NEW YORK -- Carlos Beltran left Sunday's game against the Phillies after the sixth inning with tightness in his left hamstring, but both he and manager Terry Collins said he will be in the lineup Monday against the Pirates.

Beltran said he felt the tightness in his hamstring after his second at-bat of the game in the second inning and told trainer Ray Ramirez afterward. With the Mets leading, 9-1, after six, Collins decided to replace Beltran with Jason Pridie as a precautionary measure.

"I said, 'Stay in there as long as you can and then if we maintain this lead, I'm going to take you out,'" Collins said. "I think he'll be fine."

Beltran said after the game he could have played the rest of the game and that he told Collins as much at the time. He added that he didn't feel any pain during his final two at-bats.

The right fielder went 1-for-4 with a run scored, with the hit coming during his second at-bat.

"I wasn't concerned, it just felt like it got tight, that's all," Beltran said. "It's happened to me before, it's happened to me many times. But at the same time, I have to let the trainers know just in case.

"This is not an issue, it's not a big deal. I felt something on my hamstring and I could have finished the game without a problem. It wasn't my decision to take myself out of the game, it was Terry's decision."

Mets waiting to see how Dickey feels Monday

NEW YORK -- After a bullpen session he described as "full-bore," R.A. Dickey said Sunday he hopes to pitch through a torn plantar fascia when his turn in the rotation comes up Tuesday against the Pirates. No matter how Dickey says he feels, however, the ultimate decision will come Monday and rest with manager Terry Collins.

"By my standards, I thought it went great," Dickey said of his bullpen session. "As far as an answer as to whether or not I'm going to pitch Tuesday, obviously I believe that I am, but if he writes my name in the No. 9 hole, you'll know that I am."

After Sunday's game, Collins said the team will wait to see how Dickey feels Monday.

"I want to see tomorrow, 24 hours after he did his bullpen," Collins said. "He said, 'Look, I can go.' I said, 'Great, let's just see how you are tomorrow and go from there."

Before the game, Collins again expressed concern about the knuckleballer's ability to field his position.

"I want to make sure the game is played correctly, to be honest," said Collins, who estimated Dickey covers first base six or seven times a game. "If he tells me he can pitch, he'll pitch. There are just parts of the game you have to be able to do. One of them is back up a base, for heaven's sake."

Dickey, who suffered the heel injury Thursday while trying to cover first base in Chicago, has been told that he cannot make it worse by pitching. His workout Sunday also included running, but he said he would not know how he would react to game situations until he encounters them.

"I won't really know in the heat of the moment," Dickey said. "It's hard to even emulate that out there. But I feel like it's not going to be a consideration. I feel like it's going to be OK. I may not look like Usain Bolt going over there like normal, but maybe a little bit hobbled. But that's just to be expected."

Dickey said the heel has improved "every moment" since he limped out of the Wrigley Field clubhouse Thursday wearing a walking boot and carrying a crutch. The pain, while noticeable, Dickey said, does not distract him from his pitching.

"I want to be out there. I don't know if I necessarily need to," Dickey said. "These guys are able to win games without me. But at the same time, the Mets have made an investment in me, and I want to be able to give them a return on that investment, and I take that very seriously."

Reyes leads club's aggressive running game

NEW YORK -- With a depleted lineup missing the likes of Ike Davis, David Wright and, until recently, Angel Pagan, the Mets have had difficulty scoring of late. Putting up just 2.73 runs per game in the 11 contests since Wright was last in the lineup May 15, the Mets have tried to force the issue with aggressive baserunning.

In the first two games of their series with the Phillies, the Mets stole seven bases and were caught stealing on two other attempts. In the nine previous games, the Mets stole just five bases and were caught stealing twice.

"We've tried to do some things," manager Terry Collins said. "We've tried to hit and run a couple of times. It's a little different from what we have been doing."

The Mets' running game was on full display Saturday night at Citi Field. New York stole five bases off left-hander Cole Hamels, all during the first three innings.

Two of the swipes were by shortstop Jose Reyes, who leads the Majors with 19. Reyes swiped second base in the third and scored on a single by Jason Bay two batters later to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

Bay's steal of second later that inning would be the Mets' final stolen base of the game.

"I think you take what you're given," Bay said. "I think you run sometimes and the other team takes measures to slow you down. If things hadn't slowed down, we probably would have kept pushing it.

"We were just taking our chances and picking the right spots."

Unfortunately for the Mets, you can't steal first base. They produced just one baserunner after the third, a single by Ronny Paulino, allowing Philadelphia to mount a comeback and pull out a 5-2 win.

"Cole Hamels showed exactly how hard it is to face those quality guys," Collins said. "That guy gets on second base, and they bear down. You can get some hits, but it's tough to score. So all we can do is continue to get guys into scoring position and hopefully someone comes through."

Worth noting

Johan Santana is throwing off a mound and continuing his long-toss program at 200 feet, manager Terry Collins said Sunday. If all goes according to plan, the lefty, out since last season following shoulder surgery, could throw batting practice by mid-June. ... Collins said he would "try to shy away from" Jason Isringhausen after using the right-hander in three straight games. Tim Byrdak, however, was expected to be available Sunday.