Steve Trachsel pitched six effective innings and hit the third home run of his career to help the Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-2 last night.

Xavier Nady hit a two-run homer in the seventh and a solo drive in the eighth for the Mets. Carlos Delgado also had a two-run shot.

Trachsel (5-4) won his third straight decision, allowing six hits. He weakened in the seventh inning, giving up hits to Austin Kearns and Brandon Phillips sandwiched around a walk to load the bases with none out.

Duaner Sanchez relieved for the Mets and allowed a sacrifice fly to Javier Valentin but then got pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia to hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Mets then broke it open with four runs in the bottom of the seventh as Nady his 10th home run and Paul Lo Duca drove in two more with his second double.

Trachsel homered against Elizardo Ramirez (2-6) in the fifth inning, sending a 3-2 pitch an estimated 370 feet off the loge facade in left field. It came on the eighth pitch of the at-bat and was the first home run by a Mets pitcher since Shawn Estes hit one against the Yankees’ Roger Clemens on June 15, 2002.

The Mets jumped ahead against Ramirez in the first inning. Jose Reyes and Lo Duca opened with consecutive doubles and Delgado hit his 20th homer one out later for a 3-0 lead. It was the 11th time in the last 13 games that New York has scored in the first inning.

The home run was the 389th of Delgado’s career, tying him with Hall of Famer Johnny Bench for 47th place on the career list.

Cincinnati scored in the fifth when Phillips led off with a double, moved to third on Valentin’s flyball and scored on a groundout by Ramirez.

Nady, playing his second game after missing 18 because of an emergency appendectomy, connected against reliever David Weathers and Lo Duca drove in two runs to widen the Mets lead in the seventh. Nady then hit a solo homer off Todd Coffey in the eighth.

Both Valentin brothers started, catcher Javier for Reds, and Jose for Mets.