National League Roundup : Pirates Get 10 in First, but Phillies Rally, 15-11

Steve Jeltz couldn’t believe he had hit two home runs. But then, Thursday night was a night for the unbelievable in Veterans Stadium.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who opened the game with their biggest inning in 47 years, became the second team to blow a 10-run lead this week, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, 15-11.

Barry Bonds hit a three-run homer, and Andy Van Slyke and Gary Redus had two hits each as the Pirates scored 10 runs in the first.

But Philadelphia came back. Von Hayes homered twice and drove in four runs. Jeltz, whose May 21 home run was his first in five years and 1,357 at-bats, homered twice to drive in five runs.

Trailing, 11-10, Philadelphia scored five runs in the eighth. The Phillies tied the game on Jeff Robinson’s wild pitch with a runner on third. Darren Daulton then hit a two-run single, and Curt Ford followed with a two-run triple.

Jeltz, who batted .187 last season, didn’t even start. Down by 10 runs in the first, Phillie Manager Nick Leyva simply wanted to rest second baseman Tom Herr, who has a sore foot.

The Toronto Blue Jays came back from a 10-0 first-inning deficit last Sunday to beat the Boston Red Sox, 13-11, in 12 innings.

Cincinnati 3, San Francisco 2--Craig Lefferts’ wild pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning allowed the Reds’ Barry Larkin to score the winning run at Cincinnati.

Lefferts relieved Mike LaCoss with two runners on base and a two-ball count on Dave Collins in the eighth. After walking Collins to load the bases, he got Paul O’Neill to pop up. But his second pitch to Bo Diaz bounced in the dirt and eluded catcher Terry Kennedy as Barry Larkin raced in from third.

Lefferts took the throw from Kennedy but was unable to make the tag on the sliding Larkin.

Houston 7, San Diego 6--Glenn Davis hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning as the Astros beat the Padres at Houston.

With Houston trailing, 6-5, Gerald Young led off the Houston 10th with a walk and moved to second on a ground ball. Davis hit his 14th homer of the season for the Astros’ 18th one-run win of the season.

Chicago 5, New York 4--Rick Wrona’s squeeze bunt in the 10th inning lifted the Cubs past the Mets at Wrigley Field.

Lloyd McClendon reached first base with one out in the 10th on shortstop Jeff McKnight’s fielding error. Curtis Wilkerson singled off Don Aase for his fourth hit of the game, and Shawon Dunston was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.

Wrona bunted between the mound and first, and McClendon beat first baseman Dave Magadan’s throw to the plate.

St. Louis 7, Montreal 2--Pedro Guerrero drove in three runs, including a go-ahead RBI single, and the Cardinals scored five runs in the ninth inning at Montreal to beat the Expos, 7-2.

Guerrero’s two-run triple in the first was the only hit allowed by Kevin Gross through the first eight innings.