Mike Piazza hit a tiebreaking, three run homer in the eighth inning and David Wright connected twice to lead the Mets over the Braves 6-3 last night. Carlos Beltran matched a career high with four hits as the Mets beat Atlanta for just the third time in 10 meetings. It was the opener of a four-game series between the NL East rivals.

With the score tied at 3, Beltran hit a one-out double in the eighth off reliever Jim Brower (3-2). John Foster followed by walking Cliff Floyd on four pitches. Braves manager Bobby Cox then brought in Blaine Boyer to face Piazza, who hit an 0-2 pitch over the right-field wall for his 10th homer.

Roberto Hernandez (5-2) earned the win in relief of starter Kris Benson with one scoreless inning. Braden Looper pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 25 opportunities.

Adam LaRoche homered for the Braves, who have lost three straight after winning a season-high six in a row.

The Mets tied it at 3 in the seventh on Jose Offerman’s single – his sixth hit as a pinch-hitter in nine at-bats. Wright drew a leadoff walk, moved up on Chris Woodward’s sacrifice, and went to third on Horacio Ramirez’s wild pickoff attempt before Offerman’s base hit to left.

LaRoche gave Atlanta a 3-2 lead with a two-run homer – his 12th – off Benson in the seventh.

The Braves had a chance to take the lead in the eighth, but Kelly Johnson popped up a suicide squeeze. Wright made a diving catch near the third-base line and tagged the bag for an inning ending double play.

It wasn’t the only outstanding defensive play by the Mets. Floyd drew chants of “MVP! MVP!” after he somersaulted into the left-field stands to catch Ryan Langerhans’s foul fly in the fifth. He ran full stride toward the stands and backhanded the ball just as he hit the wall and fell headfirst into an empty section just in front of the stands.

Third-base umpire Ed Hickox ran down the line, looked in to see if Floyd held onto the ball, and signaled for the second out. Floyd, uninjured on the play, also received a standing ovation as he jogged back to the dugout after the inning.

Wright put the Mets ahead 1-0 with a home run on Ramirez’s first pitch of the second, just out of the reach of a leaping Andruw Jones in center. He homered off Ramirez in the fourth into the picnic area in left-center for his second career multihomer game, giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.

Benson retired his first 10 batters before Pete Orr’s single that just got past a diving Miguel Cairo at second base. Orr stole second and scored on Jones’s RBI single to tie it. Benson allowed three runs – two earned – and five hits in seven innings. He struck out seven.