PITTSBURGH - The New York Mets overcame an early five-run deficit, then gave up a ninth-inning lead before Ryan Church singled in a run in the 10th for a 9-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday.

Pirates closer Matt Capps, who had converted 12 consecutive save opportunities since May 15, got the first two batters in the 10th before hitting Fernando Tatis with a pitch. Tatis stole second, and Church lined a single into center for the Mets' 15th hit.

Adam LaRoche hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth off Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, who blew his third save in 24 chances. Rodriguez stayed in to pitch a perfect 10th.

New York enters its weekend series against the Phillies back at .500 with consecutive wins after a five-game losing streak. The Mets' 2-0 start in July followed a 9-18 June, their worst month since they were 7-19 in September 2003.

Tatis hit a two-run homer among his three hits and scored four times as New York took an 8-5 lead. Pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy began the comeback with a two-run single off Paul Maholm in the fourth. Jeremy Reed, also pinch-hitting, gave the Mets their first lead, 6-5, with a sacrifice fly that finished off a four-run fifth inning.

Garrett Jones, called up from the minors two days earlier, cut the Pirates' deficit to 8-6 with a homer in the seventh.

The game, the makeup of a June 3 rainout, was the Mets' 17th in as many days. It was the first time they had traveled to play a single regular-season game since 1999.

New York 000 242 000 1 – 9 15 0

Pittsburgh 032 000 102 0 – 8 12 0

New York AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Pittsburgh AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

L.Castillo 2b 4   0   1   0   .274      McCutchen cf 5   0   1   1   .288   

Cora ss 6   1   2   0   .257      Ja.Wilson ss 3   0   0   1   .280   

D.Wright 3b 5   2   1   0   .338      Delw.Young rf 3   0   0   0   .309   

Sheffield rf 4   0   1   1   .288      S.Jackson p 0   0   0   0   ---   

F.Martinez cf 1   0   0   0   .178      J.Chavez p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Tatis lf-1b 4   4   3   2   .261      f-FSnchz ph-2b 2   1   1   0   .316   

Church cf-rf 6   2   3   2   .292      Ad.LaRoche 1b 5   2   2   2   .270   

Evans 1b-lf 6   0   2   1   .333      G.Jones lf-rf 5   3   3   2   .333   

Santos c 4   0   1   0   .262      An.LaRoche 3b 4   1   0   0   .274   

Redding p 1   0   0   0   .083      R.Diaz c 4   1   3   2   .284   

Misch p 0   0   0   0   ---      R.Vazquez 2b 4   0   2   0   .255   

a-Dn.Mrphy ph 1   0   1   2   .245      Capps p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Dessens p 0   0   0   0   ---      Maholm p 2   0   0   0   .094   

b-Reed ph 0   0   0   1   .282      Karstens p 0   0   0   0   .063   

Stokes p 0   0   0   0   ---      c-Salazar ph 1   0   0   0   .000   

d-Ar.Reyes ph 0   0   0   0   .083      Meek p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Feliciano p 0   0   0   0   ---      Moss lf 1   0   0   0   .266   

