National League Roundup : Cubs Look Slick in Their First Night Game, Defeat Mets, 6-4

There were two main differences Tuesday night at Chicago when the first official night baseball game was finally played at Wrigley Field.

First, there was no ceremony.

Second, it was the New York Mets, not the Cubs, taking pratfalls on a dark and wet night.

The Cubs had five consecutive hits in the seventh inning--almost all of which Met fielders just missed while making diving attempts--and went on to beat the leaders of the National League East, 6-4.

Monday night when the gala opening was stopped by rain after 3 1/2 innings, four Cubs came out and did some slipping and sliding on the tarpaulin to entertain the fans. Before Tuesday’s game, they were criticized during a meeting by Manager Don Zimmer.

The celebrities, politicians and 250 writers and baseball officials were missing on the second try, only the loyal Cub fans, 36,399, showed up at the 74-year-old ballpark that was the last bastion against night baseball.

Although no fly balls or pop-ups were lost in the lights, the playing conditions were far from perfect. One Cub run scored when Mets’ left fielder Kevin McReynolds slipped in the quagmire and Rafael Palmeiro’s fly went for a double in the sixth to tie the score.

With one out and two on in the seventh inning, Jody Davis’ drive to center popped out of center fielder Len Dykstra’s glove for a double to score the tiebreaking run. Four more singles followed.

Dykstra’s home run with one on in the fifth was the third home run under the lights, but the first one that counted. Phil Bradley of Philadelphia and Ryne Sandberg hit them in the rained-out game. In the eighth inning, Howard Johnson his his 20th home run.

Zimmer said he called the meeting before they removed the tarp Tuesday night to talk with his team about doing things to try to win games. He also talked with Al Nipper, Greg Maddux and Les Lancaster and Davis about their antics on the tarpaulin during the rain.

“We got some static, loads of it,” Davis said.

“I’m just glad I had a chance to make a real contribution. You can see the ball good on the infield. I myself don’t think you can see the ball that well in the daytime. I have trouble picking it up. You eliminate the glare from center field by turning the lights on. I like the lights.”

McReynolds said the lights didn’t affect him on the play that he fell.

“The lights weren’t too bad, although it reminded me of the minor leagues a little,” McReynolds said. “It’s a little dark out there.”

Houston 3, San Francisco 2--The Astros have moved to within a half-game of first place in the West with an effective method. They have been beating their competition.

After taking three of four from the reeling Dodgers, the Astros are working on the Giants.

With Glenn Davis driving in two runs with a pair of singles, including the tiebreaking run in the eighth at Houston, the Astros pulled three games ahead of the Giants.

After Joaquin Andujar held the Giants to four hits and a run in five innings, Danny Darwin blew the lead. But Juan Agosto (8-0) pitched a scoreless inning to get the victory.

Pittsburgh 10, Montreal 8--The Pirates may find the Mets too hot to handle, but they still do well against the rest of the East.

Sid Bream drove in four runs and Bobby Bonilla hit a two-run home run at Montreal as the Pirates won a slugfest and moved to within 5 games of the Mets.

The Pirates kept building leads, but the Expos kept fighting back. They built 7-2 and 10-5 leads.

Jim Gott, who balked three times to lose Saturday’s game to the Mets, got his 19th save, but not before he balked in the Expos’ eighth run.

San Diego 5, Atlanta 1--Benito Santiago came out of a season-long slump to hit two home runs at Atlanta and drive in three runs.

Eric Show (9-10) pitched a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game victory. He lost his shutout when Ron Gant hit his 14th home run with one out in the eighth.

As a rookie last season, Santiago batted .300 and hit 18 home runs. He has 6 homers and is hitting .250.

Tony Gwynn, who had two hits in five consecutive games, had only one hit, but it was a run-scoring single that gave him 10 game-winnings runs batted in.

St. Louis 7, Philadelphia 3--In the battle for last place in the East, the Phillies were sitting in a solid position at Philadelphia.

Rookie Marvin Freeman held the Cardinals to four hits and a 3-0 lead, then turned it over to last year’s Cy Young Award winner Steve Bedrosian.

This was one of the rare occasions in which Bedrosian didn’t have it. He faced five batters and didn’t retire one of them. The Cardinals had a seven-run eighth to win it.

Terry Pendleton had two hits in the inning and drove in three runs.