. Maine is still trying to get accustomed to the pressure of the New York media, and he is also trying to learn a bit more about catcher, Paul LoDuca. LoDuca and Maine did, however pitch a bit together in Spring Training, however it was not nearly enough for them to earn a strong pitching relationship. Maine did strike out six batters, while walking only two men. Maine did end up with the loss, but his nice strikeout rate and low walk rate shows that he has what it takes to be succesful this season, and hopefully succesful enough to eventually knock Zambrano out of the rotation. Maine said after the game that he is capable of better work, and when Willie was asked about if Maine would get the next start when his turn in the rotation comes he said "we'll see." His next start would be a big game, against the Braves on Sunday. I fully expect Maine to get the start on Sunday, and the encouraging signs from today's game should hopefully grow to a greater stage.
Bullpen:Darren Oliver and Jorge Julio were the relief pitchers in yesterday's 6-2 loss. Oliver pitched well in his two innings of work, despite his two run home run given up to pinch hitter Damian Jackson. Oliver has been solid out of the pen this season pitching to a 3.65 era. However, the other lefty in the bullpen, Pedro Feliciano, has pitched better than Oliver this season, and may eventually replace Oliver down the road. Jorge Julio followed Oliver with 1.2 impressive innings. Julio allowed no hits, walked none, and struck out two batters. Julio has an incredible strikeout per nine innings rate this season, at 16.5.
Offense:The Mets offense was pretty much non-existant last night, coming from only two men. Paul LoDuca went 2-4 with a single and a first inning home run. Carlos Beltran added a ninth inning home run. That's all of the offense from the Mets. Only three hits and two walks the entire game. Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, Cliff Floyd, David Wright, and Xavier Nady all had 0-fers.