[0] DODGERS WIN AGAIN ON PIAZZA SLAM : DODGERS 7, HOUSTON 2.

Byline: Marc J. Spears Daily News Staff Writer

At this rate, Mike Piazza should never talk about his contract again.

It was only Wednesday when Piazza was batting just .172 and was in search of his fan-favorite status after rejecting a six-year $85 million offer. But since he has decided to keep quiet, his bat has been doing all the talking and the fans have fallen back in love with him.

Piazza hit his second grand slam in as many days to highlight the Dodgers' 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros in front of 34,994 at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

The 443-foot shot to the vacant right-center field pavilion came off a 3-0, two-out pitch from reliever Mike Magnante and even turned the small amount of remaining boos from fans to cheers. And like Thursday, when he hit a four-run bomb in a 7-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the former booers in blue went crazy and asked for another bow when Piazza reached the dugout. Which he granted.

``I was fortunate enough to get up two nights in a row with the bases loaded,'' said Piazza, who was 3 for 4 with two runs and four RBI. ``Obviously, (Magnante) had to throw a strike right there. I just tried to relax and not pull the ball or overswing.''

Piazza became the 17th player in major-league history and fifth in the National League to slug grand slams in consecutive games. Cincinnati's Eric Davis was the last player to do it, on May 4-5, 1996. Piazza's latest grand slam was the seventh of his career. It also accounted for his 171st career home run, which tied Pedro Guerrero for third on the Dodgers' all-time list.

Before Piazza came up to bat and set off his four-run rocket, Houston manager Larry Dierker went to the mound to speak to Magnante. The skipper, however, left Magnante in the game.

``It was a difficult game,'' Dierker said. ``I didn't make the right moves that I wish I would have made. It was one of those games where I didn't make the moves that would've helped the team win.''

The victory was the Dodgers' fourth in the past five games, and Piazza's blast overshadowed an offensive performance that was originally and surprisingly highlighted by Ramon Martinez.

Through the first five innings, the Dodgers left eight men on base, four in scoring position, and had just one run. The Dodgers also entered the game with a National League-worst .233 batting average. But Martinez, who was 2 for 3 with a run, sparked his club's two-run sixth inning to help Los Angeles regain the lead at 3-2.

With two outs in the sixth, Martinez looked like the probable inning-ending victim when he stepped to the plate. However, the tall and lanky Dominican belted a clutch double off Houston starter Shane Reynolds (1-1) in the right-center gap to get the rally started.

Eric Young followed with a double that scored Martinez to tie the game at 2-2 and sent Reynolds to the showers. Todd Hollandsworth finished the damage by hitting a triple off Bob Scanlan's first pitch, allowing Young to score the go-ahead run.

``Piazza did his thing,'' said Houston second baseman Craig Biggio. ``He has unbelievable pop. Ramon helped his own cause. It was not our night. It wasn't meant to be.''

Martinez (2-1) wasn't that bad on the mound either.

In eight innings, the right-hander struck out 10 and allowed two runs (one earned), four hits and three walks on 125 pitches.

``I felt really great,'' said Martinez, who owns a 12-3 record against Houston. ``I had really good run support. I'm happy to see a team like we have this year. We're going to win a lot of games.''

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PHOTO (Color) MIKE PIAZZA

He has five hits, three home runs (two grand slams) and 10 RBI in his past two games.