National League Roundup : Pirates’ Walk Helps Self to 5-1 Win Over Cubs

Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Jim Leyland has been impressed with Bob Walk’s pitching this season but has understandably looked the other way whenever the right-hander came up to hit.

Walk’s batting average was just .045 before he started against the Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh.

Not only did Walk limit the Cubs to five hits through eight innings Wednesday night, he also knocked Chicago starter Calvin Schiraldi out of the game with a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning to lead the Pirates past the Cubs, 5-1.

Walk (6-4) also singled and scored in the third inning.

The victory was his eighth in nine career decisions against the Cubs, and it ended the Pirates’ three-game losing streak.

Leyland said before the game that the Pirates needed an exceptional pitching effort or a hitter to get hot in order to break out of their slump. He didn’t expect them to be the same person.

“I expect him to pitch well, but I don’t expect the hits from him,” Leyland said. “He’s a likely candidate to go out there and throw a game like that, but you don’t ask him to go out there and win the game for you with his bat.”

Walk struck out two and walked two. Jeff Robinson pitched the ninth.

With the Pirates leading, 2-1, in the sixth, Schiraldi (3-3) walked Sid Bream and Mike Diaz before getting Mike LaValliere on a grounder that advanced the runners. Cub Manager Don Zimmer ordered Rafael Belliard intentionally walked to load the bases.

Walk, who had only 1 hit in 22 previous at-bats this season, lined a three-run double down the left-field line. Walk’s only previous extra-base hit came on April 27, 1986, when he had doubled twice against Philadelphia.

“I’ve never been a good hitter,” Walk said. “I don’t try to hit the ball anywhere in particular, I just try to put the ball in play somewhere.”

Said Schiraldi: “I messed up. I had a chance to get out of it (the sixth inning) and I didn’t. I really messed up, there’s no doubt about that. He hit a slider, my fourth-best pitch . . .I got beat on my fourth-best pitch, and that’s a cardinal sin for a pitcher.”

Schiraldi had won three consecutive decisions and hadn’t lost in six starts since the Pirates beat him, 12-7, on April 17.

St. Louis 5, New York 2--Pinch-hitter Curt Ford snapped a 2-2 tie with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning, and Ozzie Smith singled home two more runs to lead the Cardinals past the Mets at St. Louis.

The victory, the third-place Cardinals’ 10th in their last 14 games, left them 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Mets.

The Cardinals’ big inning came against New York relief ace Roger McDowell (3-1). Jose Oquendo singled to trigger St. Louis’ decisive burst after McDowell retired Bob Horner to start the seventh.

Tony Pena also singled, and Luis Alicea walked to load the bases. Oquendo scored, but Pena was trapped while retreating to third on Ford’s single to right field. Both Alicea and Ford, who had moved up on the Pena rundown, then scored on Smith’s slow-rolling infield single to shortstop.

Steve Peters (3-2) yielded Dave Magadan’s third hit to give New York a 2-2 tie in the top of the seventh but got credit for the victory with the help of two innings of relief by Todd Worrell, who recorded his 16th save.

The game was interrupted by rain in the bottom of the second inning for 94 minutes.

Cincinnati 7, San Diego 1--Paul O’Neill had five hits and drove in four runs to lead the Reds over the Padres at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Jose Rijo (7-1) made his first National League start after 29 relief appearances and limited the Padres to two hits, while walking two and striking out eight, in six innings.

Rijo was moved into the starting rotation after the Reds traded left-hander Dennis Rasmussen to the Padres for reliever Candy Sierra earlier in the day.

Eric Show (4-6) was battered for eight hits and six runs, while walking three and throwing a wild pitch, through the five innings.

Montreal 5, Philadelphia 4--Herm Winningham tripled home Wallace Johnson with two out in the 10th inning, giving the Expos the win over the Phillies at Montreal.

Johnson led off the 10th with a pinch single against reliever Steve Bedrosian (0-2) and scored when Winningham lined his hit into the right-field corner.

Jeff Parrett (5-1) pitched three innings of one-hit relief to earn the victory.

Atlanta 5, San Francisco 4--Albert Hall hit a run-scoring single with two out in the ninth inning as the Braves defeated the Giants at Candlestick Park.

With one out, Ron Gant singled off Craig Lefferts (1-3) and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by pitcher Jose Alvarez. Hall singled through the legs of Lefferts and into center field to score Hall.

Alvarez (2-1) allowed one hit in two innings. Bruce Sutter pitched the ninth for his ninth save.