"Chris Young is proving he can shoulder the load.

The veteran right-hander yesterday made the loudest statement yet that his shoulder is healthy, firing six shutout innings for the Mets in a 5-0 exhibition loss to the Marlins. Young allowed four hits, struck out three and had no walks.

"The main thing is physically I feel good," Young said. "My fastball command was the best it has been -- I was very happy with it. It carried over from the last couple of innings my last start [against Washington]."

The 6-foot-10 Young has allowed only 15 hits in 20 1/3 innings this spring. His 1.33 ERA is tops among the Mets' starting pitchers."