National League Roundup : Gooden’s No-Hit Chance Fizzles Into 11-3 Win

Dwight Gooden, pitching on the first anniversary of his return from drug rehabilitation, threw seven innings of no-hit ball and also homered Sunday as the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-3, at Chicago.

Ironically, it was the home run, Gooden’s first of the season and the second of his career, that may have cost him the no-hitter.

The Cubs’ first hit was a Damon Berryhill single to lead off the eighth. It came just after Gooden’s two-run homer, and he said it may have broken his concentration.

“I was nervous going out to pitch the eighth,” said Gooden, who allowed three runs and five hits in the final two innings. “It was a strange feeling walking out there. It was weird. You come so far. It could have been the most unbelievable day of my life and it turned mediocre.

“I didn’t have my best fastball or a good curve. This might have been my best outing from the results, but I’ve had better stuff.”

Said Berryhill, who struck out on high fastballs in his first two at-bats: “He kept throwing fastballs and I was lucky to get one. The ball was over the plate. He may have lost his concentration after the home run.”

Gooden (9-1), who also singled as part of the Mets’ 18-hit attack, struck out 4 in pitching his sixth complete game of the season and the 48th in 137 career starts.

Kevin McReynolds drove in three runs for the Mets. Gooden, Kevin Elster and Keith Hernandez each added two runs batted in.

Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 2--Montreal’s Andres Galarraga hit his major league-leading 15th home run and Hubie Brooks had a two-run homer at Pittsburgh as the Pirates lost for the fifth time in seven games.

Bryn Smith (4-4) allowed four hits over six innings and shut out the Pirates after Andy Van Slyke’s two-run homer in the first inning. Jeff Parrett got his third save.

Galarraga broke a 2-2 tie with one out in the sixth when he hit his third home run of the four-game series and fourth of the month. He is 9 for 20 with 6 extra-base hits and 9 RBIs in June.

“Galarraga is one of the two or three premier young players in the league,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said. “He doesn’t give many at-bats away, and he’s a pretty mature young hitter. He’s hit three homers against us, but he has 12 others, so he’s hitting them against somebody else, too.”

Atlanta 3, San Diego 1--Ken Oberkfell’s run-scoring double with two out in the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie and helped Tom Glavine to his second consecutive victory as the Braves won at San Diego.

Glavine (3-6) and reliever Bruce Sutter, who pitched two perfect innings for his eighth save, combined to limit the Padres to four hits. Glavine allowed four hits in his last start, an 11-1 victory over Pittsburgh.

Andy Hawkins (5-5) was the loser.

Philadelphia 6, St. Louis 3--Phillie starter David Palmer won for the first time since last Sept. 9 and also hit a home run, doubled and scored two runs at Philadelphia.

“I like to work on my hitting,” Palmer said. “It can help you win games. I like to hit and I take it very seriously.”

He was, of course, also glad to win again.

“It sure feels good to get a win under my belt,” he said. “I had the best curveball I’ve had in some time, and I was just trying to throw strikes.”

The loss ended the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak.

San Francisco 9, Houston 3--Will Clark had a two-run homer and Matt Williams a three-run double to lead Rick Reuschel and the Giants at San Francisco.

Reuschel pitched six innings before leaving with shoulder soreness. He allowed one run on four hits to improve his record to 8-3. Craig Lefferts worked the final three innings for his fifth save.

The Astros scored twice in the eighth on a wild pitch and Billy Hatcher’s sacrifice fly. Those were the first runs Lefferts had allowed in 12 innings over 7 games.

Clark’s home run was his 14th of the season.