S.Green p 0   0   0   0   ---      Totals 39   8   12   8      

e-Schneider ph 1   0   0   0   .239                     

Fr.Rodriguez p 0   0   0   0   ---                     

Totals 43   9   15   9                        

a-singled for Misch in the 4th. b-hit a sacrifice fly for Dessens in the 5th. c-flied out for Karstens in the 6th. d-walked for Stokes in the 7th. e-grounded into a fielder's choice for S.Green in the 9th. f-singled for J.Chavez in the 9th. LOB: New York 13, Pittsburgh 10. 2B: Cora (9), Tatis (8), Santos (8), McCutchen (6), G.Jones (1), R.Diaz (6). 3B: G.Jones (1). HR: Tatis (3), off Karstens; G.Jones (1), off Feliciano; Ad.LaRoche (12), off Fr.Rodriguez. RBIs: Sheffield (31), Tatis 2 (19), Church 2 (21), Evans (5), Dan.Murphy 2 (26), Reed (4), McCutchen (19), Ja.Wilson (26), Ad.LaRoche 2 (39), G.Jones 2 (2), R.Diaz 2 (17). SB: Cora (7), Tatis (3), Ar.Reyes (1). S: Ja.Wilson. SF: Reed, Ja.Wilson. RLSP: New York 9 (Church 3, Sheffield, L.Castillo 2, Cora 2, Evans); Pittsburgh 6 (Ad.LaRoche 2, Delw.Young, Maholm, Ja.Wilson, Moss). RA: D.Wright, R.Vazquez 2. GIDP: L.Castillo, Ad.LaRoche. DP: New York 1 (L.Castillo, Cora, Evans); Pittsburgh 1 (R.Vazquez, Ja.Wilson, Ad.LaRoche).

New York walks (6): L.Castillo 2, D.Wright, Sheffield, Santos, Ar.Reyes.

Pittsburgh walks (4): Ja.Wilson, An.LaRoche, R.Vazquez, Moss.

New York strikeouts (3): D.Wright, Evans, Santos.

Pittsburgh strikeouts (7): McCutchen, Ja.Wilson 2, Delw.Young, An.LaRoche 2, Maholm.

New York IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Redding 21/3   6   5   5   2   2   49   6.99   

Misch 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   6   5.40   

Dessens 1   0   0   0   1   0   19   3.86   

Stokes 2   1   0   0   0   1   21   3.78   

Feliciano (H) 2/3   1   1   1   0   1   18   2.78   

S.Green (H) 11/3   0   0   0   1   2   25   5.00   

Fr.Rodriguez (BS) (W) 2   4   2   2   0   1   46   1.59   

Pittsburgh IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Maholm 41/3   11   6   6   1   1   81   4.69   

Karstens 12/3   1   2   2   2   0   28   4.80   

Meek 1   0   0   0   2   0   15   2.73   

S.Jackson 12/3   2   0   0   1   1   33   4.40   

J.Chavez 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   1   3.41   

Capps (L) 1   1   1   1   0   1   25   4.88   

W: Rodriguez, 2-2. L: Capps, 1-4. H: Green, 8. H: Feliciano, 15. BS: Rodriguez, 3.

IR-S: Misch 1-0, Karstens 2-1, J.Chavez 2-0. HBP: by Dessens (Delw.Young), by Redding (McCutchen), by S.Green (R.Diaz), by Capps (Tatis), by Maholm (Tatis). WP: Maholm. Umpires: Home, Chad Fairchild; first, Wally Bell; second, Mike Estabrook; third, Marty Foster. T: 3:48 (Rain delay: 0:43). A: 14,321 (38,362).

Reds 3, Diamondbacks 2

CINCINNATI - After Cincinnati escaped a jam in the top of the 10th, Joey Votto's bases-loaded single with two outs sent Arizona to its 10th loss in 12 games.

Arizona 010 001 000 0 – 2 4 0

Cincinnati 000 100 001 1 – 3 14 0

Arizona AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Cincinnati AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

