FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Tony Clark is beginning to feel right at home at Shea Stadium.
Clark delivered as a pinch hitter, belting a three-run homer with one out in the eighth inning to lift the New York Mets to a 6-3 victory over the Florida Marlins.
After the Mets rallied to tie the game 3-3 in the seventh, Roger Cedeno had a one-out infield single and Vladimir Nunez (0-2) walked Roberto Alomar. Clark, hitting for Rey Sanchez, sent a 1-1 pitch over the right-center field wall for his first career homer as a pinch hitter.
"I was looking for a ball to hit somewhere where they weren't standing," Clark said. "I was fortunate enough to hit the ball hard. I'll take it tonight. One thing I know can't be lost is the at-bats by Cedeno and Alomar ahead of me. To be honest with you, I think (the pitch) was a split. I'm not entirely sure what the pitch was but you simply look for a pitch you can handle."
"The pitch was what I wanted and he hit it out," Nunez said. "You've got to give him credit. The pitch was down. He just made good contact."
It was the second home run in as many home games and third overall this season for Clark, whose contract was purchased by the Mets on April 6.
"This was actually my first BP on this field," the six-year veteran said. "I'm still not sure how the ball carries or doesn't carry here. But once I hit it, I kept my eye on Juan (Pierre in center field). Outfielders will usually let you know if you have a chance.
"A win in any kind of fashion does nothing but positive things for the ballclub. Guys battled all night and kept us in the position where we were going to have the opportunity to be successful."
Mike Piazza, who had a tough time behind the plate, had an RBI single in the fifth to pull the Mets within 3-2 and Ty Wigginton's run-scoring single tied it in the seventh.
David Weathers (1-0) picked up the win after tossing a scoreless eighth and struggling closer Armando Benitez worked in and out of trouble in the ninth for his fifth save.
After a 3-7 road trip, New York has won two in a row to start its nine-game homestand.
"There was a lot of life out there," Mets manager Art Howe said. "Tony is the man of the hour. It's great for guys sitting on the bench. We're still early in the season. It's a big win for us. It was nice that just about everyone on the team contributed in some way.
Derrek Lee had a two-run double for the Marlins, who stole six bases but lost for the fourth time in their last six games.
Mo Vaughn's RBI single gave New York a 1-0 lead in the first, but Juan Encarnacion had an RBI single and Lee drove in two with a double to put Florida ahead, 3-1.
Piazza twice threw the ball into the outfielder trying to nail base runners and allowed Florida to tie a club record for the second straight game with four stolen bases in the fourth.
"It's been frustrating, it really has," Piazza said. "I really wish I could throw better and obviously there's something out of whack mechanically. I really plan to work on it and get better. I really need to concentrate and make better throws. My teammates picked me up tonight but personally it's very frustrating."
Former Marlins pitcher Al Leiter made his 300th major league start. He allowed three runs and seven hits, struck out a season-high nine and walked two in six innings.
"I pitched a little defensive," Leiter said. "It's a matter of bearing down and making pitches. You throw pitches to make them keep the ball on the infield. As a opposed to being aggressive and exposing hitter's weaknesses, you get to the point where you just get mad and that's the defensive part."
Florida's starter Mark Redman yielded two runs and six hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking two.
"He was struggling early but he kind of got his stuff together for a while," Marlins manager Jeff Torborg said. "But his pitches were up. He threw over a 100 pitches in cold weather through five innings."
