Piazza’s Presence Helps Fuel Mets’ Streak

Now that the New York Mets have Mike Piazza in their lineup, everyone else is contributing--even Rey Ordonez.

The light-hitting shortstop’s two-run double capped a six-run fifth inning as the Mets extended their winning streak to six games by defeating the Florida Marlins, 8-2, Wednesday night at Miami.

Piazza went four-for-five to spark a 15-hit attack. The Mets have totaled 29 runs and 56 hits in four games since acquiring the All-Star catcher from Florida.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Manager Bobby Valentine said. “It’s all good timing. We’re building a confidence base right now.”

Bernard Gilkey, who had 18 home runs last year, hit his first homer of the season in his 114th at-bat. The Mets rallied from a 2-0 deficit by scoring six times after Brian Meadows (4-5) retired the first two batters in the fifth.

“I always felt we had a good offense,” Gilkey said. “Now that we’ve got Mike, it’s just a matter of clicking. When he walked in, it was perfect timing.”

Piazza has driven in only one run for the Mets, but he’s hitting .421 (eight-for-19).

“The guys have been great,” he said. “They’re making me feel really comfortable here. It’s been great for my peace of mind.”

Masato Yoshii (4-1) pitched six innings and allowed two runs on back-to-back homers by Cliff Floyd and Ryan Jackson.

“It’s been a long time since the atmosphere has been like this,” Met reliever John Franco shouted over rap music in the happy clubhouse. “When we got Mike, it took the pressure off everyone. Before he got here, the only one hitting was John Olerud. Now everyone is free and relaxed.”

Philadelphia 10, Chicago 5--Rico Brogna homered, doubled and tied a career-high with five RBIs at Chicago.

Sammy Sosa hit two home runs for the Cubs, who lost for the fifth time in six games. He had a solo shot in the eighth inning and a two-run drive, his 13th, in the ninth.

Brogna had three hits, including a two-run homer that highlighted a tiebreaking, six-run seventh inning. It was the second time Brogna has had five RBIs this season and the third time in his career.

Atlanta 2, Montreal 0--Greg Maddux became Atlanta’s fourth seven-game winner, and Ryan Klesko’s sacrifice fly in the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie at Atlanta.

Maddux joined teammates Tom Glavine, Kevin Millwood and Denny Neagle as seven-game winners. Only one other NL pitcher, former Brave Jason Schmidt of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has as many victories.

The Braves, who set a franchise record for May victories with a 9-3 triumph over Montreal on Tuesday, improved to 21-5 this month. That’s the most victories in any month since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.

Maddux (7-2) allowed six hits in 8 1/3 innings, and Kerry Ligtenberg got Robert Perez to ground into a game-ending double play for his seventh save.

“I’m not trying to pitch shutouts,” Maddux said. “I’m trying to win games. It was the right thing to do to get a fresh arm in there. It worked out.”

St. Louis 2, Colorado 1--Todd Stottlemyre outpitched Darryl Kile and the Cardinals won at St. Louis despite ending their streak of 17 consecutive games with a home run.

“With all the attention some of the position players have gotten, Stottlemyre deserves his share,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s done it over and over again. He’s having a heck of a year.”

It was a quiet night for Mark McGwire, who on Monday became the first player to hit 25 home runs before June 1.

McGwire spent most of the night ducking Kile’s curveballs and was 0-for-three with a walk, taking two called third strikes and hitting a fly ball to right field. He had homered in his last four games, and six of the previous seven.

“You’ve just got to get lucky against the guy,” Kile said. “He’s hot right now and you’ve just got to try and make the pitches and hope he has a bad day.”

The Cardinals had 34 home runs in the streak that ended eight games shy of the major league record of 25 in a row. The Atlanta Braves tied the mark earlier this month in St. Louis.

Milwaukee 3, Pittsburgh 2--Mark Loretta’s RBI single off Ricardo Rincon with one out in the 10th gave the Brewers the victory at Milwaukee and a two-game sweep of the Pirates.

Fernando Vina led off the 10th with a single to right and was sacrificed to second by Jeff Cirillo. Jeromy Burnitz drew a four-pitch walk from Rincon (0-2) before Loretta drove in Vina with a line drive to left field.

Brad Woodall (1-2), the fifth Brewers pitcher, pitched a perfect 10th and picked up his first victory since 1996, when he was with Atlanta.

San Diego 6, Arizona 4--The Padres had 12 hits at Phoenix and improved their record to 33-20, the best start in franchise history.