F.Lopez 2b 4   0   1   0   .303      Taveras cf 4   0   0   0   .233   

S.Drew ss 4   0   0   0   .243      b-L.Nix ph-lf 2   0   0   0   .250   

Qualls p 0   0   0   0   .000      Harstn Jr. 3b-ss 5   1   1   0   .244   

e-Clark ph 0   0   0   0   .200      Votto 1b 6   0   4   1   .366   

Zavada p 0   0   0   0   ---      B.Phillips 2b 5   0   1   0   .268   

J.Upton rf 5   0   0   0   .309      Gomes lf 4   1   1   0   .333   

Reynolds 3b 4   1   1   1   .270      Masset p 0   0   0   0   ---   

G.Parra cf 2   1   0   0   .256      Herrera p 0   0   0   0   .000   

Montero c 4   0   1   0   .252      c-Sutton ph-3b 1   0   0   1   .000   

Tracy 1b 4   0   1   1   .203      Hanigan c 3   0   3   0   .336   

A.Romero lf 2   0   0   0   .273      1-Richar pr-3b 0   0   0   0   .250   

D.Davis p 3   0   0   0   .167      d-Owings ph 1   0   0   0   .256   

Rauch p 0   0   0   0   ---      Cordero p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Schoeneweis p 0   0   0   0   ---      Dickrson rf-lf-cf 4   1   2   1   .288   

Ojeda ss 0   0   0   0   .234      Janish ss 2   0   0   0   .243   

Totals 32   2   4   2         a-RHrndez ph-c 1   0   1   0   .254   

                  Harang p 3   0   0   0   .125   

                  Bruce rf 2   0   1   0   .215   

                  Totals 43   3   14   3      

Two outs when winning run scored.a-singled for Janish in the 8th. b-struck out for Taveras in the 8th. c-grounded into a fielder's choice for Herrera in the 9th. d-grounded out for Richar in the 9th. e-walked for Qualls in the 10th.1-ran for Hanigan in the 8th. LOB: Arizona 7, Cincinnati 16. 2B: Votto (13), Gomes (7). HR: Reynolds (22), off Harang. RBIs: Reynolds (57), Tracy (18), Votto (39), Sutton (1), Dickerson (12). SB: G.Parra (1), A.Romero (1). S: Ojeda. RLSP: Arizona 2 (Tracy, F.Lopez); Cincinnati 7 (B.Phillips 2, Hairston Jr. 2, Janish 2, L.Nix). RA: Montero. DP: Cincinnati 1 (Bruce, Bruce, R.Hernandez).

Arizona walks (6): F.Lopez, Clark, G.Parra 2, A.Romero 2.

Cincinnati walks (5): Hairston, Hanigan, Dickerson, Janish, R.Hernandez.

Arizona strikeouts (10): F.Lopez, S.Drew, J.Upton 2, Reynolds 2, Montero, Tracy, A.Romero, D.Davis.

Cincinnati strikeouts (7): L.Nix 2, Votto, Gomes 2, Dickerson, Janish.

Arizona IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

D.Davis 7   7   1   1   4   5   118   3.15   

Rauch (H) 1/3   2   0   0   0   0   11   4.50   

Schoeneweis (H) 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   5   4.15   

Qualls (BS) 11/3   2   1   1   0   1   20   4.22   

Zavada (L) 2/3   3   1   1   1   1   16   0.48   

Cincinnati IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Harang 7   4   2   2   3   8   114   3.86   

Masset 1   0   0   0   0   1   12   1.71   

Herrera 1   0   0   0   0   1   13   1.99   

Cordero (W) 1   0   0   0   3   0   20   1.85   

W: Cordero, 1-2. L: Zavada, 1-2. H: Schoeneweis, 3. H: Rauch, 3. BS: Qualls, 4.

IR-S: Schoeneweis 2-0, Qualls 2-0. IBB: off Cordero (F.Lopez).

WP: Rauch, Cordero. Umpires: Home, Brian Knight; first, Doug Eddings; second, Dana DeMuth; third, Hunter Wendelstedt.

T: 3:26. A: 19,592 (42,319).

Astros 7, Padres 2

SAN DIEGO - Geoff Blum hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs as Houston won three of four against San Diego, outscoring the Padres in the series by 20-7.

Blum, a former Padre, gave the Astros a 6-0 lead when he homered to right with one out in the fifth.

