Braves Slide By Mets In 11th

A close play at the plate sent the Atlanta Braves into the All-Star break with a 12 1/2-game lead over the second-place New York Mets.

Michael Tucker scored on a

Television replays were inconclusive.

It was the Braves' season-high eighth straight win.

Franco (0-2) hit Tucker on the right elbow to open the 11th. Andruw Jones, attempting to sacrifice, got a bunt single when first baseman John Olerud failed on a diving attempt to catch his pop-up.

After Gerald Williams popped to Olerud, Franco hit Eddie Perez on the left elbow with an 0-2 pitch, loading the bases.

Walt Weiss lined out to shallow left, and Bernard Gilkey's throw beat Tucker to the plate. But Hernandez ruled that Tucker had slid under the tag.

"He ruled that the guy's foot was in before there was a tag," first-base umpire Randy Marsh said.

"It was ridiculous," Piazza said. "I was on the plate. He didn't ever reach the plate. I thought it was a dirty slide. I got a chunk of my leg out."

Tucker climed he slid under the tag of Piazza, who sustained a deep thigh bruise on the play.

"He tagged me up on the knee. If he tagged me there, where was my foot at?" Tucker said. "He was on the back portion of the plate. The umpire never hesitated. His first call was a safe call, not an out call. Then he made it unusually clear two more times by spreading his hands in a safe sign."

Valentine denied making contact with any of the umpires, although Franco admitted there was some.

"It was hard to get Franco to stop," Marsh said. "To be honest with you, he was not only on Angel, but he pushed me away when I was trying to get him to get control of himself."

Marsh said he would file a report with NL president Leonard Coleman.

Rudy Seanez (1-0) got the victory with one scoreless inning of relief. It was his first major-league victory since June 22, 1995 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The win was the first in extra innings this season for the Braves, who at 0-3 were the only team in the majors without an overtime victory.

The Mets tied it at 2-2 with a pair of sixth-inning runs, aided when leadoff hitter Edgardo Alfonzo reached when Atlanta second baseman Keith Lockhart lost his pop fly in the sun.

Olerud followed with a single and Piazza's single drove in Alfonzo, with Olerud going to third. Butch Huskey followed with an RBI grounder off Atlanta starter Denny Neagle.

The Braves had taken a 1-0 lead in the second on Andres Galarraga's 28th home run. Atlanta made it 2-0 in the fifth on a one-out triple by Andruw Jones and a run-scoring single by Williams off Rick Reed.

Neagle, attempting to become Atlanta's fourth 10-game winner before the All-Star break, gave up five hits, two runs, walked two and struck out six before leaving for a pinch-hitter after seven innings.

Reed pitched six innings and gave up six hits and two runs with no walks and five strikeouts.

Mets second baseman Carlos Baerga saved a run in the sixth. With runners at first and second and two outs, he made a back-handed stop of a one-hop liner up the middle and threw out Tucker.

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