DENVER — The pressure was off Willie Randolph, at least for a day.

The New York Mets finally ended their five-game skid with a 9-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies yesterday.

He was definitely feeling a sense of relief as he sat behind his desk.

"We were able to get the 'W', just to get these guys feeling good about themselves again," Randolph said. "There's no doubt in my mind that we're going to play well and win our share of games."

New York general manager Omar Minaya made the holiday weekend trip to Colorado, leading to speculation that Randolph is under evaluation and his job could be in jeopardy.

Minaya made it a point to tell Randolph congratulations after the game.

"It's good to get a win with the week we had," Minaya said. "It gets you laughing and looking forward to playing tomorrow."

A pitcher throwing on three days' rest and a left fielder making his major league debut helped the Mets break out of their funk.

Claudio Vargas (1-2) threw seven solid innings for his first win with the Mets, and Nick Evans had three doubles and two RBIs.

David Wright hit his ninth homer of the season, and Carlos Beltran had a three-run double as part of a five-run first.

"We've been struggling lately so we'll take the win," Wright said. "Now, we can kind of take a deep breath, relax. Losing five straight isn't fun. To get that win, now we can settle down and play our game."

Evans arrived at Coors Field about three hours before game time after New York purchased his contract from Double-A Binghamton. He took the spot of Marlon Anderson, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

The 22-year-old is the first player to get three extra-base hits in his debut with the Mets since Kaz Matsui on April 6, 2004, in Atlanta. Matsui had two doubles and a home run in the game.

Evans finished 3 for 4 before being lifted in the eighth as part of a double switch.

"It's been a blur," he said of his debut.

Braves 3, Diamondbacks 1: Jeff Francoeur hit a game-ending, two-run homer off Chad Qualls in the ninth inning, and host Atlanta overcame a sparkling 10-strikeout performance by Randy Johnson.

Johnson reached double-digits in strikeouts for the first time since May 20 last year against Pittsburgh and the 210th time overall, five behind Nolan Ryan's record for games with 10 or more strikeouts. The Big Unit allowed one run, five hits and no walks in six innings.

Brewers 5, Nationals 2: Seth McClung was victorious in his first start in almost two years, and Corey Hart and Mike Cameron homered to help visiting Milwaukee beat Washington. Replacing ineffective Carlos Villanueva in the rotation, McClung (2-1) allowed two runs and four hits over five innings.

McClung held the Nationals to one hit — a drag bunt single by Lastings Milledge in the second — through the first four innings.

Astros 4, Phillies 3: Carlos Lee drove in three runs and host Houston turned a dramatic double play to secure a victory over Philadelphia.

The Phillies loaded the bases off Doug Brocail with one out in the ninth inning. Shane Victorino, a St. Anthony High alum, flew out to Darin Erstad in left and Erstad made a perfect throw to catcher Brad Ausmus, who tagged out Pedro Feliz at the plate.

Pirates 5, Cubs 4: Jason Bay hit a two-run home run and the game-winning single in the 14th inning against a drawn-in outfield to help host Pittsburgh beat Chicago.

Freddy Sanchez reached when shortstop Ryan Theriot threw wildly on his grounder to start the 14th and moved up on Michael Wuertz's wild pitch. After Sanchez advanced to third on Luis Rivas' grounder and Wuertz (0-1) intentionally walked Nate McLouth, Bay lofted a long fly close to the warning track in center to win it.

Reds 7, Padres 2: Joey Votto hit his 10th homer, a three-run shot, and finished with four RBIs to lead visiting Cincinnati over San Diego.

It was the second straight win for the Reds and bench coach Chris Speier, who was filling in for manager Dusty Baker. Baker finished serving his two-game suspension for bumping umpire Eric Cooper after he was ejected in the series opener Thursday night.

Cardinals 4, Dodgers 0: Kyle Lohse won for the first time in almost a month, pitching six scoreless innings and leading visiting St. Louis over Los Angeles.

Lohse (4-2) scattered six hits, struck out five and walked none to record his first victory since April 27 against Houston.

The right-hander allowed only one runner past second base.