NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Cubs Win on Error in 13th

Heard of those games that are so good that it’s shame someone has to lose? This one was so bad it was a shame someone had to win.

But the Cubs did anyway, on an error--of course--in the 13th inning Tuesday night at New York. Third baseman Howard Johnson threw it away with two outs, allowing two runs to score and Chicago beat the Mets, 8-6.

Johnson’s error, his second of the game and the fifth for the Mets, ended a sloppy, 4 1/2-hour evening that saw 22 walks, six errors and countless wasted chances by both teams. The rain that fell all day in New York ended before the game started, but temperatures that dropped into the lower 40s and a constant, chilling wind made for a lousy night and an even lousier game.

“We’ve played in cold, snow, wet this year. We’re playing in a lot of bad weather,” Cub Manager Don Zimmer said. “What you’re seeing is the result of bad baseball weather.”

Certainly none of the 13,964 fans would disagree. That was the Mets’ smallest crowd since Sept. 23, 1986, and the home fans weren’t happy, especially after watching their team leave the bases loaded in the third, ninth and 10th innings and strand 18 runners, 10 in scoring position.

Overall, the Mets left 10 runners on base in the last five innings and batted only two for 19 with men in scoring position.

Just about everyone in the Mets’ lineup got a chance to win it. In the 10th, the Cubs intentionally walked Johnson with two outs to load the bases, but Mitch Williams struck out Darryl Strawberry.

“The opportunities were there. We just didn’t take advantage,” Strawberry said. “I had my chance and didn’t do it. I’ll just have to deal with it.”

Chicago got the winning run in the 13th when Joe Girardi singled with one out off Jeff Innis (0-1), stole second with two outs and continued to third on catcher Orlando Mercado’s throwing error. After Jerome Walton walked, Ryne Sandberg hit a grounder to Johnson, who fielded it cleanly but threw wildly past first base for his second error of the game and the Mets’ fifth.

Sandberg’s RBI grounder put Chicago ahead 6-5 in the 11th. Mike Marshall led off the bottom half with his first home run for the Mets.

Sandberg tied a major league record for infielders with his 97th consecutive errorless game. He matched the mark set by San Francisco’s Jim Davenport from 1966-68.

Houston 5, Atlanta 3--Franklin Stubbs, who said he is happy to get away from the Dodgers, hit a two-run home run and two doubles at Houston to lead the Astros. It was the Braves’ fifth loss in a row.

Winner Mark Portugal (1-1) gave up two runs in the first, but retired 12 batters in a row before leaving in the sixth.

Stubbs’ first home run for the Astros came after a single by Craig Biggio in the second inning. Biggio had three hits and has nine hits in his last 11 at-bats.

Pittsburgh 7, St. Louis 2--The Cardinals’ Greg Mathews, trying to come back after being sidelined last season because of an elbow injury, walked six in 2 2/3 innings at Pittsburgh.

Winner Neal Heaton (2-0), who won his last five decisions in 1989, went 7 2/3 innings, giving up five hits. Heaton, who has given up only one earned run in 12 innings, didn’t win his second game last season until July 28.

Montreal 2, Philadelphia 1--Rookie Delino DeShields hustled to first base to avoid a double play in the seventh inning at Montreal and drove in the winning run.

Left-handed-hitting DeShields was facing Don Carman with the score 1-1 and runners on first and third and one out. He pulled a bouncer to second baseman Tommy Herr and barely beat the throw on the double play attempt.