Mets' Niese hurls 1-hitter against Padres

Jonathon Niese pitched a one-hitter for his first career complete game and the New York Mets overcame a tripleplay to beat the visiting San Diego Padres, 3-0, last night for a doubleheader split.

Niese (3-2) allowed only Chris Denorfia's leadoff double in the third inning, his second stellar start since coming off the disabled list Saturday. He faced 28 batters, one more than the minimum, in New York's first complete game this season.

Mat Latos (6-4) outpitched Johan Santana (4-3) in the opener, and San Diego stopped New York's nine-game home winning streak with a 4-2 victory.

Adrian Gonzalez had three hits for the Padres, including a go-ahead single. David Eckstein and Chase Headley added RBI doubles.

Niese topped that, however, striking out six and walking none in his fifth career win. He retired his last 21 in a game that took only 2 hours, 18 minutes.

The last Mets pitcher to throw a complete-game, one-hitter that lasted the full nine innings was Aaron Heilman on April 15, 2005, against Florida.

Pop-music star Lady Gaga, sitting in a luxury suite, was photographed making an obscene gesture before the opener. It was unclear what prompted the gesture, and the Mets say she did not attend the second game.

In other games:

* At Phoenix, Brooks Conrad scrambled home to break a tie in a four-run ninth inning and the Atlanta Braves, after blowing a five-run lead, rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11-7.

* At Milwaukee, Carlos Gomez raced home from first base on a sacrifice bunt and throwing error in the 10th inning, to give the Brewers a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

* At Denver, Roy Oswalt (4-8) struck out nine over seven innings, Humberto Quintero homered and the Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-4, for their third straight victory.

* At Washington, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham homered in the fourth inning, Livan Hernandez (5-3) made the lead stand up and the Nationals beat Pittsburgh, 4-2, to become the last team in the majors to sweep a series this season.

* At Cincinnati, Brandon Phillips had four hits, including a two-run triple in the eighth inning, as the Reds rallied to beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-6.

* The Washington Nationals said they are donating a hat and a ball from Stephen Strasburg's 14-strikeout debut this week to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

* A 3-year-old girl whose skull was fractured by a line drive during Dodgers batting practice has been released from the hospital. A statement from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles says Janelle Briseno went home in good condition after undergoing surgery Tuesday. The accident occurred Monday after Dodgers catcher Russell Martin hit a line drive into the stands near third base.