NEW YORK (AP) -- Bobby J. Jones may never completely recapture his form from a few seasons ago, when he went to the 1997 All-Star Game and struck out Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark McGwire.

Still, on a dreary night at Shea Stadium, he took a nice step toward reclaiming his spot in the New York Mets' rotation.

	Bobby J. Jones' first win since April 1999 gave the Mets a welcome two-game win streak.

Jones earned his first victory in more than a year and the Mets posted consecutive wins for the first time this month, using Mike Piazza's home run to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 Friday night.

"I'm very, very happy right now. I know it's been a long time since I pitched well and got a victory out of it," Jones said. "It's good to know I can still walk out there and get the job done."

The Mets had not won two in a row since April 29-30 at Colorado. Arizona stole a team-record seven bases, yet lost for the fourth time in five games.

Jones (1-1), in his eighth season with the Mets, recorded his first win in the majors since April 17, 1999. He missed most of last year because of an injured right shoulder and, after struggling in three starts this year, was sidelined because of a calf problem.

Activated from the disabled list Thursday, Jones was rained out of a start against Colorado. Instead, he faced Arizona and allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked three.

"He's got to know we want him with the ball," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said. "Tonight was the start of that thought process."

Piazza erased a 3-2 deficit with his two-run homer in the fifth off Todd Stottlemyre (7-2).

The Mets stayed ahead in the seventh inning when a quick relay from left fielder Jon Nunnally to shortstop Rey Ordonez to Piazza cut down Tony Womack at the plate. Womack tried to score from first on Jay Bell's two-out double.

Piazza neatly short-hopped Ordonez's throw and lunged to tag out the speedy Womack.

"Tony can really run, but he's not that big of a guy," Piazza said. "A bigger guy could've put a hit on."

Arizona manager Buck Showalter said Piazza's catch was the key to the play.

"A lot of guys don't come up with that clean enough to make a tag," he said.

Relievers Turk Wendell, working on his 33rd birthday, John Franco and Armando Benitez each finished with a scoreless inning. Lenny Harris singled in the ninth and stole second and third, but Benitez struck out Womack to end it for his 10th save.

Piazza blamed himself for a few of the steals, though several of them came against Jones' slow delivery. Piazza did manage to throw out Bell.

"You're not going to be able to throw out everybody, but I made three poor throws," he said.

Stottlemyre, who had won four straight starts, was trying to become the majors' first eight-game winner. He helped himself, hitting a two-run single in the second and then doubling and scoring in the fifth.

Stottlemyre struck out eight, including Piazza in his first two at-bats. In the fifth, Derek Bell singled with one out and Piazza connected with two outs for his 11th home run.

Last October, Piazza was injured and unable to play when the Mets eliminated Arizona in Game 4 of the NL Division Series. His replacement, Todd Pratt, hit the winning home run in the 10th inning at Shea Stadium.

Mark Johnson, making his first start for the Mets, had an RBI grounder in the fourth and Rey Ordonez followed with a run-scoring single that made it 2-all. Ordonez had been 0-for-19 with two outs and runners in scoring position this year.

"I made two pitches I would love to have back," Stottlemyre said, referring to the ones to Piazza and Ordonez. "There were a lot of 'ifs' in that game."

Game notes
Arizona's previous record for steals was four. ... Womack extended his hitting streak to 15 games, one short of his career high set in 1998 in Pittsburgh. Teammate Steve Finley had his hitting string end at 13 games. ... Stottlemyre turns 35 Saturday. ... Johnson played left field for the first time since 1996 with Pittsburgh. He got an assist for a throw that led to trapping Stottlemyre. ... Jay Payton grounded out, making him hitless in his last 20 at-bats for the Mets.