Reds Beat Braves as Esasky, Parker Hit Home Runs

Nick Esasky hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Dave Parker added a ninth-inning grand slam Thursday night at Atlanta as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 15-5.

Pete Rose also reached another hitting milestone with his 100th hit of the season, a sixth-inning single that gave him at least 100 hits for a record 23rd straight year. Rose, who broke Ty Cobb’s career hitting mark last week, had been tied with Cobb and Carl Yastrzemski with 22 straight 100-hit seasons.

But it was Esasky who turned Atlanta reliever Gene Garber’s first pitch into his 19th homer of the season. It scored Rose, who had led off the inning with a single, and Dave Parker, who had sent Rose to third with a double that chased Atlanta starter Pascual Perez, 1-11.

Tom Browning, 18-9, protected his status as the winningest rookie in the major leagues and extended the Reds’ winning streak to five games. Browning scattered nine hits, struck out four and walked one in eight innings as the Braves lost their fourth straight game.

The Reds got another run in the eighth when Ron Oester opened with a single, went to second on a sacrifice by Browning and scored on Rose’s third hit, a single to right.

Cincinnati put the game out of reach by exploding for nine runs in the ninth inning, four on Parker’s 28th home run of the season, as Atlanta reliever Bruce Sutter gave up five straight hits, Parker’s grand slam, a triple by Esasky and three singles. The Braves also committed three errors in the inning.

Larry Owen, whose two-run homer in the sixth was the first of his major league career, added a solo shot in the ninth when the game was out of reach.

Bob Horner, who scored in the fourth, led off the Braves’ eighth inning with his 25th homer of the year.

Padres 11, Giants 3--Left-hander Dave Dravecky scattered nine hits and San Diego scored six runs in the second inning en route to victory at San Francisco.

Dravecky, 11-11, snapped a three-game losing streak as the Padres climbed back to the .500 mark with a 73-73 record after dipping below it Wednesday for the first time since opening day.

San Diego jumped on Atlee Hammaker, 4-12, for two unearned runs in the first inning. Jerry Royster beat out an infield single with one out and Steve Garvey reached second on a throwing error by second baseman Mike Woodard. Carmelo Martinez was walked intentionally, loading the bases.

Kurt Bevacqua hit a potential double-play grounder to second, and was safe at first on shortstop Jose Uribe’s throwing error. Two runs scored on the play.

The Padres bunched six singles, a walk, a wild pitch and a balk in their six-run second inning. The key blows were a two-run single by Bevacqua and run-scoring hits by Royster and Garvey.