National League Roundup : Seven Home Runs Later, Braves Beat Reds, 8-6

When Atlanta’s Dale Murphy hit his 22nd homer of the season, it gave him the sole home run leadership in the National League. But that wasn’t the homer he wanted to talk about after the Braves’ 8-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Saturday.

“Benny’s home run was the big one,” said Murphy, referring to a two-run shot Bruce Benedict hit in the second inning. “When you’re down by four runs, that’s quite a few. He got us back to within two, and that definitely was a big lift.”

Benedict’s home run was his first since 1984.

Murphy’s three-run homer highlighted a five-run third inning for the Braves, during which both benches cleared in a brawl.

Seven home runs were hit in the game, four off Atlanta starter Doyle Alexander (4-1).

The Braves trailed, 4-2, in the third when Dion James walked with one out. James went to third on a single by Ken Oberkfell and scored on a double by Gerald Perry before Murphy connected against Bill Gullickson (7-5).

After Ken Griffey followed with his 10th homer, Gullickson hit Andres Thomas in the back with a pitch. Thomas ran toward the mound but was restrained by Reds catcher Bo Diaz just as Thomas and Gullickson met. Gullickson landed one punch before players from both teams ran onto the field. Thomas and Gullickson were ejected.

Alexander allowed six hits in seven-plus innings, and Gene Garber earned his seventh save.

Pittsburgh 8, Chicago 2--Rookie Mike Dunne, backed by five home runs, pitched his third straight complete-game victory as the Pirates beat the Cubs at Chicago.

Dunne (3-1) allowed seven hits, walked none and struck out four.

Barry Bonds opened the game with a homer off Cubs starter Greg Maddux (4-6), but the Pirates led only 2-1 after the first inning. Dunne got some breathing room in the sixth when Jim Morrison hit a two-run homer.

The Pirates got three more homers in the ninth when Bonds hit his ninth, R. J. Reynolds his third with a man on, and Morrison his seventh.

Dunne allowed only a first-inning run and Leon Durham’s 14th homer in the ninth.

New York 3, Philadelphia 2--Kevin McReynolds hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Mets a victory at New York.

Dwight Gooden (3-1) allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked one in sending the Phillies to their fifth straight loss, their third straight under new Manager Lee Elia.

Gary Carter opened the Mets’ ninth with a single off the glove of Kent Tekulve (2-3) who had relieved Phillies starter Bruce Ruffin. Len Dykstra, running for Carter, reached third when Darryl Strawberry’s grounder bounced through the legs of shortstop Steve Jeltz for an error.

McReynolds followed with a fly to deep right-center that scored Dykstra.

In the seventh, Glenn Wilson and Lance Parrish hit consecutive home runs off Gooden to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. It was the first time in Gooden’s career that he had given up consecutive home runs.

Montreal 7, St. Louis 5--Andres Galarraga led off the ninth inning with a triple and scored on a double by Jeff Reed as the Expos rallied to win at St. Louis.

The hits, coming off Cardinals reliever Todd Worrell (1-3), gave Montreal a 6-5 lead. Mitch Webster added a run-scoring single for the Expos.

Montreal reliever Jeff Parrett (1-1) blanked the Cardinals in the eighth and ninth innings to get the victory.

The Cardinals, who lead the majors with 103 steals, matched a season high of six stolen bases to help them take an early lead.

Vince Coleman got the Cardinal running game going early as he led off the first with a single, stole second and later scored. The hit extended Coleman’s streak of reaching base by a hit or a walk to 49 consecutive games. The steal was his 46th.

San Diego 10, San Francisco 4--Garry Templeton hit a two-run homer to cap a three-run seventh inning and lead the Padres past the Giants at San Diego.

Templeton’s homer came off Giants reliever Jeff Robinson (4-6) and put the Padres ahead, 6-4. The blast followed an RBI single by Kevin Mitchell that tied the score.