National League Roundup : Gooden, Mets Edge Cardinals, 3-2

Howard Johnson singled home pinch-runner Len Dykstra from second base with one out in the ninth inning Tuesday night, giving Dwight Gooden and the New York Mets a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at New York.

The Mets, who have won only 2 of 8 games with St. Louis this season, moved within 6 1/2 games of the first-place Cardinals in the National League East.

Gary Carter led off the ninth by drawing St. Louis starter Greg Mathews’ second walk of the game. Kevin McReynolds then had his first sacrifice of the season against reliever Bill Dawley, moving Dykstra to second. After Ricky Horton intentionally walked Lee Mazzilli, Johnson lined a single into the left-field corner.

Gooden (5-1), allowed 8 hits, struck out 9 and walked 2. He has won five straight decisions against the Cardinals since April 24, 1985.

Rafael Santana’s two-run single lifted the Mets into a 2-2 tie in the seventh.

Mathews had shut out New York on three singles and retired 13 straight batters before Mazzilli singled and Johnson doubled with two outs in the seventh. Santana, the eighth batter in the lineup, grounded a single into left field.

The Mets rallied to tie after catching the Cardinals in a bizarre double play in the top of the seventh. Curt Ford led off with a single and took second when Tony Pena followed with a single.

Mathews missed a sacrifice attempt and catcher Carter threw to shortstop Santana, trapping Ford off second. Santana’s throw to Johnson caught Ford at third base, and Johnson spun and threw out Pena at second.

National League stolen base leader Vince Coleman was forced to leave the game after the third inning because of a sprained left thumb.

Cincinnati 5, Houston 4--Kurt Stillwell scored from second base on Tracy Jones’ infield single in the 10th inning at Cincinnati to extend the first-place Reds’ margin in the NL West to 1 1/2 games over the Astros.

Larry Andersen (5-4), the third Houston pitcher, set up the Reds’ winning rally by walking Stillwell and Kal Daniels with one out.

Terry Francona fouled out, and Jones beat out a grounder to shortstop Dickie Thon for an infield hit, with Stillwell continuing around third base and sliding head first to beat the relay home. Jones’ single was the Reds’ first hit since the fourth inning and gave the victory to reliever John Franco (5-2), who pitched two perfect innings.

Montreal 5, Chicago 4--Dennis Martinez pitched seven-hit ball over 8 innings and struck out eight as the Expos snapped a three-game losing streak in a fight-marred game at Montreal.

The loss was the Cubs’ sixth in seven games.

Martinez left after yielding Manny Trillo’s pinch single, and Bob McClure came on and allowed a two-run pinch homer to Rafael Palmeiro. Tim Burke relieved McClure and got one out before Jeff Parrett got Keith Moreland to pop out to second with the bases loaded for the final out.

Reliever Dickie Noles, who hit Andres Galarraga and Tim Wallach with pitches Monday night, hit Galarraga again with two outs in the eighth. Galarraga charged the mound and took a swing at Noles and players from both benches charged onto the field. Both Noles and Galarraga were ejected.

Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 4--Juan Samuel’s leadoff home run and Von Hayes’ RBI triple keyed a three-run first inning at Philadelphia that sparked the Phillies to their fourth consecutive victory.

Kevin Gross (6-7), allowed three hits over seven innings to record the win, while Steve Bedrosian came on to get the last two outs for his 20th save and 13th in a row, extending the major league record he established Monday night.

San Francisco 5, Atlanta 2--Eddie Milner and Joel Youngblood hit home runs to lift the Giants to the victory at San Francisco.

Chris Brown, mired in a 4-for-38 slump since coming off the disabled list June 18, singled with one out in the sixth inning to start San Francisco’s game-winning rally. Chris Speier doubled down the left-field line to send Brown to third, and Bob Melvin’s sacrifice fly drove home Brown to give San Francisco a 3-2 lead.