Houston 201 030 001 – 7 10 1

San Diego 000 010 001 – 2 9 0

Houston AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      San Diego AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Bourn cf 5   2   2   0   .291      E.Cabrera ss 4   1   1   1   .286   

Tejada ss 4   1   2   0   .333      Hairston cf 4   0   2   1   .314   

Berkman 1b 3   3   2   1   .265      Ad.Gonzalez 1b 3   0   0   0   .265   

Ca.Lee lf 5   0   2   1   .302      Kouzmanoff 3b 4   0   0   0   .235   

Blum 3b 4   1   2   4   .266      Blanks lf 4   0   0   0   .194   

Pence rf 4   0   0   1   .306      E.Gonzalez rf 4   1   1   0   .187   

K.Matsui 2b 4   0   0   0   .244      H.Blanco c 3   0   1   0   .211   

Quintero c 4   0   0   0   .266      L.Rodriguez 2b 4   0   1   0   .204   

W.Rodriguez p 2   0   0   0   .034      Correia p 1   0   1   0   .190   

Arias p 1   0   0   0   .000      a-Headley ph 1   0   0   0   .235   

Byrdak p 0   0   0   0   ---      G.Burke p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Valverde p 0   0   0   0   ---      b-Gwynn ph 1   0   1   0   .308   

Totals 36   7   10   7         M.Adams p 0   0   0   0   ---   

                  Thatcher p 0   0   0   0   ---   

                  c-Alfonzo ph 1   0   1   0   .286   

                  Totals 34   2   9   2      

a-grounded out for Correia in the 5th. b-singled for G.Burke in the 7th. c-singled for Thatcher in the 9th. E: Blum (2). LOB: Houston 6, San Diego 9. 2B: Berkman 2 (15), Hairston (14), E.Gonzalez (5), H.Blanco (5). HR: Blum (2), off Correia. RBIs: Berkman (48), Ca.Lee (47), Blum 4 (24), Pence (33), E.Cabrera (5), Hairston (28). SB: Bourn (26), Hairston (8). RLSP: Houston 3 (K.Matsui, Ca.Lee 2); San Diego 7 (L.Rodriguez, Kouzmanoff 2, Ad.Gonzalez, E.Cabrera, Blanks, Hairston). GI DP: E.Cabrera, Kouzmanoff, Blanks. DP: Houston 3 (Tejada, K.Matsui, Berkman), (Blum, Berkman), (Tejada, K.Matsui, Berkman).

Houston walks (4): Tejada, Berkman 2, W.Rodriguez.

San Diego walks (3): E.Cabrera, Hairston, H.Blanco.

Houston strikeouts (7): Berkman, Blum, K.Matsui, Quintero 2, W.Rodriguez, Arias.

San Diego strikeouts (6): Ad.Gonzalez 2, Kouzmanoff 3, Blanks.

Houston IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

W.Rodriguez (W) 7   7   1   1   2   5   108   3.21   

Arias 1   0   0   0   0   1   16   1.99   

Byrdak 2/3   2   1   1   1   0   29   3.71   

Valverde 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   3   3.78   

San Diego IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Correia (L) 5   8   6   6   3   3   106   4.58   

G.Burke 2   0   0   0   0   1   34   3.68   

M.Adams 1   0   0   0   0   1   11   2.35   

Thatcher 1   2   1   1   1   2   25   5.17   

W: Rodriguez, 7-6. L: Correia, 5-6.

IR-S: Valverde 2-0. HBP: by Arias (Ad.Gonzalez). WP: Byrdak. Umpires: Home, Laz Diaz; first, Eric Cooper; second, Mike Reilly; third, Chuck Meriwether. T: 2:58. A: 23,284 (42,691).

Cardinals 5, Giants 2

ST. LOUIS - Todd Wellemeyer rebounded from his shortest start of the season with his longest to lead St. Louis over San Francisco.

Wellemeyer had lasted just 21/3 innings in his previous start, giving up three earned runs to Minnesota. Ryan Franklin worked a perfect ninth against the Giants for his 19th save in 20 chances.

Ryan Ludwick had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who won for the third time in nine games.

Barry Zito, who threw 26 pitches before getting an out, settled down after the first five hitters reached safely, retiring 12 in a row. But the Cardinals chased him with two runs in the fifth.

