NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Pirates Cool Off Reds, Who Lose Their Cool and the Game, 6-2

Before the season, hardly anyone would have expected a game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to be a meeting of the two division leaders in the National League.

Both had won five in a row when they played Wednesday night at Pittsburgh and the Reds, leading the West, had the best record in baseball.

But, it was Pirates, combining solid hitting with sound pitching, who looked the part of a division leader in a 6-2 victory.

The Reds seemed confused. They lost their cool and they made some bad plays.

Two of their hot hitters, Chris Sabo and Mariano Duncan, were ejected early. Sabo protested a strike call in the second and was gone.

Duncan, the leading hitter in the majors with a .400 average, may be facing a suspension. It appeared he was safe stealing third in the third, but umpire Mark Hirschbeck called him out. The irate Duncan appeared to push the umpire.

The Pirates pounded out 14 hits, breaking the game open with six of them in the sixth inning to hand Jack Armstrong his first loss after five victories.

John Smiley (3-3) pitched a strong six innings and, when he ran into trouble in the seventh, reliever Bill Landrum came in to get the last nine outs, three on strikeouts.

Andy Van Slyke had three hits for the Pirates, who have won 11 of their past 13.

San Francisco 4, New York 2--In desperation, the slumping Giants called on veteran Bob Knepper at New York, and he staggered to the victory that ended their three-game losing streak.

The Giants jumped on Bob Ojeda for all their runs in the first when Robby Thompson hit a solo homer Kevin Bass had a three-run shot.

Knepper, the eighth pitcher to start for the Giants, lasted 5 2/3 innings to get the victory.

Chicago 4, Atlanta 0--Les Lancaster and a timely rainstorm gave the Cubs’ bullpen a needed rest.

Lancaster, making his first start in two years, held the Braves to four hits at Chicago in a game that was washed out after the minimum 4 1/2 innings.

Ryne Sandberg and Domingo Ramos each hit two-run homers.

Philadelphia 10, Houston 1--Mike Scott’s problems continue. Scott, who won 20 last season for the Astros, gave up nine hits and eight runs (four earned) in 4 2/3 innings at Houston.

Scott (1-3) has an earned-run average of 6.27.

St. Louis 11, San Diego 5--The Cardinals, who scored eight runs in losing five in a row, scored seven runs in the fifth inning at St. Louis to wipe out a five-run deficit.

The first eight Cardinals reached base in the big inning. They scored four more runs in the sixth, two on Pedro Guerrero’s double.