NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Darling Gives Mets a Sweet Sweep Over Expos

The way Ron Darling sees it, at least his last days as a member of the New York Mets mean something.

New York stayed three games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League East as Darling turned in his second solid start in a row to help the Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 6-0, Thursday night at Montreal.

Darling, relegated to the bullpen most of the season, gave up four hits in five innings before Bob Ojeda relieved. Both Darling (7-9) and Ojeda said earlier this week they expected to be traded after the season.

“It was nice to be back in the race,” Darling said. “I wasn’t really a part of the team all year but if you’re going to be part of a team, it’s better now than then.”

The Mets swept the three-game series from Montreal and have six games left, including the final three games of the season at Pittsburgh.

The Expos, eliminated Wednesday, have lost seven in a row after sweeping consecutive three-game series from Pittsburgh and New York. The Expos have scored only two runs in their past 55 innings.

In their seven losses, the Expos have managed eight runs and 42 hits in 73 innings.

Daryl Boston’s three-run homer off Kevin Gross (8-12) highlighted the Mets’ four-run sixth inning.

Pittsburgh 3, Chicago 2--Pittsburgh reduced its magic number to four as rookie left-hander Randy Tomlin survived a shaky start and Sid Bream hit a tiebreaking double in the sixth inning to lead the Pirates past the Cubs at Pittsburgh.

Bobby Bonilla drove in his 117th run in the first inning and Andy Van Slyke, hitting .500 in his past four games, had a run-scoring double in the third.

The Pirates swept the three-game series, rallying in all three games. The Pirates have won seven of their past eight.

The Pirates, nearing what would be their first National League East title in 11 years, finished 14-4 against the Cubs. Pittsburgh plays three weekend games at St. Louis, then finishes the season at home with three against the Mets.

Tomlin checked the Cubs on two hits after giving up Ryne Sandberg’s double, Mark Grace’s run-scoring grounder and Andre Dawson’s 26th homer in the first inning. He gave up five hits in seven innings before leaving with a muscle cramp in his back.

Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 3--The Cardinals’ Jose DeLeon became a 19-game loser for the second time in his career as the Phillies beat him at Philadelphia.

DeLeon (7-19) lasted only 1 2/3 innings as he lost his fifth consecutive decision to the Phillies. In those five games, he has given up 18 runs and 25 hits in 15 innings. DeLeon was 2-19 in 1985 for Pittsburgh.