NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Lightning Strikes Twice, Mets Pull Closer

Going into the ninth inning Friday night, it appeared the Pittsburgh Pirates would expand their lead in the National League East to 2 1/2 games.

They had a 2-0 lead at Houston and the San Francisco Giants were leading the Mets at New York, 3-1.

But when the evening was over, the Mets had moved to within half a game of first place.

For the most part, the Mets have disappointed their fans, who expected them to win the East handily.

There has been one phase of their game that has definitely lived up to expectations--their ability to pull out games in their last at-bats.

With two out in the ninth inning at New York, veteran Don Robinson appeared to be toying with the Mets. He had a six-hitter and had thrown only 87 pitches.

But Dave Magadan singled and Gregg Jefferies doubled him home. Manager Roger Craig brought in Steve Bedrosian. It was decided to give an intentional walk to Darryl Strawberry, putting the potential winning run on base.

Kevin McReynolds foiled the strategy with a single up the middle, tying the score and sending Strawberry to third. Howard Johnson dropped a pop fly barely inside the right-field line and the Mets had their fourth consecutive victory, 4-3. It was the 17th time the Mets won in their last chance.

The Giants, about to fall out of the race in the West, built their lead on home runs by Matt Williams (his 27th) and Kevin Mitchell (31st).

Houston 3, Pittsburgh 2--It was an almost identical situation at Houston as the Pirates replaced Zane Smith, who had a 2-0 lead.

Stan Belinda retired the first two Astros. There followed five consecutive hits, two against Belinda, two more against Bob Patterson (8-5) and the game-winning single by Glenn Wilson off Bill Landrum.

Craig Biggio kept the Astros’ hopes alive with a single. He scored on Casey Candaele’s pinch-double. Franklin Stubbs and Dave Rhode then singled to set the stage for Wilson.

Although he missed a shot at his fourth consecutive victory since joining the Pirates, Smith continued his mastery over the Astros. He is 2-0 with an earned-run average of 0.82 this season.

Chicago 4, Cincinnati 3-- The last of the ninth was a big one in Chicago, too. Paul O’Neill had given the Reds a 3-2 lead with a two-run homer in the sixth.

But the Reds’ right fielder lost Andre Dawson’s flyball in the sun and it went for a double to open the Cubs’ ninth.

Three singles later, the Cubs had the victory, with Luis Salazar and Joe Girardi hitting run-scoring singles.

“I know how tough it is out there,” said Dawson, the Cubs’ right fielder. “It’s tougher in center around one, but at this time, the problem’s in right.”

Said O’Neill: “All I could do was stick my glove out and hope the ball sticks in it. I saw the ball at the start, but it was hooking. I feel worse than anybody.”

With the Dodgers losing, the Reds remained 5 1/2 games in front in the West.

Not only did Randy Myers have a rare poor outing, but the Reds wasted a fine effort by Norm Charlton. The left-hander gave up two hits in six innings but was deprived of the victory.

Already hurting for pitching, the Reds put Jack Armstrong, a 12-game winner, on the disabled list because of a sore elbow.

Atlanta 4, St. Louis 1--John Smoltz (12-9) gave up seven hits in 8 1/3 innings at Atlanta for his third victory in a row.

Jose DeLeon (7-14) gave up only three hits, but lost for the eighth time in nine decisions.

Philadelphia 4, San Diego 2--John Kruk hit a two-run double in the eighth inning at Philadelphia to break a 2-2 tie.

Dale Murphy had a double to extend his hitting streak for the Phillies to 10 games.