TORONTO, 27 April 2005 — Cliff Floyd and David Wright hit two-run homers to key a five-run sixth inning as the New York Mets edged the Atlanta Braves 5-4 in National League play at Shea Stadium on Monday.
Mike Piazza added three hits to the Mets attack, as New York snapped the Braves’ four-game winning streak and moved into tie with Atlanta in the NL East at 11-9.
Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Piazza tied the game with a run-scoring double and Floyd and Wright later followed with their homers to put New York 5-1 ahead.
The Braves rallied for two runs in the eighth and a single in the ninth but Braden Looper survived a shaky ninth inning to earn his third save.
Wright had two hits for the Mets, who managed nine hits off four Atlanta pitchers.
Aaron Heilman (2-2) allowed one run on two hits over seven solid innings and got the win for the Mets.
He struck out five and walked one.
Horacio Ramirez (1-2) allowed five runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings for the Braves and took the loss.
In other games, Oliver Perez pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings as the Pirates blanked the Houston Astros 2-0 in Pittsburgh. Perez (1-2) allowed just four hits and struck out nine. Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his seventh save as the Pirates ended a four-game losing streak at home.
In Los Angeles, Javier Vazquez pitched eight strong innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 4-2. Vazquez (2-2) allowed two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts and two walks before Brandon Lyon got the last two outs for his ninth save. Troy Glaus drove in two runs for Arizona. Derek Lowe (1-2) gave up four runs on 10 hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and one walk.
In San Francisco, Geoff Blum had a two-run homer and a run-scoring single as the San Diego Padres edged the Giants 5-3. Mark Loretta had two hits and drove in a run for the Padres.
In Chicago, Mark Prior (3-0) struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and Neifi Perez hit a three-run homer and had four RBI to lead the Cubs to a 10-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Orioles Maintain Form
to Overturn Red Sox
B.J. Surhoff hit a two-run homer and Brian Roberts had three hits as the Baltimore Orioles beat the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox 8-4 at Fenway Park on Monday.
Roberts drove in a pair of runs and stole two bases for the Orioles, who have won four straight after being blanked twice in a row by the Red Sox earlier last week.
Bruce Chen (2-1) picked up the win for the Orioles, allowing three runs on nine hits over six innings.
He struck out three and walked three.
The Orioles had 13 hits, including two each by Javy Lopez, Surhoff and Luis Matos.
Miguel Tejada drove in his 23rd run of the season for the Orioles, while Roberts’ two RBI gives him 22 for the season.
David Wells (2-3) took the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits in just 3 2/3 innings.
Jason Varitek homered for the Red Sox, who had 12 hits one night after being involved in a bench-clearing melee during a game with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Johnny Damon and David Ortiz both had three hits for Boston.
In other games, Carlos Guillen and Dmitri Young both homered as the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 6-4 in Detroit.
The game was a make-up of the first two scheduled games of the series, which were both cancelled by a spring snowstorm.
A sparse crowd braved a cold day to see the Tigers pound out 14 hits in the victory.
Kyle Farnsworth (1-0) got one out in relief for the win and Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his first save of the season. Craig Munroe added three hits for the Tigers.
Juan Rincon (2-1) went 2/3 innings in relief and took the loss. Justin Morneau drove in three runs for the Twins.
In Oakland, Jon Garland pitched a complete game four-hitter for his second career shutout as the Chicago White Sox blanked the Athletics 6-0. Garland (4-0) struck out three and walked one.
Chris Widger hit his first homer in five years and Carl Everett and Paul Konerko both drove in two runs for the White Sox.
Barry Zito (0-4) allowed four runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings and took the loss.
