SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins sought out Ruben Tejada during batting practice to make sure the shortstop had moved on from an error that led to a loss the night before and that he was ready to face the Giants ace.
Tejada answered the call and then some.
The leadoff hitter homered for the first time in almost two years to go with two singles and a walk, and Jonathon Niese scattered three hits over seven innings to lead the Mets past the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Wednesday night.
"I said, 'Look, I need you tonight. Step up tonight,'" Collins said, recalling the conversation after the game. "He said, 'I'll try.' I gave him the old, 'I can get a truck driver to try.' He just came into my office and asked me if I could drive a truck. I said, 'You can drive my truck any day.'"
Only fitting Tejada's drought ended in such an odd Mets victory.
All San Francisco could squeeze out of Niese (8-5) was a two-out homer by Buster Posey in the sixth, the All-Star catcher's 14th long ball this season. Niese struck out five and walked two to outlast ace Matt Cain (10-4) and spoil Hunter Pence's debut in San Francisco.
The new Giants right fielder finished 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
"There was a ton of excitement," said Pence, traded from Philadelphia for Nate Schierholtz and two minor leaguers Tuesday. "The fans were great out here. That's pretty cool. They were loud and rowdy. We had a pretty crazy game. Unfortunately I didn't really get do anything."
Cain gave up seven hits and three walks and never looked in rhythm. He struck out five in five innings to match his shortest start of the season.
Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save and New York's third win in the last four games. The NL West-leading Giants have lost six of seven.
Any momentum San Francisco had from trading for Pence faded fast.
Tejada, whose two-run throwing error led to New York's 4-1 loss against the Giants on Monday night, sent the second pitch of the game from Cain into the glove of a fan standing just beyond the wall in left for his second career home run. Tejada had gone 629 at-bats since his last long ball in September 2010.
"After like two years, it's great," Tejada said. "I was waiting for the fastball. It was a great position for that pitch. I wasn't thinking homer. I was just trying to make good contact."
The Mets made contact constantly no matter who was at the plate.
They loaded the bases in each of the final three innings and came away scoreless, went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base.
Josh Thole scored on Jordany Valdespin's bases-loaded groundout to third base to give the Mets a 2-0 lead in the second. Cain struck out David Wright, who had three hits, to limit the damage.
Asked how many runs his team should've scored, Collins said, "About nine. We'll take two."
The 138th consecutive sellout crowd at AT&T Park -- announced at 42,188 -- gave Pence a long and loud standing ovation when his name was announced with two on and two outs in the bottom of the first. All the hoopla halted when he fouled out near first base.
Pence also struck out but reached first on a wild pitch in the fourth. He grounded out to short to end the sixth and struck out looking for the second out of the ninth.
The only thing that kept San Francisco close was its defense.
Posey threw out Ike Davis going for second after Mike Baxter struck out to end the third, and the catcher tossed a perfect ball to second to catch Daniel Murphy stealing for the final out of the fifth.
Gregor Blanco also made a diving catch in the web of his glove in left-center on a slicing fly by Valdespin to end the fourth. Cain pumped his fist and several Giants waited to high-five Blanco outside the dugout after a play eerily reminiscent -- and perhaps equally spectacular, minus the stakes -- to the center fielder's catch that highlighted Cain's perfect game against Houston on June 13.
"(Pence) told me, 'I just got here and that was the best catch I've ever seen,'" Blanco said.
The only mistake Niese made all night was crushed by Posey off the roof of the emergency ambulance parked in the left-field tunnel to narrow New York's lead to 2-1 in the sixth.
That run proved big when the Mets loaded the bases in each of the final three innings and came up empty.
Davis grounded into a double play to end the seventh. Clay Hensley began the eighth by walking the first two batters and hitting the third before Thole's swinging bunt led to a double play, getting called out by home plate umpire Dale Scott for running in the baseline when Posey's throw back to first beaned Thole in the back. Collins' protest -- calling it a "bad rule" but the "right call" afterward -- failed.
With the bases loaded with one out in the ninth, Penny caught Murphy's comebacker and tossed to first for an easy double play, jumping and pumping his fist after giving San Francisco a shot to rally in the ninth.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, DODGERS 0
LOS ANGELES -- Patrick Corbin pitched two-hit ball over six innings following his promotion from the minors Wednesday, and the Arizona Diamondbacks got home runs from Miguel Montero and newcomer Chris Johnson in a 4-0 victory that completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Montero had an RBI single in the second against rookie Stephen Fife (0-1) and made it 4-0 in the eighth with a two-run shot off Randy Choate. The Diamondbacks outscored Los Angeles 19-4 in their first three-game sweep at Chavez Ravine since August 2007.
Corbin (3-4) struck out five in his sixth major league start. The Dodgers' only hits were a two-out single by Matt Kemp in the first inning and a two-out single by Fife in the second.
Shane Victorino was 0 for 4 in his Dodgers debut in left field, a day after he was acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline.
PIRATES 8, CUBS 4
CHICAGO -- Michael McKenry and Starling Marte homered to back a strong start by Jeff Karstens in Pittsburgh's victory over Chicago.
