NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Pirates Beat Braves in Battle of Leaders

It was a battle of the National League division leaders. It just didn’t seem right that one of the participants at Pittsburgh was the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves hadn’t led the West this late in the season since 1984, but the play of some young players had them on top.

The Pirates didn’t treat them with respect Friday night.

Rookie Orlando Merced continued his hot hitting with a tiebreaking home run and John Smiley pitched the Pirates to a 5-2 victory.

Smiley, in becoming the second five-game winner in the league (Ramon Martinez was first), pitched seven innings. He gave up five hits and a run.

Smiley, 9-10 last season, didn’t win No. 5 until Aug. 2.

Barry Bonds, mired in a slump all season, also was a contributor. Bonds, batting .165 going in, was two for three and scored twice.

Sid Bream, who helped the Pirates win the East last season, made an auspicious return to Pittsburgh. Appearing as a pinch-hitter in the ninth, Bream tagged reliever Stan Belinda for a tremendous home run over the center-field fence.

He was given two standing ovations, but all it accomplished was to give the Braves their second run.

“I’m trying to stay positive, my body feels really healthy and I’m relaxing better than I did before,” said Smiley, who was out two months last year because of a broken hand.

Chicago 6, Cincinnati 5--Rick Sutcliffe was happier with his hitting than his pitching after going six innings for a victory at Chicago.

The Cubs had to overcome a one-man offense. Hal Morris hit a three-run home run off Sutcliffe in the first inning and drove in all five Cincinnati runs.

“Physically, I’m getting better all the time,” said Sutcliffe, who missed almost all of last season. “The good, hard slider just isn’t there. I tried to throw it hard and that’s the pitch he (Morris) hit out.”

It was the Reds’ fourth loss in a row and ended Tom Browning’s three-game winning streak.

St. Louis 7, Houston 5--Pedro Guerrero’s two-run single in the 10th inning gave the Cardinals a victory at Houston.

The Cardinals stole seven bases, with Ray Lankford getting three of them.

Lankford singled with one out in the 10th and singles by Ozzie Smith and Bernard Gilkey loaded the bases for Guerrero.

Juan Agosto won in relief. Lee Smith pitched the 10th inning for his 10th save.

The Cardinals scored three times in the seventh, but the Astros tied it in the bottom of the inning.

San Francisco 7, New York 0--Bud Black pitched a three-hitter at San Francisco to shut out the Mets and Dwight Gooden for the second time in a row.

Black had two hits, including a single that drove in the first run in the fifth inning.

Gooden (3-3) gave up five runs and nine hits in six innings. Black won Sunday in New York, 2-0.

Montreal 6, San Diego 4--Larry Walker hit his second two-run home run of the game in the 10th inning at San Diego to prevent the Padres from regaining first place in the West.

The Padres tied the score in the ninth when the Expos walked Fred McGriff intentionally with two out and nobody out. A single and Garry Templeton’s double tied the score. But Tom Lampkin, the runner on first, was out at the plate.