Piazza, Appier Provide Banner Performances

The New York Mets never stopped celebrating after raising their National League championship banner.

Mike Piazza hit two home runs and drove in five runs, and Kevin Appier won his Shea Stadium debut Monday as the Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves, 9-4, at New York in their home opener.

“Everything went according to plan,” Met reliever John Franco said.

In their first home game since losing the World Series to the New York Yankees, the Mets used a five-run fifth inning against Kevin Millwood (0-1) to win for the third time in four games against the Braves this season.

Piazza’s three-run homer capped the big inning, and he added a two-run shot against Joe Slusarski in the seventh for his fourth homer and the 25th multihomer game of his career.

“Hopefully this is something we can build on,” Piazza said. “This gives us confidence. I hope it continues because we still have a lot of games left against them.”

Appier (1-0), signed to help replace the departed Mike Hampton, gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings on a beautiful, 69-degree day.

“The crowd was amazing,” Appier said. “This was like my in-person introduction to New York and to get a win was very sweet.”

Cincinnati 8, Pittsburgh 2--Sean Casey hit a two-run homer and had five runs batted in at Pittsburgh as the Reds ruined the Pirates’ first game in PNC Park just as they did the inaugural game in Three Rivers Stadium 31 years ago.

In the Reds’ 3-2 victory on July 16, 1970, a Cincinnati first baseman--Tony Perez--hit the first homer in Pittsburgh’s new stadium. On Monday, first baseman Casey, a Pittsburgh native, did the honors.

St. Louis 3, Colorado 2--Ray Lankford scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch in the ninth inning before a sellout crowd of 48,702 at St. Louis.

The Cardinals have won four in a row, including a weekend sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They got swept in their season-opening series at Colorado, and outscored, 32-11.

Montreal 7, Chicago 5--Sammy Sosa hit two home runs for the Cubs, but Jose Vidro hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh at Montreal to lift the Expos to their fourth consecutive victory.

The Expos, who swept the New York Mets over the weekend, are 6-1, their best start since 1974.

Philadelphia 5, Florida 4--Marlon Anderson singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth at Philadelphia.

Mike Lieberthal, Travis Lee and Pat Burrell had consecutive singles in the ninth against Ricky Bones (0-1) to load the bases.

Anderson, who had a tying sacrifice fly in the seventh, then hit a line drive to right against Bones.

Around the League

John Mabry, who led the St. Louis Cardinals with six home runs in spring training, was traded to the Florida Marlins for cash. . . . Bobby Witt, a 14-year major league veteran who earned a spot in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting rotation in the spring, will be sidelined four to six weeks because of a sprained right elbow. . . . Outfielder Benny Agbayani of the New York Mets will be sidelined two to four weeks because of a chipped bone in his left wrist after being hit by a pitch.