Garrett Jones added two hits and drove in three runs after entering in the eighth as a pinch-hitter. Andrew McCutchen chipped in with two hits and scored three times, and the Pirates pulled away late.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Pittsburgh started a five-run eighth with seven straight hits against Shawn Camp.
Karstens (4-2) allowed three hits and one run over five innings. He settled down after Starlin Castro's solo homer in the first and retired 10 of his final 11 batters.
PHILLIES 3, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON -- Jimmy Rollins hit two solo homers, Nate Schierholtz connected in his Philadelphia debut and the Phillies received a sharp pitching performance from Vance Worley against Washington.
Both of Rollins' drives went into the right-field seats, unlike his inside-the-park homer Tuesday night.
Rollins and Schierholtz homered on successive pitches in the fifth inning against Edwin Jackson (6-7) to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Worley (6-6) went seven innings and did not allow an earned run.
BREWERS 13, ASTROS 4
MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun hit his NL-leading 29th homer and Milwaukee connected four times to finish a three-game sweep of sloppy Houston.
Rickie Weeks and Cesar Izturis each homered in the fifth inning. Jonathan Lucroy added a two-run shot in the seventh, helping rookie Mike Fiers (5-4) win consecutive starts for the first time this season. The right-hander allowed two earned runs in six innings.
Milwaukee, which has won three straight after a 1-9 stretch, benefited from four Houston errors -- three within the first six Brewers batters. The Astros lost for the 28th time in 31 games.
MARLINS 4, BRAVES 2
ATLANTA -- Miami broke out for three runs in the first inning against Ben Sheets after scoring just three total in two losses to Atlanta, and the Marlins ended the Braves' seven-game winning streak.
Carlos Lee, Greg Dobbs and Bryan Petersen had consecutive run-scoring singles in the first for the Marlins.
CARDINALS 9, ROCKIES 6
DENVER -- Matt Holliday homered twice and drove in five runs and St. Louis beat the Rockies on a rain-soaked night.
Yadier Molina had three hits and Jake Westbrook (10-8) pitched six innings to get the win.
Josh Rutledge homered and Tyler Colvin had two triples among his three hits for the Rockies, who have lost five straight and seven in a row at home.
RAYS 4, ATHLETICS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Alex Cobb shut down Oakland for seven innings and Carlos Pena homered to help the Tampa Bay Rays complete a successful nine-game road trip by beating the Athletics 4-1 on Wednesday.
Pena, who drove in five runs in the series, hit an RBI double in the sixth inning and a solo homer in the eighth. Jeff Keppinger scored twice and Matt Joyce and Ryan Roberts also drove in runs for the Rays, who won three straight series on one trip for the fourth time in franchise history.
Brandon Inge homered for the A's, who followed up the best July in club history by losing the first game of August.
RANGERS 11, ANGELS 10, 10 INNINGS
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Elvis Andrus had a game-ending two-run single in the 10th inning, and the Rangers rallied from six runs down to beat the Angels.
Albert Pujols connected twice for his second straight multihomer game. His second homer, a two-run shot in the 10th, was one of four long balls hit between the two teams in the last two innings. Texas' Ian Kinsler homered in the bottom of the ninth to tie it 7-all.
YANKEES 12, ORIOLES 3
NEW YORK -- Robinson Cano hit a grand slam in a seven-run third inning, and New York sent Zach Britton to another shellacking at Yankee Stadium in a rout of the Orioles that stopped a four-game losing streak.
With Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on hand and sitting with the Bleacher Creatures at the start, Derek Jeter had three hits and three RBIs on a rainy afternoon and Joba Chamberlain returned from elbow and ankle injuries that had sidelined him since June 5 last season. Phil Hughes (11-8) pitched homerless ball for only the fifth time this year.
Britton (1-1) allowed seven runs over 2 2-3 innings, leaving him with a 19.13 ERA in the Bronx.
WHITE SOX 3, TWINS 2
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jake Peavy struck out eight over eight smooth innings, Alejandro De Aza gave Chicago the lead in the eighth with an infield single off Scott Diamond's leg, and the White Sox beat the Twins.
Peavy (9-7) allowed five hits and walked two. One of the runs he gave up was unearned.
Danny Valencia homered in the second, but Peavy toughened up after that and had trouble in only two more innings.
Diamond (9-5) was coming off a three-hit shutout, his first career complete game, in his last start.
ROYALS 5, INDIANS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Luis Mendoza pitched into the eighth inning, Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson stroked two hits each and drove in a run and the Royals beat Cleveland.
The Royals, who have the worst record in the American League (42-61), won consecutive games for the first time since June 27-29.
Mendoza (5-7) limited the Indians to two runs and four hits, only one after the fourth inning, and went 71/3 innings to pick up the victory.
Indians rookie right-hander Zach McAllister (4-3) gave up five runs, five hits and two walks in six innings.
MARINERS 5, BLUE JAYS 3
SEATTLE -- John Jaso hit the go-ahead single in the sixth inning and Blake Beavan's 72/3 strong innings led the Mariners to their seventh consecutive victory.
Beavan (7-6) gave up three runs and seven hits. He threw 82 pitches and struck out four. He is undefeated (4-0) since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma July 17.
Toronto starter Carlos Villanueva (6-1) threw six innings, allowed seven hits, four earned runs and struck out six.
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