NATIONAL LEAGUE : Once Again, Pirates Can’t Handle Expos

After being swept in their three-game weekend series at Montreal, there were still a couple of things the Pittsburgh Pirates could be thankful for.

They remain in first place in the National League East. And, they don’t have to play the Expos again.

Scott Anderson, a 28-year-old rookie making his first major league start, and three relievers held the slumping Pirates to one hit and the Expos won, 4-1, ending the season with a 13-5 record against the Pirates.

It was the fifth loss in a row for Pittsburgh, and put the Expos just 5 1/2 games out of first place.

Anderson, a former Oregon State star who had a brief stint with Texas in 1987, gave up a double to Jay Bell in the first inning. He went five innings, but trailed, 1-0. Scott Ruskin, obtained in the deal that sent Zane Smith to the Pirates, won it in relief.

The Expos came from behind in all three weekend games. Rookie Randy Tomlin had a two-hitter going into the sixth. But Tim Raines, celebrating his 31st birthday, singled and scored the tying run on Otis Nixon’s triple. Tim Wallach’s sacrifice fly produced the go-ahead run. Two unearned runs in the seventh completed the scoring.

“People keep asking me why we can’t beat them,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said. “But everybody’s underrated them. They’re an excellent team. That’s what people are forgetting. The Mets have to play them six more times. They’ll find out.”

Leyland also took exception to people putting the blame for the slump on the bullpen.

“As you saw in this game, when we needed two walks, two steals and an error to produce one run,” he said.

“I’m glad to leave. We better check the locks on the clubhouse. They don’t want us to leave.”

Philadelphia 8, New York 3--It isn’t a team that’s giving the Mets problems these days, it’s a tall, hard-throwing, rookie right-hander.

Jose DeJesus beat the Mets for the third time in less than six weeks to prevent them from moving into first place.

The 6-foot-5 DeJesus, who gave up only one run in the other two victories, had a two-hitter and an 8-1 lead before yielding a walk and a double with one out in the eighth. The double, by Gregg Jefferies, was the first extra-base hit for the Mets off DeJesus (6-7).

In 25 1/3 innings, the Mets, supposedly vulnerable only to left-handers, had nine hits against DeJesus.

“It’s frustrating,” Jefferies said. “DeJesus is a two-pitch pitcher, but we haven’t been able to hit either his fastball or his curve.”

After DeJesus’s wildness led to a run in the first, John Kruk hit the first of his two triples and Darren Daulton followed with his 12th home run to put the Phillies ahead.

The Mets, with a 51-24 record at home, close out the 10-game stand with three games against Montreal beginning Tuesday night.

Houston 3, San Francisco 2-- The Giants were hoping to move into their two-game set beginning tonight at Cincinnati within striking distance of the West-leading Reds.

The opposite happened. They were swept in three games at Houston and lost ground. They have only faint hopes of repeating in the West.

Don Robinson hit his 13th career home run in the eighth inning to give the Giants a 2-1 lead, but the veteran right-hander lost the game in the ninth.

A walk, an infield hit and Craig Biggio’s single tied the score. One out later with the bases loaded, Glenn Davis came off the bench to deliver a single that dropped the Giants 7 1/2 behind the Reds.

Chicago 8, St. Louis 4--Catcher Damon Berryhill, who missed most of the season because of a torn right rotator cuff, hit three doubles, scored two runs and drove in a run to lead the Cubs at St. Louis.

San Diego 9, Atlanta 4--Garry Templeton hit a three-run double at Atlanta and the Padres took advantage of four errors, three by third baseman Jim Presley, to score seven runs in the second inning.