Pen can't save Mets; lead at 1

RYAN HOWARDHits 44th homer

Fill-in closer Luis Ayala gave up a go-ahead homer to pinch hitter Greg Norton, and the Atlanta Braves rallied for five runs in the ninth inning yesterday and a 7-4 victory over the Mets at Shea Stadium. New York's lead in the NL East was cut to one game by Philadelphia, which swept a doubleheader from Milwaukee.

Wasting two homers by David Wright and a strong start from Oliver Perez, the Mets lost for the ninth time in 30 games.

The Mets have 27 blown saves - they began the day tied for third-most in the majors. This was their 11th blown save in the ninth inning.

Ayala (2-9) began the ninth with a 4-2 lead but allowed consecutive singles to Casey Kotchman and pinch hitter Kelly Johnson. Norton then drove a full-count delivery into the Mets' bullpen in right field for a 5-4 Atlanta edge.

Phillies sweep, 7-3, 6-1 - Brett Myers pitched a two-hitter and host Philadelphia moved into a tie for the NL wild-card lead, sweeping a day-night doubleheader from Milwaukee.

Pat Burrell homered and Shane Victorino went 4 for 4 in the nightcap for surging Phillies, who are now tied with the Brewers with 12 games remaining.

In the opener, Burrell snapped out of a recent slump by contributing two hits, including the go-ahead single in the eighth inning.

Yankees 8, Rays 4 - Derek Jeter collected three hits for the third straight game, Alex Rodriguez belted a grand slam, and host New York beat Tampa Bay to take two of three from the AL East leaders.

Jeter moved into a tie with Lou Gehrig for most career hits at Yankee Stadium and Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer for New York. Mariano Rivera struck out Erick Aybar for his 35th save in 36 opportunities. The All-Star closer also moved into a tie with Lee Smith for second on the career list with 478 saves.

Oft-injured Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano (3-1) allowed three earned runs and five hits before he was booed off the mound in the sixth inning following a visit by the trainer and manager Joe Girardi. New York didn't immediately announce a reason for Pavano's departure.

White Sox sweep, 4-2, 11-7 - Dewayne Wise hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning and host Chicago completed a sweep of Detroit after the bullpen blew a seven-run lead, building a 1 1/2-game edge over the Twins in the AL Central.

The White Sox won the first game behind Javier Vazquez's 7 2/3 scoreless innings. They appeared on their way to an easy nightcap while building a 7-0 lead behind John Danks. The Tigers tied it at 7 in the top of the eighth on a leadoff homer by Curtis Granderson and grand slam by Marcus Thames.

Orioles 7, Twins 3 - Radhames Liz pitched eight shutout innings, and host Baltimore hit five home runs in beating Minnesota.

Rockies 1, Dodgers 0 - Troy Tulowitzki singled home the winning run with one out in the 10th to help host Colorado end Los Angeles's four-game winning streak.

Reds 2, Diamondbacks 1 - Corey Patterson homered in the 10th inning to lift Cincinnati over slumping Arizona, which lost for the eighth time in nine games and remained 4 1/2 games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Pirates 7, Cardinals 2 - Adam LaRoche drove in three runs with a pair of hits and host Pittsburgh scored three times in both the first and second innings and finished off a three-game sweep of St. Louis.

Angels 4, Mariners 3 - Chone Figgins singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and Mark Teixeira hit his 200th career homer as host Los Angeles beat Seattle for a four-game sweep.

Marlins 8, Nationals 7 - Josh Willingham singled in the go-ahead run and host Florida scored seven runs off four Washington relievers in the eighth inning to erase a 6-1 deficit and rally for its 40th come-from-behind victory of the season.

Royals 13, Indians 3 - Brian Bannister won for the first time in nearly three months and Ryan Shealy homered twice and drove in five runs in visiting Kansas City's win over Cleveland.

Athletics 7, Rangers 1 - Aaron Cunningham hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot that broke an eighth-inning tie and lifted host Oakland over Texas.

Giants 8, Padres 6 - Rookie Pablo Sandoval scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning and visiting San Francisco beat San Diego.