ST. LOUIS — Their bats had been quiet for 14 innings and they had just fallen behind early for the second straight night. Then Carlos Beltran sent the ball soaring over the wall, and the New York Mets woke up.

"One swing of the bat," David Wright said, "can get us going."

It sure did.

Wright and Carlos Delgado also homered, and Beltran added his second solo shot of the game in a 12-5 Busch-whacking of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night that tied the NL championship series at two games apiece.

An offense that was so appalling in Saturday's 5-0 loss quickly became enthralling, and the Mets ensured the pennant will be decided back at Shea Stadium.

"It's all even now. It's, 'Who wants it more?"' Wright said.

Now that Delgado's in the postseason, he's starting to own it. He put New York ahead for good at 5-2 with a three-run homer in the fifth, then busted open the game with a two-run double in a six-run sixth.

Beltran boosted his NLCS home-run total to seven in 11 games, Wright broke an 0-for-13 slump with his homer and Jose Valentin added a three-run double in the sixth as New York went ahead 11-3.

"You create you own momentum," Delgado said. "You just have to approach every game like it's the last game you're going to play."

New York set a team record for runs and homers in a postseason game, more than enough offense to back Oliver Perez, who was forced into the rotation because of injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez.

New York had 14 hits at Busch Stadium, one night after getting just three.

"When you have good hitters like we do, you're not going to hold us down too often," Mets manager Willie Randolph said.

But before the series returns to Shea Stadium, Tom Glavine (15-7) is to start for the Mets on Monday night, with Jeff Weaver (5-4) pitching for the Cardinals in a matchup of Game 1 starters. Both would be pitching on three days' rest, though rain is possible.

Beltran went 3-for-3 with two walks and is hitting .333 in the NLCS. Delgado is hitting .414 (12-for-29) with four homers and 11 RBIs in the postseason, batting .400 against the Cardinals with three homers and nine RBIs.

"I played 12-and-a-half years and never sniffed the playoffs," he said. "I'm enjoying these playoffs. It's a blast. But I guess it's going to be that much sweeter when you win it."

Perez, acquired July 31 from Pittsburgh along with Roberto Hernandez in the Xavier Nady deal, gave up solo homers to David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds and Yadier Molina. He never retired the side in order but lasted 5X\c innings.

"I did my job, kept us in the game, and that's what's most important," Perez said.

Only the second pitcher to start a postseason game in a year he finished the regular season 10 games under .500 (3-13), Perez had been 0-7 on the road this year.

Cardinals rookie Anthony Reyes, who like Perez was pitching for the first time since Oct. 1, allowed runners in all four of his innings, walked four and threw 86 pitches. But he gave up his only runs on the third-inning homers by Beltran and Wright, which put the Mets ahead 2-1.

"I kept the team in the game and tried to do the best I could with every pitch, but I threw too many pitches and I got forced out of there early," Reyes said.

Relievers Brad Thompson and Josh Hancock were lit up for eight runs, with the pair combining to get just one out.

Delgado tied the Mets record for RBI in a postseason series, set by Gary Carter in the 1986 World Series, and set a team record with six extra-base hits. All of his postseason homers have to the opposite field.

"Very, very rare, very unique to see a hitter like him who can turn on you and pull the ball, and then can just stay out there and just serve the ball the other way," Randolph said.