San Francisco's Aaron Rowand broke up the shutout with a two-run homer just over wall in left in the seventh.

San Francisco 000 000 020 – 2 9 0

St. Louis 300 020 00x – 5 8 0

San Fran. AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      St. Louis AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Rowand cf 4   1   1   2   .298      Br.Ryan ss 4   2   2   0   .298   

Winn rf-lf 4   0   2   0   .274      Schumker 2b-lf 4   1   2   1   .293   

Sandoval 3b 4   0   0   0   .327      Pujols 1b 2   1   0   0   .335   

B.Molina c 4   0   2   0   .263      Ludwick rf 4   0   2   2   .239   

1-Whitesde pr-c 0   0   0   0   .267      Y.Molina c 3   0   1   1   .279   

F.Lewis lf 4   0   0   0   .250      Duncan lf 4   0   0   1   .242   

Medders p 0   0   0   0   .000      Franklin p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Uribe ss 4   0   1   0   .281      T.Greene 3b 3   0   0   0   .230   

Ishikawa 1b 4   0   1   0   .253      Wellemeyer p 3   0   0   0   .125   

M.Downs 2b 3   0   0   0   .194      D.Reyes p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Zito p 1   0   1   0   .120      McClellan p 0   0   0   0   .000   

J.Miller p 0   0   0   0   .000      Thurston 2b 0   0   0   0   .219   

M.Valdez p 0   0   0   0   ---      Rasmus cf 3   1   1   0   .271   

a-Schrhltz ph-rf 1   1   1   0   .307      Totals 30   5   8   5      

Totals 33   2   9   2                        

a-singled for M.Valdez in the 8th.1-ran for B.Molina in the 8th. LOB: San Francisco 6, St. Louis 4. 2B: Winn (21), Br.Ryan (9), Schumaker (16). HR: Rowand (9), off Wellemeyer. RBIs: Rowand 2 (35), Schumaker (22), Ludwick 2 (41), Y.Molina (25), Duncan (32). S: Zito. RLSP: San Francisco 3 (B.Molina, Winn, F.Lewis); St. Louis 2 (Wellemeyer, Duncan). RA: Sandoval, Schumaker. GIDP: Ishikawa, M.Downs, Pujols. DP: San Francisco 1 (M.Downs, Uribe, Ishikawa); St. Louis 2 (Br.Ryan, Schumaker, Pujols), (Br.Ryan, Pujols).

San Francisco walk (1): M.Downs.

St. Louis walks (3): Pujols 2, Y.Molina.

San Francisco strikeouts (8): Rowand 2, Sandoval 2, B.Molina, F.Lewis, Ishikawa, M.Downs.

St. Louis strikeouts (7): Br.Ryan, Pujols, Ludwick, Duncan, T.Greene 2, Rasmus.

San Francisco IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Zito (L) 41/3   5   5   5   3   7   91   4.82   

J.Miller 12/3   1   0   0   0   0   17   2.16   

M.Valdez 1   1   0   0   0   0   16   3.38   

Medders 1   1   0   0   0   0   14   3.03   

St. Louis IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Wellemeyer (W) 71/3   7   2   2   1   6   99   5.44   

D.Reyes 0   1   0   0   0   0   6   4.35   

McClellan (H) 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   17   2.92   

Franklin (S) 1   0   0   0   0   1   9   0.87   

W: Wellemeyer, 7-7. L: Zito, 4-8. S: Franklin, 19. H: McClellan, 9.

D.Reyes pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. IR-S: J.Miller 2-1, McClellan 1-0. IBB: off Zito (Pujols, Pujols). Umpires: Home, Todd Tichenor; first, Mark Carlson; second, Tim Tschida; third, Bob Davidson.

T: 2:35. A: 41,875 (43,975).

