Diamondbacks Cool Off Mets

Matt Williams is feeling better. That's great news for an Arizona team that counts on him for his leadership, toughness, defense and bat.

Williams, bothered all season by injuries, was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer Sunday as the Diamondbacks cooled off New York 9-5 and avoided a three-game sweep by the Mets.

"We all know what Matt brings to this team," said Greg Colbrunn, who hit a three-run homer. "There's no secret about it. He's our cornerstone. He's everything to this team."

New York had won 10 of 11 coming in and had won seven straight against Arizona going back to last year's NL playoffs.

Williams, who hit .150 (3-for-20) in the first five games of the homestand, singled and even legged out a double. With a slow-to-heal strained right quadriceps muscle, he said he never would have tried to make it to second a few weeks ago.

He needed only a triple to hit for the cycle, a fact his teammates kidded him about in the dugout.

"I don't do triples," Williams said. "I turn triples into doubles."

Williams missed the first 43 games of the season after breaking a bone in his right foot with a foul ball in spring training. During his rehabilitation at Double-A El Paso, he strained his quadriceps, extending his sting on the disabled list another 2 1/2 weeks. He came back, but hobbled around the bases and didn't have his usual wide range at third base.

"We live it with him," manager Buck Showalter said. "We feel his frustration. But I tell you what, don't let him get it going, because somebody's going to pay for it when he does."

Danny Bautista hit a solo homer and Tony Womack had a two-out, two-run single as the Diamondbacks stayed a game behind first-place San Francisco in the NL West.

Armando Reynoso (8-7) improved to 7-2 in 13 starts at home. He allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, struck out five and walked three. The former Met left after giving up a two-run homer to Mike Bordick.

"We can't win every game," said Mets center fielder Jay Payton, who had his first career four-hit game. "We've played well lately. We had some opportunities to score some runs today, but that's baseball. One day you score three runs, the next you're lucky to get two or three hits."

The Mets were without Mike Piazza, who sprained his left knee in his team's 6-2 victory Saturday night. Piazza is not expected back behind the plate for 3-5 days.

Glendon Rusch (7-9), the only Mets' pitcher to lose in the last dozen games, gave up five runs on seven hits in four innings. He also lost 6-0 at Cincinnati on Monday. It was Rusch's shortest outing of the season.

"I struggled quite a bit with my command," Rusch said. "A couple of bad pitches hurt me. Just when I thought I was battling back, everything started to go wrong at the same time."

With the game 1-1 in the third, Luis Gonzalez singled with two outs, then Williams connected on an 0-1 pitch for his fourth homer of the season, his first since July 15.

Arizona made it 5-1 with two more runs in the fourth. Damian Miller walked with one out and Danny Bautista singled. Reynoso's sacrifice moved up the runners and Womack slapped a 1-2 pitch into center to drive in both. Bautista's leadoff homer made it 6-1 in the sixth.

Todd Pratt, starting in place of Piazza, singled to start the seventh. After pinch-hitter Lenny Harris beat out a potential, double-play grounder for a fielder's choice, Bordick ended Reynoso's day with his second NL homer to cut the lead to 6-3.

Colbrunn's three-run homer off Dennis Cook after one-out singles by Williams and Steve Finley made it 9-3 in the seventh.

Edgardo Alfonzo and Payton had RBI singles in the ninth before Matt Mantei came in and struck out Matt Franco for his eighth save in 10 chances.

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