National League Roundup : Although Ill, Strawberry Is Needed in a Pinch

Darryl Strawberry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and then rubbed out the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Strawberry, who spent most of the game sleeping off effects of the flu in the clubhouse, hit a two-run pinch homer in the seventh inning Saturday to give the New York Mets a 4-2 victory over the Pirates at New York.

“Darryl was sick in the trainer’s room before the game,” Met Manager Dave Johnson said. “He looked liked death warmed over, so I pulled him from the lineup.”

The home run was Strawberry’s 16th of the season and the first pinch homer of his career.

Strawberry left the clubhouse before the game was over.

“Darryl slept most of the game,” trainer Steve Garland said. “He was very weak, but in the seventh inning he went out to the dugout. I don’t think it’s anything serious. Just a 24-hour virus.”

Strawberry homered on a 1-and-2 pitch from Doug Drabek (1-4), breaking a 2-2 tie.

Sid Fernandez (7-2) got the victory despite have less than his best stuff. He allowed two runs and seven hits over seven innings, striking out four and walking two.

Roger McDowell pitched the last two innings for his sixth save.

New York went ahead, 2-0, in the first inning on consecutive singles by Len Dykstra and Wally Backman, two wild pitches by Drabek and an infield out by Kevin McReynolds.

Pittsburgh made it 2-1 in the fourth on Jim Morrison’s sacrifice fly and tied it in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Barry Bonds.

Chicago 6, St. Louis 5--Keith Moreland drove in three runs with a home run, a double and a sacrifice fly to lift the Cubs past the Cardinals at Chicago.

The Cubs broke the Cardinals’ four-game winning streak and moved within two games of first-place St. Louis in the NL East.

Moreland tied the game, 4-4, with a solo home run off Bob Forsch (4-2) in the fourth. Shawon Dunston followed with a double, took third on a single by Manny Trillo and scored on a sacrifice fly by pitcher Jamie Moyer.

Moreland doubled home another run in the fifth.

Moyer (6-3) won his fourth straight start, allowing four runs and five hits in seven innings. Lee Smith earned his 14th save by pitching the last two innings.

Philadelphia 4, Montreal 3--Phillie left-hander Shane Rawley stopped the Expos on nine hits at Philadelphia to win his sixth straight game. The Phillies have won 8 of 11 games.

Rawley (7-2) pitched his second complete game of the season. He walked two and struck out four.

Montreal took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Tim Wallach drove in a run with the first of his three doubles.

The Phillies went ahead for good in the bottom of the inning against Bob Sebra (3-6) on a sacrifice fly by Lance Parrish and Rick Schu’s two-run single. Schu is 11 for 23 while filling in for injured Mike Schmidt at third base.

Juan Samuel’s RBI single made it 4-1 in the fourth.

Montreal’s Reid Nichols hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and Hubie Brooks added his third homer in the ninth.

San Diego 5, Atlanta 3--Randy Ready drove home two runs with three singles, and the Padres downed the Braves at Atlanta.

It was the second victory in a row for the Padres, matching their longest winning streak of the year.

After Tony Gwynn’s run-scoring single put the Padres ahead in the first, Dale Murphy hit his 16th homer, a two-run shot, to give the Braves a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning.

San Diego tied the score on John Kruk’s RBI single in the third and took a 4-2 lead on run-scoring singles by Shane Mack and Ready. Ready singled home another run in the sixth.

San Francisco 4, Houston 3--Candy Maldonado’s infield single scored Chris Speier from third base with two out in the 12th inning, and the Giants outlasted the Astros at Houston.

Maldonado’s eighth game-winning RBI, off Larry Andersen (4-3), tied him with Dave Parker and Wallach for the NL lead.

Keith Comstock (1-0) pitched three shutout innings for his first major league victory.

The Astros sent the game to extra innings on Denny Walling’s run-scoring double in the ninth.

Maldonado doubled home a run in the first, and Chili Davis followed with a homer to make it 3-0.

Run-scoring singles by Alan Ashby in the fourth and rookie Chuck Jackson in the sixth got the Astros back in the game.