National League Roundup : Mets Use Walks, Balks to Take 6-Game Lead Over the Pirates, 5-3

After hanging tough all these weeks, the young, inexperienced Pittsburgh Pirates seem finally to be feeling the pressure of the division title race.

Just when it appeared that the Pirates were going to pull within 4 games of the New York Mets, the leaders of the National League East, everything fell apart Saturday night at Pittsburgh.

The Pirates, who built a 3-1 lead against Dwight Gooden, went through a nightmarish eighth inning and lost, 5-3, to fall 6 games behind the Mets. The Pirates are only a half-game ahead of the third-place Montreal Expos.

Jim Gott, the Pirates’ No. 1 man out of the bullpen, took over in the eighth with the Pirates leading, 3-2.

In only two-thirds of an inning, Gott allowed three runs. He gave up one hit, but he allowed three walks and committed three balks, two of which allowed runs to score, before giving way to Jeff Robinson.

A fielder’s choice by second baseman Jose Lind also proved costly for the Pirates. Lind threw home too late trying to get the tying run when an out at first base would have helped avoid the big inning.

The only hit in the rally was a double by Kevin McReynolds.

“The balks were obvious,” Manager Dave Johnson of the Mets said. “I know what a balk looks like because we had so many called early in the season.

“They obviously were the big plays. Just as obviously, they were balks.”

The sellout crowd of 48,272 did not get to see Met first baseman Keith Hernandez.

Hernandez, who made a dramatic return with a home run Friday night, said the hamstring that kept him out of the lineup for almost two months was bothering him again. The hamstring was stiff and not reinjured, Hernandez said.

Barry Bonds put the Pirates ahead in the sixth inning when he tagged Gooden for a two-run home run, his 19th homer of the season.

Atlanta 7, San Francisco 2--A couple of players named Smith put another crimp in the Giants’ hopes of repeating in the West in this game at Atlanta.

Promising rookie Pete Smith (4-11) held the Giants to six hits in six innings to win for the first time since July 4.

Lonnie Smith singled twice and doubled once to lead the Braves’ 14-hit attack for their third victory in a row.

Jose Alvarez pitched three scoreless innings to gain his first save in his 42nd appearance.

Montreal 5, St. Louis 4--Otis Nixon, whom Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog recently said would be dangerous if he could hit, might fulfill that prediction if he could bat more against the Cardinals.

Nixon, hitting .230, went 2 for 5 and drove in 2 runs at St. Louis to lead the Expos to their fourth victory in a row.

The Expos have won 11 of their last 13 and are 10-2 against the Cardinals this season. They have won 14 of their last 16 on the road.

Tom Foley also drove in two runs.

The Cardinals lost another pitcher because of injury. Danny Cox (3-8) gave up three runs in the first inning, then departed after three innings when his shoulder stiffened.

Chicago 7, Philadelphia 4--Rich (Goose) Gossage needed just one out in the ninth inning at Chicago to become only the second major league pitcher to earn 300 saves. Rollie Fingers, the leader, has 341.

Gossage, who has been bothered by a stiff neck, retired Phil Bradley on a pop-up with two on in the last inning to save it for Al Nipper.

Relief pitcher Pat Perry had given Nipper a 7-2 lead when he hit his first major league home run, a two-run shot in the sixth, in his 21st at-bat.

“It’s nice to get 300 saves,” Gossage said, “but if I’d ever hit a home run I would have retired.”

San Diego 4, Cincinnati 1--Dennis Rasmussen continues to make the Reds sorry they gave up on him.

Rasmussen yielded six hits at Cincinnati before needing help in the ninth to win for the eighth time in his last nine decisions.

Rasmussen was 2-6 when the Reds traded him to the Padres on June 8.

Keith Moreland drove in two runs as the Padres beat Jose Rijo (11-7). After failing to score in Rijo’s previous two starts, the Reds finally got a run for him in the fifth inning.

The run scored on a double play by Bo Diaz, which tied the score. But in the sixth, Roberto Alomar tripled, and Moreland singled to give the Padres the lead for good.