New York ? Mike Piazza tipped his helmet to Pedro Martinez, then teed off against him.

Piazza hit two more home runs off his former Mets teammate, even drawing an extremely rare curtain call on the road, but fell just short of a go-ahead shot Wednesday night, and New York escaped with a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Jose Reyes was in the middle of the Mets’ fourth straight victory, lining a leadoff double before scoring in the first inning and hitting an RBI single and stealing a base the next inning.

Staked to a 4-0 lead, Martinez (9-4) cruised. A day after Piazza was showered with ovations in his return to Shea Stadium, Martinez joined the 49,979 fans in paying homage to the former Mets standout.

Martinez stepped off the mound and tipped his hat when Piazza first came to bat. Piazza responded with a similar gesture of respect – remember, they weren’t so friendly a few years ago when Martinez nailed him with a pitch while playing for Boston.

This time, Piazza did all the hitting. His two solo shots gave him six career home runs off Martinez, the most by anyone off the ace.

Diamondbacks 5, Giants 3

Phoenix – Luis Gonzalez homered, and Arizona set a club record by turning five double plays.

Astros 14, Pirates 1

Houston – Ace pitcher Roy Oswalt hit one of Houston’s six homers, and Aubrey Huff connected twice and drove in a career-high six runs.

Brewers 6, Cubs 3

Milwaukee – Dave Bush took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, helping Milwaukee beat Chicago and stop a three-game losing streak. Bush (8-8) allowed three hits in eight innings.

Reds 8, Cardinals 7

Cincinnati – David Ross hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Jason Isringhausen – Cincinnati’s fourth home run of the game.

Nationals 5, Marlins 2

Washington – Dontrelle Willis gave up one run on a wild pitch and another on a throwing error.

Phillies 9, Braves 3

Atlanta – Chase Utley hit a go-ahead, three-run double in an eight-run seventh inning, and Philadelphia beat Atlanta.

Rockies 3, Dodgers 1

Los Angeles – Brad Hawpe homered and hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning, and Colorado ended Los Angeles’ 11-game winning streak.