National League Roundup : Sabo Leads Reds, Who Trade Bell

When Buddy Bell was injured early this season, the Cincinnati Reds hoped rookie Chris Sabo would be an adequate replacement. Bell healed but never fully recovered.

Sabo, who took Bell’s job at third base, went 4 for 4 Saturday in a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Cincinnati, and afterward the Reds traded Bell to the Houston Astros for a player to be named.

“(Sabo) hit everything we threw up there,” Giant Manager Roger Craig said. “He hits fastballs, he hits breaking balls. You make a good pitch and he bloops it somewhere. You make a mistake and he hits the (heck) out of it. Amazing.”

Sabo had a home run, a triple and two doubles, the first four-hit game of his career, as the Reds won for the sixth time in seven games and moved into a third-place tie with the Giants in the West.

Five of Sabo’s eight homers have been against San Francisco, and he is hitting .452 (19 for 42) against the Giants, .316 overall.

“I’ve always been optimistic,” Sabo said. “If you don’t think you can hit, you can’t hit. Hitting is as much mental as physical. You’ve got to be confident up there or you’re going to get blown away.”

Ron Robinson (3-5) gave up 5 hits in 5 innings and snapped his three-game losing streak. It was Robinson’s first victory in eight starts since he came within one out of a perfect game against the Montreal Expos May 2.

The Reds scored in the first inning off Kelly Downs (4-7) on Barry Larkin’s single, Sabo’s double and Paul O’Neill’s sacrifice fly.

Sabo opened the third with a home run. He doubled in the fifth off Downs, tripled in the seventh off Don Robinson and scored when Chris Speier’s relay throw bounced off his helmet for an error.

Chicago 3, Montreal 0--Greg Maddux became the first 12-game winner in the majors with a five-hitter, pitching his third shutout of the season as the Cubs beat the Expos at Chicago.

Andre Dawson drove in two runs for the Cubs, who won their third straight game. The Expos dropped their fourth in a row.

Maddux (12-3) struck out 5 in winning his sixth straight game and eighth in his last nine starts.

Vance Law singled home a run off John Dopson (1-5) in the second inning, and Dawson doubled home a run in the third and singled home another in the eighth.

Umpire Bruce Froemming was struck in the chest by a pitch and taken to a hospital for X-rays, which disclosed no fractures.

New York 3, Philadelphia 2--Keith Miller’s infield hit with two out in the 14th inning scored Kevin McReynolds, and the Mets defeated the Phillies at New York.

The Mets are 7-1 in extra-inning games, 6-0 at Shea Stadium. It was the 12th time they have won in their last at-bat.

Terry Leach (2-1) got the victory despite allowing Steve Jeltz’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 14th to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Gary Carter’s sacrifice fly tied the score.

Houston 14, Atlanta 7--Glenn Davis hit his league-leading 17th homer, and Bill Doran had a two-run single as the Astros scored seven runs in the seventh inning to rout the Braves at Atlanta.

The Braves had taken a 7-5 lead in the sixth on a two-run homer by Ken Griffey and a solo homer by Andres Thomas, his sixth of the season and second of the game.

St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 3--Willie McGee drove in two runs and scored two more at Pittsburgh as the Cardinals handed the Pirates their third straight defeat.

John Tudor (3-2) gave up one run in six innings and improved to 6-1 against Pittsburgh. The only run he allowed came on Andy Van Slyke’s solo home run in the fifth.