NEW YORK (AP) – After battering Mark Mulder for nine runs in his first major league game since June, the New York Mets hung on and stretched their winning streak to six.

Jose Reyes hit a three-run homer and Chris Woodward had a three-run double as the Mets built an eight-run lead Wednesday night, then nearly gave it back in a 10-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

It was almost a mirror image of Tuesday, when the Mets fell behind 7-1, then rallied for an 8-7 win capped by Carlos Beltran’s two-run, ninth-inning homer.

Steve Trachsel (13-5) and his bullpen nearly squandered a 10-2 advantage, but Trachsel managed to win his fourth straight decision.

He gave up a two-run homer in the fifth to Jose Vizcaino, signed by St. Louis earlier in the day, and consecutive solo shots in the sixth to Scott Rolen and Preston Wilson. Then in the eighth, Wilson hit an RBI double off Chad Bradford and scored on Ronnie Belliard’s single.

Mulder (6-6) made his first appearance since June 20, when he was chased after 2 1-3 innings by the Chicago White Sox. He allowed nine runs in that one, and he gave up nine runs in this one, too, his ERA ballooning to 6.77. Mulder, coming back from a strained left shoulder, lasted just three-plus innings, giving up nine hits and four walks.

Trachsel wasn’t much better, allowing six runs, six hits and three walks in five-plus innings. Billy Wagner pitched the ninth for his 32nd save in 37 chances.

New York, which didn’t have a hit after the fourth, extended its home winning streak to 10.

St. Louis dropped to 8-13 in August but maintained a one-game lead in the NL Central over second-place Cincinnati.

Every Mets starter had a hit by the fourth inning other than Trachsel and Beltran, who had walked twice by then. Reyes batted in each of the first four innings.

New York took a 4-0 lead in the first on Carlos Delgado’s RBI double and Woodward’s bases-loaded double. After Albert Pujols’ two-run single cut the lead in half in the third, Reyes’ 15th homer boosted the margin to 7-2 in the bottom half.

Beltran’s walk and Delgado’s double finished Mulder in the fourth. David Wright hit Josh Hancock’s third pitch for a two-run double, then scored on a one-out single by Lastings Milledge.

Vizcaino originally wasn’t in the starting lineup, but Cardinals manager Tony La Russa changed his mind and inserted him into the leadoff spot in place of shortstop Aaron Miles. David Eckstein, the Cardinals’ regular shortstop, strained a muscle in his side Friday and was placed on the 15-day disabled list, a move retroactive to Saturday.

Notes: Reyes also stole a pair of bases, raising his major league-leading total to 52. … Jim Edmonds pinch hit and walked in the seventh for the Cardinals. He hasn’t started since Aug. 15 because of dizziness caused by post-concussion syndrome. … Ex-Mets closer Braden Looper was booed when he entered in the eighth.