National League Roundup : Joe Niekro Wins No. 200 as Astros Beat Padres

On the occasion of his 200th career victory Tuesday night, the Houston Astros’ Joe Niekro said he is confident that he and his brother, Phil, will become the winningest brother combination in major league baseball history.

With Joe earning the victory in a 3-2 decision over the San Diego Padres, the Niekros are 39 wins shy of breaking record of 529 held by the Perry brothers, Gaylord (314 wins) and Jim (215).

Joe made his prediction in the face of rumors that Phil, now pitching for the New York Yankees, may be in line to manage the Atlanta Braves should a vacancy occur there.

“Who says Phil is going to quit pitching?” Joe asked. “If we stay healthy, we should get the record. I hope to pitch five or six more years, and I know he wants to win 300. That means nine more if he does, and I hope to get a few more, too.

“But right now, I just want No. 201.”

Like his older brother, the 40-year old Joe turned to the knuckleball as his predominant pitch, and he dispatched the Padres through seven innings of Tuesday night’s game in typical fashion.

“I knew I had a good knuckler tonight, and that’s especially important against this club, which is a fastball-hitting team,” he said. “Basically, I made them hit my pitch. If I can get it over early in the game, it helps because they start crushing it later.”

Niekro struck out six and walked four before giving way to Jeff Calhoun, who struck out four in two innings and picked up his third save.

The Astros got their winning run when pinch-hitter Phil Garner hit a tie-breaking double in the eighth inning.

Garner, batting for Jerry Mumphrey with runners on first and third with one out in the eighth, doubled off San Diego reliever Craig Lefferts, who had just entered the game in place of starter Ed Wojna (1-1).

Niekro (7-7) pitched seven innings and recorded his fourth straight victory, as he became the 84th pitcher in major league history to reach the 200-win plateau. With a 200-174 record, he also became the eighth active pitcher to reach the milestone.

In combination with his brother Phil of the New York Yankees, the Niekros are the second brother combination to win 200 games apiece.

San Diego’s Steve Garvey, hitless in his 17 at-bats before the game, snapped the streak with two hits.

Philadelphia 11, Chicago 2--Glenn Wilson and Derrel Thomas hit home runs and Shane Rawley scattered eight hits as the Phillies beat the Cubs at Philadelphia.

Wilson’s homer, a three-run shot, highlighted a four-run first inning off last year’s Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe (7-7).

Juan Samuel opened with a single, stole second, moved to third on Greg Gross’ single and scored on Von Hayes’ single. Wilson then slammed his eighth home run of the season, over the right-field wall.

Rawley (6-6), who ended a three-game losing streak, struck out five and walked two.

Ryne Sandberg had a single in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

Mike Schmidt, who has battled with Philadelphia fans over their booing, struck out three times in five at bats and had his 10-game hitting streak stopped. He left six runners stranded during the game.

St. Louis 4, Montreal 0--John Tudor pitched a three-hitter and Willie McGee collected four hits and stole two bases as the Cardinals shut out the Expos at Montreal.

Tudor (7-6) went the distance for the fourth time this season, striking out six. He did not walk a batter and didn’t allow a runner past first base.

The Cardinals improved their NL East lead to 1 1/2 games over the Expos at the expense of David Palmer (6-7).

Vince Coleman led off with a single and after a half-dozen pickoff attempts by Palmer, stole his major league-leading 54th base. Palmer’s pickoff attempt at second went into center field, advancing Coleman to third. Coleman then scored on McGee’s infield single.

New York 5, Pittsburgh 4--Ron Darling and Roger McDowell combined on an eight-hitter and Ray Knight knocked in two runs as the Mets snapped a six-game losing streak with the victory at New York.

Darling (7-2) gave up all eight Pirate hits before needing relief help in the ninth from McDowell, who gained his fifth save after killing a Pittsburgh rally.

Larry McWilliams (4-7) was the loser.

San Francisco 8, Atlanta 3--Manny Trillo drove in two runs with a single and his first home run of the season and Jeff Leonard also knocked in a couple of runs as the Giants tripped the Braves at Candlestick Park.

Jim Gott (4-5) allowed six hits and two runs in 6 innings before giving way to reliever Scott Garrelts, who was touched for an unearned run in the eighth before recording his sixth save.

The Giants had 13 hits and took advantage of four Atlanta errors for their third victory in 15 games.

Steve Bedrosian (5-7) was the loser. Dale Murphy hit his 20th home run, tops in the majors.