NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Pirates Beat Cardinals to End Eight-Game Skid

Before the Pittsburgh Pirates began their eight-game losing streak, they had a seven-game lead in the East.

The surprising slump by the team that had been the most impressive in the majors this season really didn’t do much harm.

After John Smiley pitched a five-hitter and beat the Cardinals, 2-1, Sunday at St. Louis, the Pirates were leading the National League East by 5 1/2 games.

With the score 1-1 in the sixth inning and Pirates on first and second and one out, Gary Varsho hit a grounder to second. Jose Oquendo picked it up and tossed to shortstop Ozzie Smith for the force out at second.

With no chance for a double play, Smith threw to third trying to catch the runner off base. But Smith threw the ball far over third baseman Todd Zeile’s head and Orlando Merced scored the winning run.

“The ball slipped out of my hand,” Smith said of his fifth error of the season.

Smiley (13-7) tied his victory total of 1988, his personal best.

“I was really jacked up,” Smiley said. “I wanted to go out and have a big game. I had a good time out there.”

Although Manager Jim Leyland and his players kept saying the losing streak was of no importance, they were celebrating in the locker room.

The Cardinals scored in the fifth on consecutive two-out doubles by Tom Pagnozzi and Oquendo. Benched in May because he was batting below .200, Oquendo is 18 for 34 (.529) in his last 11 games and is hitting .263.

Ken Hill (8-8) gave up five hits and only one earned run in eight innings, but is winless in his last six starts.

Smiley did more than win, he took some pressure off of the overworked Pirate bullpen with the team’s first complete game in two weeks.

“We had 28 relief appearances in nine days,” pitching coach Ray Miller said. “We got beat up. This really helps.”

Cincinnati 6, San Francisco 5--Jeff Brantley walked Paul O’Neill on a 3-and-2 pitch with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth inning at Cincinnati to force in the winning run.

It appeared the onrushing Giants had moved to within seven games of the slumping Dodgers when Kevin Bass tagged Rob Dibble for a three-run home run in the seventh to give the Giants a 5-2 lead.

But the bullpen failed the Giants. Kelly Downs served up a three-run home run to Barry Larkin to tie it in the bottom of the seventh.

Before the walk to O’Neill, Brantley gave two other walks, one intentional.

Larkin finished with five RBIs, having doubled in two runs in the second inning off Giant starter Trevor Wilson, who allowed four hits in six innings.

Larkin has now hit safely in nine consecutive games and in all 16 of his starts since the All-Star break.

Bass’ homer was only the second Dibble has allowed in 50 2/3 innings.

Until giving up the homer to Larkin, Downs had allowed only one earned run in 15 appearances.

Chicago 8, New York 3--The Mets wasted their chances to close in on the Pirates in the East.

When the Cubs scored five runs in the third inning against David Cone at New York, the Mets were on their way to their fifth consecutive defeat.

The Mets, who have won only two of their last 12, are six games behind the Pirates. They were booed repeatedly by a crowd of 36,080 on what was supposed to be “Banner Day.”

“We’re struggling as a team and when you’re starter gets blown out early, you’re putting pressure on everyone else,” Cone said.

“We had to have a good pitching performance, and I didn’t do it.”

After scoring in the first inning on two singles, the Cubs scored five times on six singles in the third.

Greg Maddux (9-6) barely made it through 5 1/3 innings, but the bullpen was almost perfect as the Cubs completed a three-game sweep.

Atlanta 9, San Diego 7--While the Braves await the return to form of top hitters David Justice and Sid Bream, Ron Gant is doing his part to prevent a collapse.

Gant had four hits at Atlanta, including a three-run home run in a six-run first inning that enabled the Braves to salvage a game from the Padres.

Gant, has 22 home runs and 63 runs batted in after a slow start.

Steve Avery (12-5) needed help and the bullpen barely protected the big lead.

Philadelphia 3, Montreal 2--Dale Murphy might be about to emerge from a four-year slump. Once one of the most feared hitters in the league, Murphy has struggled to stay above .200 since 1987.

After hitting a three-run home run Saturday, he came back in this game at Montreal to hit a pinch double in the 10th inning that gave the Phillies their sixth victory in a row.

The Expos have lost six games in a row, and 14 of their last 17. Montreal has also dropped 16 consecutive games to National League East opponents.

Lenny Dysktra beat out an infield single with one out in the 10th against reliever Jeff Fassero (1-2) and stole second before scoring on Murphy’s hard grounder just inside the third-base bag.

Mitch Williams (3-3) pitched two innings for the victory.