MIAMI (Ticker) -- They may be the two best catchers of the era, but through two games, Ivan Rodriguez clearly has gotten the best of Mike Piazza.
Rodriguez's two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Juan Pierre with the winning run as the Florida Marlins edged the New York Mets, 3-2.
One night after tying a National League record with five walks, Rodriguez did a little of everything, going 2-for-3 with two walks and two RBI. Among the greatest defensive catchers ever, Rodriguez also picked off a runner at first base in the ninth to thwart a potential rally.
Mets reliever Mike Stanton (0-1) easily retired the first two batters in the ninth but surrendered back-to-back singles to Pierre and Luis Castillo. New York manager Art Howe opted to stick with the lefthanded Stanton against Rodriguez and the Marlins' backstop made him pay by lining a game-winning single into right-center field.
"I got two hits and two walks," Rodriguez said. "That's how you play the game, concentrate and try to get a pitch to hit. If they throw me a pitch to hit, I'm going to swing. The best feeling is we won the game."
"Pudge is amazing," Marlins manager Jeff Torborg said. "You just knew that he's that level of player that he's going to get this run in. That's what's made him so good."
The Mets agreed with Torborg's assessment.
"That's Pudge," Howe said. "That's why he's an All-Star. He beat us with his bat and with defense. That's a pretty good message he sent tonight."
"He's swinging the bat so well," Piazza said. "That was a nice piece of hitting and it won the game. It's no secret he's a tremendous player, a tremendous addition to their ballclub."
Braden Looper (1-0) struck out two in the top of the ninth to notch the win.
Piazza is 1-for-7 with a walk and two throwing errors in the series. On Wednesday, he twice left a runner at third with one out, failing to get the ball out of the infield each time.
Both starters pitched well.
A.J. Burnett was activated from the disabled list prior to the game and made his 2003 debut a solid one. Against the organization that drafted him, Burnett allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings.
Burnett walked two, struck out four and showed no lingering effects from the elbow pain that forced him to the disabled list late in March.
"I'm just amazed at what he did tonight," Torborg added. "He was sharp, which I was afraid he would not be, and he was very economical with his pitches, which is surprising and he was loose, easy. Boy, is that a boost for us."
"I stayed within myself pretty good," Burnett said. "I knew I was going to be anxious. I was just trying to keep it behind me and make my pitches."
Steve Trachsel allowed one run and six hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out four.
The Mets had a chance to break on top in the fourth as Roberto Alomar led off with a double and took third on a groundout. Piazza then beat a 2-0 pitch into the ground and Alomar was stranded when Mo Vaughn flied out.
Jeromy Burnitz staked the Mets to a 1-0 lead in the fifth with a home run just inside the right field foul pole. It was Burnitz's first homer of the season.
Trachsel escaped a jam in the fifth inning, getting Pierre to pop out and Castillo on a grounder to third.
Alomar opened the sixth with a triple but former Marlin Cliff Floyd hit Burnett's first offering back to the mound. Piazza then chopped Burnett's next pitch to third base for the second out and Vaughn struck out swinging to end the inning.
Florida got even on the fifth pitch of the bottom of the frame as Rodriguez hit a long home run to left-center field. Derrek Lee singled with two outs and stole second but Trachsel got Hollandsworth to pop out.
Ty Wigginton, who hit a pivotal three-run homer in Tuesday's series opener, was hit by Burnett to open the seventh and took second on a wild pitch. After a groundout moved Wigginton to third, Rey Sanchez singled over a drawn-in infield for a 2-1 lead.
Jaime Cerda took over for Trachsel to start the seventh and surrendered a leadoff double to Alex Gonzalez, who had three hits and is batting .375 this season. Mike Mordecai popped out trying to bunt and Pierre grounded out, moving Gonzalez to third.
Scott Strickland replaced Cerda and got ahead of Castillo, 0-2. But Castillo singled up the middle to tie the game, stole second and took third on Piazza's third error of the season. Strickland walked Rodriguez for the seventh time in the series before getting Juan Encarnacion on a popout.
Vaughn was hit by a pitch to open the ninth but Rodriguez picked pinch runner Joe McEwing off first base. Looper then struck out the next two batters.
"That pickoff was almost if you blink your eye you miss the throw," Torborg said. "He's the quickest I've ever seen."
"When you've got a catcher that (picks) guys off like that it's pretty amazing," Looper said. "I was just pumped. It was an exciting moment in the game. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before. That's amazing."
