Miami ? The New York Mets lost two arguments, then lost the game.

Catcher Mike Piazza and manager Bobby Valentine were ejected just before Mike Lowell hit a tie-breaking homer in the seventh inning, and the Florida Marlins beat the Mets, 9-7, Saturday night.

New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza chases an errant throw from shortstop Rey Ordothat allowed Florida's Luis Castillo and Andy Fox to score on a double by the Marlins' Cliff Floyd. Piazza was later ejected. Florida won, 9-7.

The rhubarb and result gave a crowd of 33,291 plenty to cheer and jeer about. It was the Marlins’ largest crowd since they played the New York Yankees last July 14.

“The fans got their money’s worth tonight,” Lowell said.

Preston Wilson hit two home runs to help Florida snap a four-game losing streak, but it was the hot-tempered Mets who created the most excitement.

Piazza, upset that he was called out on strikes in the top of the seventh, renewed his complaint while catching in the bottom of the inning. He protested when a pitch to Cliff Floyd was called a ball and was thrown out by plate umpire Mark Wegner.

“Anything close and Piazza was going to give him hell,” Floyd said. “He let him have it. There was a lot of bleeping going on.”

Valentine ran into the field to separate a screaming Piazza from Wegner, then began arguing with second-base umpire Ed Rapuano and was also ejected.

“Rapuano bumped me, then he threw me out when I asked him, ‘What’d you bump me for?”‘ Valentine said. “What is this, the Gestapo?”

Astros 7, Cubs 3

Chicago Houston handed Mark Prior his first major league loss, roughing up the heralded rookie for three early home runs. Prior (1-1) found out firsthand how tough it can be to pitch at Wrigley Field when the wind is blowing out. With gusts of 22 mph, he was tagged for seven runs and seven hits in only 323 innings. Richard Hidalgo, Lance Berkman and Geoff Blum all homered off Prior in his third big league start.

Cardinals 9, Pirates 4

St. Louis Edgar Renteria hit a three-run double as St. Louis staked Darryl Kile to a six-run lead in the first inning. Kile pitched seven innings to even his record. He allowed six hits and two walks while striking out two. The Cardinals have won each of Kile’s last four starts.

Phillies 8, Expos 4

Philadelphia Scott Rolen had two home runs and five RBIs matching his total for all of May to lead Philadelphia. Rolen, batting second for the first time in his major-league career, broke a 2-all tie with a three-run homer off Tony Armas (5-7) in the seventh. Bobby Abreu followed with a solo shot to make it 6-2.

Dodgers 2, D-backs 0

Los Angeles Andy Ashby pitched eight sharp innings and Brian Jordan hit a two-run homer. The Dodgers won despite getting only two hits, including Jordan’s homer in the fourth. The crisply played game took exactly two hours. Ashby (5-4) gave five hits, struck out two and walked one. Eric Gagne got three outs for his major league-leading 19th save in 20 attempts.

Braves 7, Reds 1

Cincinnati Gary Sheffield homered twice and drove in five runs and Tom Glavine maintained his Cincinnati magic. Glavine (9-2) improved to 16-4 lifetime at Cincinnati the most wins by any visiting pitcher at Cinergy Field.

Brewers 4, Padres 3

San Diego A bizarre throwing error set up Mark Loretta’s suicide squeeze in the ninth inning. Ronnie Belliard led off the inning with a double, chasing reliever Alan Embree (3-3). After Trevor Hoffman came in, Jose Hernandez hit a ball off Hoffman’s glove, first baseman Ryan Klesko fielded it and threw to Ramon Vazquez at first. The throw knocked his glove off and both runners advanced a base on the play.

Rockies 5, Giants 4

San Francisco Todd Helton had four hits and drove in two runs, helping Colorado win its third straight game. The Giants lost their fourth in a row. Mike Hampton (3-6) improved to 12-1 in 20 career starts against the Giants.