NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Braves Come Back to Beat Reds, 10-9

A team that finishes in last place one season is rarely a contender the following season.

That is why several teams, including the Dodgers, have not really taken the Atlanta Braves seriously.

It’s time to get serious.

Faced with the prospect of dropping 3 1/2 games behind the Dodgers Wednesday night at Cincinnati, the Braves rallied dramatically.

With two outs and the Reds leading, 9-6, in the ninth inning, Atlanta’s Francisco Cabrera tagged bullpen ace Rob Dibble for a three-run home run.

Then, in the 13th inning, David Justice doubled home a run to give the Braves a 10-9 victory.

Atlanta is 2 1/2 games out of first place, and the Reds have dropped to 9 1/2 back.

Cabrera started the comeback for the Braves, who trailed, 9-5, with a home run in the seventh.

His home run in the ninth was only the third off Dibble and marked the second time in 26 chances that he failed to get a save.

Even with Justice out for almost two months, the Braves stayed in the race. He went four for seven, driving in three runs and indicating he will be a big help in the stretch.

In the Atlanta 13th, Greg Olson was walked by Randy Myers (5-10), the Reds’ seventh pitcher. Terry Pendleton followed with his fourth single. With one out, Justice delivered.

Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 5--Wally Backman’s two-out pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth inning drove in the winning run and extended the Phillies’ home winning streak to 14 in a row.

Before beating the division-leading Pirates for the second game in a row, Philadelphia blew a 5-0 lead.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the sixth inning and three times in the eighth. The Pirates tied the game on a pinch single by Gary Redus.

But in the ninth, Ricky Jordan opened with a double, and pinch-runner Braulio Castillo went to third on Lenny Dykstra’s single. Bill Landrum replaced Bob Kipper (2-2) and retired Randy Ready on a grounder and Wes Chamberlain on a pop before Backman delivered.

Mitch Williams (7-4) who gave up the game-tying single to Redus, got the victory.

“These are the situations a hitter thrives on,” Backman said. “I’m glad they had the confidence to send me up. My playing time has been limited.”

St. Louis 7-0, New York 3-8--It remained for Sid Fernandez to halt the Mets’ longest losing streak in a decade. He did it in a game that erupted in a free-for-all and nearly ended with his team having to forfeit.

The 8-0 victory came after the streak, which included 10 losses in a row on the recent trip, reached 11 when they were beaten in the opener of the doubleheader at New York.

Fernandez, who missed more than half the season when he broke his leg in spring training, won his first game of the season. He gave up four hits and struck out nine in seven innings.

The brawl came after Kevin Elster and Kevin McReynolds homered in a six-run seventh inning that broke open the nightcap.

Reliever Willie Fraser hit Howard Johnson and Johnson walked toward the mound as both dugouts emptied. Punches were thrown, and Fraser and Met catcher Rick Cerone were ejected.

Shortly thereafter, Gregg Jefferies slid home easily ahead of the throw on Garry Templeton’s double, a scene played back on Shea Stadium’s scoreboard video screen.

Plate umpire Joe West objected to the showing, and when the inning ended he went to a phone near the backstop and called the press box. The Mets announced that West had said that unless the video board was turned off, he would forfeit the game to St. Louis. New York complied, and the board was blank for the remainder of the night.

Pedro Guerrero, recently taken off the disabled list, was three for eight. He drove in a run in the opener, but the big hit was Ray Lankford’s major league-leading 13th triple that broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning.

After watching the Mets’ blow the opener, Manager Bud Harrelson said: “It’s sickening to watch us play. We get three hits through eight innings, and then we get three in the ninth. We’re a day late and a dollar short.”

The split, which left the Mets 12 1/2 games out of first place, was their fifth victory in 28 games.

Houston 13, San Francisco 4--Pitcher Pete Harnisch survived a shaky start at Houston and came through with a key hit to improve his record to 8-8.

San Francisco fell 9 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

Harnisch singled home two runs in the six-run third inning that turned the game around.

In his eight defeats, the Astros have scored only 13 runs for Harnisch.

Chicago 3, Montreal 1--Rick Sutcliffe (4-4), on the comeback trail, turned in another strong performance at Montreal.

Sutcliffe gave up three hits in six innings and struck out four. In four starts since missing two months because of a shoulder injury, the veteran right-hander has given up four earned runs in 24 innings.

Les Lancaster gave up two hits in the last three innings for his third save.

Chris Nabholz (2-6) lost his third in a row. He has not won since May 27.