NEW YORK (AP) -- Mike Hampton made the wait worthwhile for the few Mets fans who stayed at Shea Stadium through a 3-hour, 31-minute rain delay.

Rich Rodriguez and John Franco nearly made it a disaster for those who stuck around until the end of the game.

Hampton pitched six scoreless innings and hit a two-run single, but the New York Mets almost blew an eight-run lead before holding on for an 8-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.

"It was a long day. I'm glad to get it over with," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said. "It got a little scary at the end."

Arizona nearly made a dramatic comeback, getting a two-run homer by Greg Colbrunn in the eighth inning and five runs in the ninth off Rodriguez and Franco.

"It just kept getting worse," said Rodriguez, who allowed four runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning. "It just snowballed."

Armando Benitez relieved with runners on first and second after Kelly Stinnett's two-run single off Franco made it 8-7. Benitez struck out pinch-hitter Erubiel Durazo for his 11th save.

"I honestly wasn't sweating too much," said Hampton, who watched the near collapse from the clubhouse. "I have a lot of confidence in the guys in the pen. But it was a lot closer than we wanted it to be."

After a disastrous start to his New York career, Hampton (5-4) has finally started pitching like the ace the Mets thought they acquired from Houston last winter.

The left-hander has allowed only one run in 23 1/3 innings in his last three starts, lowering his ERA from 6.52 to 4.21.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and come in and be the impact guy," he said. "It took awhile, but I stepped back, looked at the big picture and stopped trying to impress people."

Hampton allowed four hits and one walk before leaving with tightness in his upper back that came after he slid into third base in the fourth. He does not expect to miss a start.

The Mets also saw two relievers -- Pat Mahomes and Franco -- turn their ankles, but neither injury is believed to be serious. Franco said he might miss one or two games.

The Mets have won three straight for the first time since their nine-game winning streak ended April 25. Along with seeing a win, the home fans who weathered the delay were given a free ticket to a later game.

The Diamondbacks committed four errors and have lost five of six following a nine-game winning streak. They have lost four straight in Shea Stadium, including two in last year's playoffs.

"Today we didn't play very well defensively," manager Buck Showalter said. "It was a situation we aren't used to seeing very often in Phoenix, obviously."

Hampton was in the middle of two Mets scoring rallies. After Rey Ordonez led off the third with a single off Omar Daal (1-5), Hampton bunted. Daal barehanded the ball, wheeled and threw high to second base for an error.

After a sacrifice bunt by Joe McEwing, Derek Bell hit an RBI infield single.

The Mets then scored five runs in the fourth. Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Ordonez hit one-out singles to load the bases. Payton's hit snapped an 0-for-23 slump.

Hampton then reached out and lined a single to center to make it 3-0. The Mets added three more runs on an error by second baseman Jay Bell, another RBI single by Bell and a sacrifice fly by Edgardo Alfonzo.

Alfonzo added a two-run homer in the seventh off Greg Swindell after center fielder Travis Lee dropped Derek Bell's liner for a two-base error.

After the lengthy rain delay, fewer than 10,000 fans were left at the start of the game from the paid crowd of 37,121.

Hampton came out firing strikes -- something he had trouble doing early this season -- throwing 13 straight to start the game. Hampton had spotless control all day, throwing 57 of 79 pitches for strikes.

"He's going to battle you," Stinnett said. "He's a great athlete. He's the kind of guy you want on your team."

Because of the delay, fans from the game could get free tickets to an additional game on June 20 or 21 against Philadelphia, or June 26 or 27 against Florida.

Game notes
Hampton, who walked 36 in his first 38 2/3 innings, has allowed two in his last 23 1/3 innings. ... Daal allowed six runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. ... The Diamondbacks are 3-5 on their nine-game road trip, losing one of three in San Diego, two of three in Montreal and the first two in New York. Their last losing road trip came from June 29-July 5 last season when they went 2-5 in Cincinnati and St. Louis. ... Arizona's Tony Womack singled in the sixth to tie his career high with a 16-game hitting streak.