Cubs 9, Brewers 5

CHICAGO - Derrek Lee hit a grand slam and a three-run homer for a career-high seven RBIs as Chicago opened an 11-game homestand by beating Milwaukee.

Lee, playing in his 13th season, drove his 10th career grand slam off reliever Chris Smith in the fourth after connecting off starter Seth McClung in the first.

Ryan Dempster got his first win since May 30 and improved his career record against the Brewers to 10-3.

Milwaukee 020 001 110 – 5 10 0

Chicago 400 500 00x – 9 11 1

Milwaukee AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Chicago AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Counsell 2b 4   0   0   0   .292      Fuld lf 4   2   2   0   .500   

Hardy ss 5   0   0   0   .228      Theriot ss 4   2   2   0   .289   

Braun lf 5   0   1   1   .328      D.Lee 1b 4   2   2   7   .285   

Fielder 1b 4   2   2   1   .309      Bradley rf 4   0   1   0   .239   

McGehee 3b 5   0   1   0   .317      J.Fox 3b 3   1   1   1   .317   

M.Cameron cf 4   2   3   2   .248      Heilman p 0   0   0   0   ---   

C.Hart rf 3   0   0   0   .248      Marmol p 0   0   0   0   ---   

Kendall c 4   0   2   1   .237      Fukudome cf 4   0   1   0   .260   

McClung p 1   0   0   0   .000      Soto c 4   1   1   1   .237   

C.Smith p 0   0   0   0   .000      Fontenot 2b-3b 4   1   1   0   .220   

a-Gerut ph 1   1   1   0   .199      Dempster p 2   0   0   0   .088   

Narveson p 0   0   0   0   ---      Marshall p 0   0   0   0   .231   

b-Catalnotto ph 1   0   0   0   .258      A.Blanco 2b 1   0   0   0   .228   

DiFelice p 0   0   0   0   ---      Totals 34   9   11   9      

Totals 37   5   10   5                        

a-singled for C.Smith in the 7th. b-popped out for Narveson in the 8th. E: Fontenot (5). LOB: Milwaukee 9, Chicago 5. 2B: Fielder (20), M.Cameron (15), Fuld (2), Fukudome (16). HR: M.Cameron (13), off Dempster; Fielder (21), off Dempster; D.Lee (13), off McClung; J.Fox (3), off McClung; Soto (8), off McClung; D.Lee (14), off C.Smith. RBIs: Braun (58), Fielder (75), M.Cameron 2 (35), Kendall (22), D.Lee 7 (48), J.Fox (12), Soto (26). S: Dempster. RLSP: Milwaukee 4 (C.Hart, Braun, Fielder, Counsell); Chicago 3 (Theriot, Dempster, J.Fox). RA: Fontenot. GIDP: C.Hart. DP: Chicago 1 (Fontenot, Theriot, D.Lee).

Milwaukee walks (3): Counsell, Fielder, C.Smith.

Chicago walks (3): Fuld, Theriot, J.Fox.

Milwaukee strikeouts (12): Counsell, Hardy 3, Braun, Fielder 2, McGehee 3, Kendall, McClung.

Chicago strikeouts (2): Bradley, Soto.

Milwaukee IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

McClung (L) 31/3   7   7   7   2   1   85   4.59   

C.Smith 22/3   4   2   2   1   1   50   2.50   

Narveson 1   0   0   0   0   0   11   9.00   

DiFelice 1   0   0   0   0   0   13   1.72   

Chicago IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Dempster (W) 62/3   8   4   3   2   9   109   4.09   

Marshall 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   4   4.37   

Heilman 1   2   1   1   0   1   21   4.04   

Marmol 1   0   0   0   1   1   20   3.76   

W: Dempster, 5-5. L: McClung, 3-2. .

IR-S: C.Smith 2-2, Marshall 2-0. HBP: by Heilman (C.Hart). Umpires: Home, James Hoye; first, Bill Welke; second, Tim Welke; third, Jim Reynolds. T: 2:42. A: 40,545 (41,210).