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Long Ball for Piazza After a Short Night : Baseball: His home run helps Dodgers beat the Mets, 11-8, in the first game of a doubleheader.

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From Associated Press

Catcher Mike Piazza celebrated being named to the National League all-star team by hitting his 17th homer of the season to help the Dodgers beat the New York Mets, 11-8, Thursday in the first game of a doubleheader.

The Dodgers played a 20-inning game in Philadelphia on Wednesday night and didn’t arrive at their New York hotel until 4 a.m. The game against the Mets started with the temperature reading of 97 degrees.

“It wasn’t as hot as last night in Philadelphia,” Piazza said. “It was good to get a runaway game. Kevin (Gross) wasn’t as sharp as he would like to have been, but he bore down and got the outs when we needed it.”

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Eric Karros drove in three runs for the Dodgers, including one with his ninth homer of the season. Each team had 17 hits.

Gross (7-7), who had lost three of his previous four decisions, struggled for the victory, giving up six runs on 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings.

“We get 11 runs and we still had to go to the bullpen,” Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda said. “I was hoping Gross could go nine. He didn’t have much stuff tonight.”

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Rookie Dave Telgheder (3-1) lasted only four innings and allowed eight runs and 11 hits to take the loss.

“I got ahead of them early in the game, 0-1, 1-2, but I couldn’t put them away,” Telgheder said. “I couldn’t make a pitch that whole inning (the fourth) until I got the last two guys out. It was hot out there, but that’s not an excuse for the way I threw. I’ve pitched in hot weather before.”

Bobby Bonilla, also picked as an All-Star reserve, hit his 19th homer of the season for the Mets and added a sacrifice fly in the ninth off Omar Daal for his 50th run batted in.

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