Mike Piazza spoiled Roger Clemens' bid for his eighth straight win with a tying homer in the ninth off Octavio Dotel, and the New York Mets beat the Astros 3-2 Sunday in Houston on Jason Phillips' 13th-inning home run.
After Clemens struck out 10 in seven shutout innings, the Mets rallied in the ninth against Dotel. Eric Valent led off with a double, and two outs later, Piazza hit a 1-2 pitch over the right-center fence to tie it.
That spoiled Clemens' chance to become the first pitcher since Boston's Pedro Martinez in 1997 to win his first eight starts of the season. Dotel blew his second save in the last three outings.
The Rocket allowed only two hits and singled with the bases loaded in the sixth, the fifth RBI of his career. He lowered his ERA to a major league-leading 1.72.
A sellout crowd of 43,247 came out for one of Clemens' most dominant performances in a remarkable comeback season. In their head-to-head matchup, Piazza went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and walked — the only one Clemens allowed.
Clemens still brought a little heat to their simmering rivalry: he threw a 92 mph fastball high and inside to Piazza in the second, forcing the All-Star slugger to take a step back.
Clemens beaned Piazza during the 2000 season, then threw the barrel of a broken bat near him in the World Series that year.
Playing first base, Piazza tagged Clemens out on a bunt in the second. After Clemens' single, the two didn't speak during a pitching change, with Piazza chatting with first-base umpire Mark Wegner instead.
BREWERS 4, BRAVES 1: At Milwaukee, Ben Sheets struck out a franchise-record 18 — the most in the majors in three years. It was the most strikeouts by a big league pitcher since Arizona's Randy Johnson tied a major league record with 20 on May 8, 2001, against Cincinnati. With the shadows cutting right across the mound, Sheets (4-2) threw a three-hitter and struck out six of his last seven batters — including all three in the ninth. He threw 116 pitches, 91 for strikes, and walked only one.
MARLINS 3, CARDINALS 2: At St. Louis, Brad Penny worked six solid innings and Juan Pierre hit a two-run double to help Florida avoid a three-game sweep. Penny (4-2) allowed one run and five hits in six innings, winning for the fourth time in five decisions.
ROCKIES 7, PHILLIES 6: At Denver, Jeromy Burnitz drove in the tiebreaking run with an infield single in the eighth inning and had four RBIs, helping Colorado end a three-game losing streak. Tim Harikkala (1-0) got two outs for his first win since April 24, 1999, with Boston.
CUBS 4, PADRES 2: At San Diego, Jose Macias hit a tiebreaking home run off David Wells, and Michael Barrett also connected to lead Chicago over San Diego for a three-game sweep. The Cubs won their fourth straight game, moved into a tie with Houston atop the NL Central and outhit the Padres in their new ballpark.
PIRATES 8, GIANTS 1: At San Francisco, Rob Mackowiak homered twice and drove in four runs to help Pittsburgh complete a rare three-game sweep in San Francisco. The Pirates hadn't swept a series in San Francisco since winning a five-gamer in September 1996.
REDS 6, DODGERS 3: At Los Angeles, Adam Dunn had his first three-hit game of the season, including a two-run double, and Cincinnati completed its first three-game sweep of the year. Aaron Harang (4-1) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings.
EXPOS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 1: At Phoenix, Livan Hernandez pitched a six-hitter for his second complete game in 10 days, giving Montreal its first series sweep of the season. Brian Schneider hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fourth off Steve Sparks (2-3). Arizona lost its season-high fifth straight at home.