National League Roundup : Astros Beat Reds, Move Within a Half Game of First

Glenn Davis says the Houston Astros are getting close to where they should be in the National League West standings.

“We should be in first place; we have the same team and we are playing basically the same people,” Davis said after hitting a home run and a run-scoring single Tuesday night at Houston to lead the Astros to a 4-1 victory over Cincinnati.

The win moved the Astros, who won the National League West last year, to within a half game of the first-place Reds.

“The team is playing the way I want it to,” Astro Manager Hal Lanier said. “We’re doing the little things, like running the bases (well). All we’ve needed is to put together a good win streak to get this team going.”

Left-hander Jim Deshaies (6-2) struck out nine in his fourth straight victory. Dave Smith pitched the final inning for his 13th save.

Reds starter Ted Power (5-3) went six innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the first. Kal Daniels led off with a double, moved to third on Kurt Stillwell’s single and scored when Deshaies balked.

Houston tied the score in its half of the first on singles by Billy Hatcher, Bill Doran and Denny Walling and a sacrifice fly by Kevin Bass.

After Davis’ 11th homer of the season gave the Astros a 2-1 lead in the third, Houston added a run in the fifth on Doran’s triple and Davis’ run-scoring single.

The Astros scored their final run in the sixth when Craig Reynolds singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Ronn Reynolds’ double.

St. Louis 11, Pittsburgh 1--Jack Clark hit a three-run homer, and John Morris had a pinch-hit, bases-loaded triple to highlight a nine-run sixth inning and lead the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Bill Dawley (3-4) pitched 5 innings of scoreless relief, and Rick Horton pitched the final three innings for his sixth save.

The Cardinals had nine hits and sent 13 batters to the plate in the sixth inning against Doug Drabek (1-5) and three Pirate relievers.

Clark’s 18th home run was his third hit of the game and second of the inning. His three runs batted in tied him with the Chicago Cubs’ Andre Dawson for the league lead with 60.

New York 7, Montreal 3--Terry Leach pitched a seven-hitter over eight-plus innings, and Kevin McReynolds and Darryl Strawberry hit home runs as the Mets won at Montreal.

Leach (5-0) struck out four and did not walk a batter. Roger McDowell got the final three outs after Leach allowed three hits to open the ninth.

Leach had retired 17 consecutive batters between Herm Winningham’s third- and ninth-inning singles. Tim Raines followed Winningham in the ninth with another single before Dave Engle hit a two-run double. Two outs later, Mitch Webster added an RBI single off McDowell.

Losing pitcher Bob Sebra (3-7) struck out nine in five innings but allowed five runs on eight hits.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when McReynolds hit a one-out single and Dave Magadan followed with a double, scoring McReynolds.

New York scored three more in the third on McReynolds’ three-run homer, his 11th. The Mets scored a run in the fifth, and Strawberry hit a two-run homer, his 18th, in the eighth for New York’s final runs.

Atlanta 7, San Francisco 2--Ken Griffey and Ozzie Virgil hit home runs, and Doyle Alexander overcame a shaky start to pitch a five-hitter in the Braves’ victory at Atlanta.

Griffey’s three-run homer was Atlanta’s fourth consecutive hit in the fourth inning off Kelly Downs (5-3).

Ken Oberkfell started the rally with a one-out single, and Gerald Perry had an infield hit before Dale Murphy extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI single. Griffey followed with his eighth homer.

Virgil hit his 17th homer, a two-run shot, in the sixth.

Alexander (3-1) gave up hits to the first three batters he faced but retired 20 of the last 21, allowing only a seventh-inning walk to Chili Davis after Will Clark’s one-out single in the third.

Chicago 7, Philadelphia 2--Steve Trout, with a key assist from the club’s new double-play combination, helped the Cubs end their five-game losing streak with a win at Chicago.

Trout (3-1) scattered six hits over 8 innings, but said shortstop Mike Brumley and second baseman Paul Noce made the difference.

Noce and Brumley, recently called up from the Cubs’ Triple-A Iowa farm club, turned four double plays. Regular shortstop Shawon Dunston and second baseman Ryne Sandberg are both on the disabled list. Dunston, who has a broken finger, is expected to be out for about six weeks. Sandberg, who has a sprained ankle, may be out for five weeks.

Trout struck out five before he ran into trouble in the ninth. He retired the first two batters but walked two before Ed Lynch relieved him. Lynch gave up a single to Glenn Wilson and a walk before Lee Smith came on to earn his 16th save.

Kevin Gross (4-6) took the loss for the Phillies.