Mike Piazza has hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to lift the New York Mets to a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia had tied the game a half inning earlier before Piazza gave the Mets their third straight win.
In another National League contest Sunday, Marvin Benard hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the top of the 9th to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 win over Arizona, completing a four-game sweep of the Diamondbacks. The Colorado Rockies snapped a four-game losing streak on a run-scoring single by Alex Ochoa in the top of the ninth inning to edge the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2.
The Chicago Cubs downed the visiting Saint Louis Cardinals 7-5. The Atlanta Braves eased by the Expos 8-1 in Montreal. The Cincinnati Reds scored five times in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally past the Florida Marlins 8-4.
In the other National League games Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the visiting Houston Astros 4-1. And the San Diego Padres scored six runs in the top of the 6th inning on the way to a 12-5 trouncing of the Milwaukee Brewers.
In the American League, two-time batting champion Nomar Garciaparra hit a home run and a decisive two-run single while playing in his first game of the year, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox. Garciaparra had been sidelined since undergoing wrist surgery on April 2.
The reigning World Series champion New York Yankees won their eighth straight game by defeating the Blue Jays 9-3 in Toronto.
The Major League Baseball-best Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins for the eighth straight time in a 10-2 outcome in Seattle.
The Detroit Tigers downed the visiting Cleveland Indians 8-3. The Oakland Athletics gave up four runs to the Kansas City Royals in the top of the 8th inning, then got them all back a half inning later, giving Oakland a 6-4 victory.
In the other American League games Sunday, the Baltimore Orioles beat the host Anaheim Angels 1-0. And the Texas Rangers shut out the visiting Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2-0.