Marlins edge the Mets in a wild affair.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

MIAMI _ The way Mike Lowell saw it, a season-high crowd of 33,291 got its money's worth Saturday night at Pro Player Stadium, even if one-third of them were New York Mets fans who likely didn't find pleasure in the outcome _ a wild 9-7 Marlins victory.

But Lowell wouldn't have traded his vantage point in the on-deck circle for the best box seats when a seventh-inning flap led to the ejections of Mets catcher Mike Piazza and manager Bobby Valentine.

"Are you kidding?" Lowell said when asked if he pretended to ignore the profanity-laced arguments Piazza and Valentine had with umpires. "I had the inside scoop."

The Marlins ended a four-game skid with arguably the most electric home game at Pro Player since the New York Yankees visited last July. Not only was the crowd by far the largest of the season, but it witnessed two separate comebacks _ one for each team _ and a seventh-inning fireworks show provided by Piazza, Valentine and umpires Mark Wegner and Ed Rapuano.

"There were a lot of bleeps," said Cliff Floyd, who was at the plate when tempers turned molten hot.

Piazza, who took exception to a called third strike when he batted in the top of the seventh, was incensed when Wegner _ the plate umpire _ called ball two on Floyd. He jumped out of his crouch and yelled vehemently at Wegner, then had to be restrained from going after the umpire.

"Obviously, I was a little heated," Piazza said. "I thought there were some inconsistencies with some of the pitches. I was sticking up for our pitchers."