Mets continue to close gap in East

MONTREAL -- Desi Relaford hit a go-ahead homerun in the eighth inning and an RBI double during a five-run ninth as the New York Mets rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Montreal Expos 12-6 Thursday night.

Pinch-hitter Mike Piazza, who didn't start because of a bruised right thumb, lined a three-run double in the ninth as the Mets won for the eighth time in nine games and pulled within three games of first-place Atlanta the NL East.

New York, which is two games behind Philadelphia, starts a three-game series at Turner Field on Friday night.

Trailing 6-2, the Mets scored twice in the sixth and once in the seventh, when first baseman Todd Zeile and manager Bobby Valentine were ejected. Relaford hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Scott Strickland (2-6).

The game drew 6,988, and Montreal finished its home schedule with a team-record-low attendance of 619,451, an average of 7,648.

ASTROS 6, CUBS 5

CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa carried a small American flag as he rounded the bases following his 59th home run but he wasn't enough to carry the fading Chicago Cubs, who lost to the Houston Astros 6-5 Thursday night.

In the first game at Wrigley Field since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Shane Reynolds improved to 5-0 against the Cubs this season and Vinny Castilla hit a three-run homer for the first-place Astros.

Houston increased its lead in the NL Central to four games over idle St. Louis and to nine games over the third-place Cubs. Chicago has lost five of six and dropped five games behind the Cardinals in the wild card race with nine games left -- all at Wrigley.

Sosa also hit into a fielder's choice and then had three straight singles, the third off Billy Wagner with one out in the ninth. Wagner then got Fred McGriff to hit into a game-ending double play for his 38th save in 40 chances.

MARLINS 7, BRAVES 1

MIAMI -- Greg Maddux (17-10) fell behind 4-1 in the first three innings, giving him three straight losing decisions for the first time since July 22 to Aug. 2 last year.

Pitching for the first time since hyperextending his elbow Saturday in New York, Maddux gave up Cliff Floyd's RBI double and Kevin Millar's run-scoring single in the first, Derrek Lee's sacrifice fly in the second and Mike Lowell's homer in the third.

REDS 2, PHILLIES 1

PHILADELPHIA -- Lance Davis (8-3) pitched two-hit ball over six innings and Corky Miller stole home on a pickoff attempt at first by Omar Daal (12-7) as Philadelphia missed a chance to tie Atlanta.

Cincinnati went ahead in the fifth on Wilton Guerrero's RBI single and Miller's first career steal.

-- From wire reports