NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Pirates on the Move and Stay in Groove

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a couple of games into their longest trip of the season.

If the rest of the National League East thought the 12-game swing through the West might bring the Pirates back to the pack, they apparently are sadly mistaken.

The Pirates are even more potent on the road than at home.

Jay Bell hit two home runs, going four for five and driving in four runs Saturday night at Houston to lead the Pirates to an 11-5 romp.

The Pirates won their fourth in a row and improved to 60-34, the best record in the major leagues. The Pirates are 31-14 away from Pittsburgh.

Bell, not considered a power hitter, has 12 home runs. The last Pirate shortstop to hit more than 10 in a season was Billy Cox, who had 15 in 1947. The club record is 19 by Arky Vaughn in 1935.

About the only consolation for the Astros, who lost their seventh in a row, was ending pitcher Randy Tomlin’s scoreless string. Tomlin had shutouts in his two previous games, but his streak ended at 23 innings when the Astros scored in the sixth.

In the 15 games since the All-Star break, the Pirates have won 13 and averaged 6.9 runs.

“If you have a good team and play good baseball consistently, it shouldn’t make any difference where you play,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said.

It also helps when a budding star such as Tomlin emerges. Tomlin, 4-4 as a rookie last year, improved to 6-3. With Bob Walk going on the disabled list, the left-hander’s sharp pitching comes at just the right time.

Before the game the Astros released veteran infielder Ken Oberkfell and brought up shortstop Andujar Cedeno, who went one for three and scored a run.

Chicago 7, Atlanta 5--With the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field, a low-scoring game was expected.

But Terry Pendleton and Ron Gant hit home runs for the Braves and Ryne Sandberg hit two for the Cubs, one of them an inside-the-park home run.

Sandberg, who drove in five runs, said that when he circled the bases in the first inning when left fielder Lonnie Smith missed a diving catch, his legs hurt the rest of the day.

In the third inning, Sandberg hit his 16th home run into the teeth of an 18-mile-per-hour wind.

“I hit that one real good and it barely made it out,” Sandberg said. “They (Pendleton and Gant) really crushed theirs.”

Sandberg’s slugging helped Les Lancaster improve his record to 7-4. He retired the first 10 Braves before Jeff Treadway doubled and Pendleton and Gant homered.

San Francisco 3, Philadelphia 0--Just about everything has been going right for the Giants lately.

Rookie right-hander Paul McClellan and two relievers pitched a three-hitter at San Francisco for the Giants’ seventh victory in a row.

McClellan, who was 13-3 in the minors before the Giants brought him up, gave up two hits in seven innings. Dave Righetti gave up the other hit in the ninth but earned his 15th save.

Matt Williams and Robby Thompson hit consecutive home runs off Danny Cox (3-4) in the fourth inning.

Cincinnati 13, St. Louis 1--The Reds took out some of their frustration in St. Louis with a 20-hit shelling of the Cardinals.

Rookie Kip Gross, one of the few bright spots for the Reds all season, pitched his first complete game and improved his record to 4-1.

Gross, who ended a 10-game Cincinnati losing streak with his last victory July 20, ended a five-game losing streak this time and gave the Reds only their third victory in the last 17 games.

Jeff Reed had three hits and drove in three runs for the Reds, who had 19 singles and a double.

New York 4, San Diego 0--Dwight Gooden gave up four hits in eight innings at San Diego and improved his record over the Padres to 11-4. He is 3-0 against them this season.

Gooden (11-6) and John Franco, who pitched the ninth, combined for the shutout that ended the Mets’ four-game losing streak.

Former Padre Garry Templeton hit a home run for the Mets, leading off the third inning.