Major League Baseball Roundup : Scott’s Three-Hitter Sinks the Pirates, 4-1

Umpires aren’t bothering Mike Scott these days and, not so coincidentally, hitters aren’t either.

Scott, badgered earlier in the season by umpires attempting to see if he was doctoring the baseball, pitched a three-hitter Monday night at Pittsburgh to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 victory over the Pirates.

Since a 2-1 loss to the New York Mets on April 29, when he was periodically checked on orders from National League President A. Bartlett Giamatti, Scott said the umpires have been leaving him alone.

“After the league said they’d be checking me more, I’ve been checked less,” Scott said. “It got a little ridiculous there for a while. They’ve been checking me for 2 1/2 years, and if they want to keep checking me, they can.”

Scott (5-2) is 3-8 against the Pirates. He struck out eight, walked two and didn’t allow a hit after Sid Bream singled to lead off the Pirates’ fourth.

“I don’t even care if (Scott) is (scuffing the ball),” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said. “If he’s doing it, we ought to be teaching it to all our pitchers.”

The Astros scored twice in the third inning against Bob Kipper (2-4) when Phil Garner singled home a run and scored on a triple by Kevin Bass.

After the Pirates made it 2-1 on Andy Van Slyke’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the third, Dickie Thon hit a two-run homer for Houston in the fourth.

San Diego 7, New York 5--Dave Dravecky pitched six innings of three-hit ball in his second start of the season, and the Padres used four errors by the Mets and five stolen bases to win at New York.

Dravecky (1-3) had a shutout until Darryl Strawberry’s two-run homer in the sixth after a two-out error by center fielder Stanley Jefferson. Jefferson, a former Met, made up for the miscue with three hits and three stolen bases.

The Padres, with the worst record in the major leagues at 10-30, have a two-game winning streak for just the third time this season. The Mets, who have lost 18 of their last 28, dropped to within one game of the NL East cellar.

Montreal 7, San Francisco 2--Neal Heaton pitched a six-hitter and capped a four-run third inning with a two-run single at Montreal as the Expos beat the Giants, who have lost six of their last seven games.

The defeat dropped the Giants out of a tie with Cincinnati for the NL West lead.

Heaton (4-2) struck out seven and walked two while pitching the first complete game for the Expos this season.

Kansas City 4, Boston 2--Danny Tartabull hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning at Kansas City to give the Royals their eighth straight victory at home.

The victory gave the Royals a 2 1/2-game lead in the American League West.

The Red Sox had a 2-1 lead when Tartabull connected off Al Nipper (3-3). Boston has lost 16 of 21 road games.

Mark Gubicza (2-4) allowed six hits, walked three and struck out one through seven innings. He allowed solo homers by Wade Boggs and Don Baylor in the fourth.

New York 2, Oakland 1--Dave Winfield hit two home runs and Tommy John pitched six shutout innings as the Yankees beat the A’s at Oakland.

John (3-1), who will be 44 Friday, yielded six hits, struck out two and walked one for his 267th major league victory. Tim Stoddard took over in the seventh and gave up Mark McGwire’s 12th homer of the season, tying McGwire for the AL lead with Ken Phelps of Seattle. But Stoddard earned his first save by retiring the next nine batters.

Winfield, who has nine homers, connected off Curt Young (5-2) in the second and seventh innings.

Rickey Henderson’s streak of 31 successful stolen base attempts, one short of the AL record, ended in the eighth when he broke for second too early and Young picked him off.

Baltimore 6, Seattle 0--Mike Boddicker pitched a three-hitter, allowing just two runners past first base, and the Orioles continued their home run binge at Seattle.

Boddicker (3-1) struck out five, walked two and gave up singles to John Moses, Scott Bradley and Harold Reynolds.

Eddie Murray hit a three-run homer, and Terry Kennedy added a two-run shot, giving the Orioles 32 home runs in their last 11 games, a major league record for most homers in 11 consecutive games. The 1947 New York Giants held the record of 30.

Detroit 6, Texas 3--Pat Sheridan hit his first home run of the season, and the Tigers banged out 16 hits while beating the Rangers at Arlington, Tex., for their sixth straight victory.

Jeff Robinson (2-2), a late replacement for Dan Petry, went 5 innings to gain his second major league victory. Petry missed his start because of a fever and chills.

Sheridan’s two-run homer off Jose Guzman (2-3) in the fifth gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead.