NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Braves End Up Short Again, 6-5

The Dodgers can find some solace in the fact that while they are falling apart on the road, the Atlanta Braves, at home, aren’t taking advantage of it.

With rain delaying the start of their game Sunday with the Philadelphia Phillies for more than two hours, the Braves were aware of what was happening in St. Louis.

For the second day in a row they knew they needed a victory to move into a tie for first place in the National League West.

But, shortly after the tarp was removed, Ricky Jordan hit a three-run home run and the Braves never caught up.

When Mitch Williams retired the last four batters, the Phillies held on for a 6-5 victory.

“Sure, L.A.’s kicking themselves now,” Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said. “And, we are, too. It works both ways. We came out of the weekend OK. We knocked a game off. I’m sure Tommy (Lasorda) is aware of us.”

The Braves trail the Dodgers by a game and both have 39 games remaining.

Saturday, Williams was the winner after he failed to hold a lead in the eighth inning. This time he came in with two out in the eighth after a pinch single by Keith Mitchell cut the lead to 6-5.

The first thing Williams did was make a wild pickoff throw to first, enabling Mitchell to go to third. But Williams ended the threat when he got Terry Pendleton to fly to center.

Williams stopped the Braves despite a walk in the ninth and earned his 24th save. The Phillies, playing as well as anybody, are 18-5 in August. Williams has won eight of the games and saved four.

Charlie Hayes, who hit a home run to win Saturday’s game by the same score, 6-5, also homered in the fourth as the Phillies built a 5-0 lead for Tommy Greene (9-5).

Greene, who pitched a no-hitter against Montreal in May, held the Braves hitless for four innings. But the Braves put together four consecutive hits in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-3.

Jordan is the Phillies’ daytime star. He subs at first base on Sunday for John Kruk.

“John’s having a great season,” Jordan said. “I know I’m going to play Sunday, so I have to make the most of it. Other times, I get chances to pinch hit.”

Pittsburgh 8, San Francisco 3--The strategy most used by NL managers is to pitch around Barry Bonds. They don’t want the Pirates’ star, making a strong bid for his second consecutive most valuable player award, to beat them.

With the Pirates holding a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning at Pittsburgh, Giant Manager Roger Craig elected to walk Bonds to get to light-hitting Cecil Espy.

It turned out to be the wrong move and deprived Craig of a shot at his 500th victory. Espy hit a three-run home run against Kelly Downs to break the game open. It was one of four Pirate homers. Andy Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla and Jay Bell also hit them.

“I’m not supposed to hit home runs,” Espy said. “I don’t remember the last one I hit.”

The homers enabled John Smiley to improve to 15-8 and kept the Pirates five games ahead of the Cardinals in the East.

Smiley gave up 10 hits in six innings, but became the first Pirate left-hander to win 15 games since John Candelaria and Larry McWilliams each went 15-8 in 1983.

The Giants, who have lost three out of the last four and six of the last nine, missed another opportunity to gain on the slumping Dodgers in the West. They trail by eight games.

New York 2, Cincinnati 1--David Cone survived a shaky start at New York to end a monthlong slump.

Cone (11-10) gave up four hits in the first two innings, then settled down. He struck out seven.

Garry Templeton went three for three, including a triple that drove in the second run in the fourth inning.

John Franco gave up two hits, but got the save because Mario Duncan was thrown out trying to go from first to third on a hit to left.

San Diego 12, Chicago 9--Darrin Jackson hit two home runs, including his first grand slam, at Chicago and helped the Padres outslug the Cubs.

Jackson has 14 home runs. His most previously was six.

Montreal 4, Houston 0--Mark Gardner, who lost a game to the Dodgers after pitching no-hit ball for nine innings, had better luck at Houston.

The 29-year-old right-hander gave up three hits in seven innings and improved his record to 7-9.

Andres Galarraga singled in two runs with two out in the fourth to give Gardner the cushion he needed. It came against Jim Deshaies (4-11).