NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Reds Pound Out 16 Hits, Win, 12-7

After losing two in a row, the Cincinnati Reds resorted to their pitching bashing Wednesday night at Philadelphia and defeated the Phillies, 12-7.

The Reds, off to a 10-2 start, had 16 hits. In 10 of 12 games they have had at least 10 hits. They have two batters in the starting lineup hitting over .400 (Barry Larkin and Mariano Duncan).

Duncan, suddenly developing into a power hitter, hit a two-run home run. It was his third homer, tying last season’s total. The former Dodger second baseman also had a double and a single and raised his average to .448.

The Reds are batting .321, despite an injury to their best hitter, Eric Davis. Davis, who has a bruised knee, is batting .186.

With all that hitting, it was easy for Rick Mahler to get his first victory. Mahler, who has led the National League in hits allowed for five consecutive years, retired the first 10 batters before giving up a hit.

New York Mets 8, Atlanta 5--The Mets are beginning to like what they see of former Dodger Mike Marshall. Marshall appeared as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and hit a two-run double to break a 5-5 tie, and the Mets won their fourth in a row.

The Braves, who have lost eight in a row at Shea Stadium, held a 5-3 lead before the Mets scored five runs in the eighth.

The Mets used two starting pitchers, Bob Ojeda and Ron Darling, in relief. Ojeda held the Braves scoreless for 3 1/3 innings, and Darling, pitching in relief for the second time in 210 appearances, won it with a perfect inning.

San Diego 3, Chicago 0--Ed Whitson was more excited about his batting prowess than his pitching after his seven-hitter at San Diego.

Whitson, in his 14th season, hit his first major league home run in the seventh inning off Mike Bielecki (0-2).

It was Whitson’s 10th shutout and the sixth loss in a row for the Cubs.

The Padres, moving into second place in the West, have won three in a row.

Montreal 1, Houston 0--The pitchers were definitely ahead of the hitters at Houston.

The only run scored when relief pitcher Dave Smith of the Astros made a wild pitch with the Expos’ Tim Raines on third base.

Otherwise, it was a brilliant duel between Dennis Martinez of the Expos and Jim Deshaies of the Astros. Martinez, in his third outstanding performance, gave up three hits in seven innings. Deshaies was even better. He gave up three hits in eight innings.

Pittsburgh 7, San Francisco 4--Andy Van Slyke’s two-run single off Steve Bedrosian in the 12th inning lead the Pirates. The Giants’ home record is 0-7.