Hundley, Piazza homer in dramatic fashion as Mets win

The Associated Press HOUSTON -- This series couldn't have ended any other way. Pinch-hitter Todd Hundley homered with two outs in the 11th inning last night to give the New York Mets a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros, concluding four games full of late drama. Mike Piazza hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth that put the Mets ahead 3-2, but Brad Ausmus homered with one out in the bottom half and sent the teams to extra innings for the third time in three days. The Mets began the day a half-game behind Chicago in the NL wild-card race. New York won three of four from the NL Central champions. In each game, the Mets hit a home run in the eighth or ninth inning that either tied the score or put them ahead. The Astros almost won it in the 10th. Mets reliever Greg McMichael walked the bases loaded with two outs, but came back from a 3-0 count to strike out Ricky Gutierrez. Hundley, a former All-Star catcher who missed most of the season because of elbow surgery, recently rejoined the Mets after a failed experiment playing left field. He came back primarily to pinch-hit and rest Piazza. With Piazza on deck, Hundley delivered his biggest hit of the season. On a 2-1 count, he hit a 94 mph fastball from Sean Bergman (12-9) over the center-field fence for his third home run of the season. McMichael (5-4) wound up with the win and Turk Wendell struck out the side in the 11th for his fourth save. Bergman lost in his first relief appearance of the season. Piazza, acquired in midseason to help push the Mets into the playoffs, is doing just that down the stretch. In September, the All-Star catcher is 22-for-53 (.415) with six home runs and 17 RBIs. Mike Hampton blanked the Mets on eight hits for eight innings, and Billy Wagner took over to start the ninth. Pinch-hitter Todd Pratt led off with a single and John Olerud singled with two outs for his fourth hit. Piazza followed by lining a 2-2 fastball the other way, a drive that cleared the fence in right-center and brought the Mets flooding from the dugout to greet him. Piazza hit his 32nd home run of the season and 200th of his career. But Dennis Cook, who had not allowed an earned run in 17 straight appearances -- spanning 15 2-3 innings -- gave up Ausmus' sixth homer that tied it. Carl Everett, traded from the Mets to the Astros in the offseason, hit his career-high 15th homer in the third off Bobby Jones. Jones, who had walked only 47 in his previous 28 starts, walked three in the first three innings. The control problems got him in trouble in the third when Craig Biggio walked before Everett's homer.