NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Phillies End Braves’ Streak at Five Games, 5-0

Jose DeJesus has such potential that the Philadelphia Phillies are willing to put up with his wildness.

They have stayed with the 6-foot-5 right-hander with the 95-m.p.h. fastball all season. He still has a control problem, but he is also winning.

DeJesus gave up three hits in eight innings Saturday night at Philadelphia and the Phillies ended the Atlanta Braves’ five-game winning streak, 5-0.

The loss, combined with the Dodgers’ victory, cut Atlanta’s lead atop the National League West to one game.

Although he had a personal-best 13 strikeouts, DeJesus walked six and twice had to work out of bases-loaded jams. After he threw 150 pitches, Joe Boever came in to pitch the ninth.

It was the fifth victory in a row for DeJesus (10-4).

The Phillies missed a chance to blow the game open in the first inning. They scored twice against rookie Armando Reynoso, but saw two runners picked off base.

Darren Daulton hit his 11th home run in the fourth as the Phillies opened a 5-0 lead.

The Braves had a chance to come back in the fifth when DeJesus walked the first two. He struck out Jeff Treadway and Terry Pendleton, then walked Ron Gant to fill the bases. He ended the threat by getting David Justice on a grounder to second.

A few weeks ago it was decided that DeJesus should throw more curveballs. It hasn’t done much for his control, but it has made him a little more effective.

Looking at times unhittable and at others uncatchable, DeJesus impressed Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox.

“We had runners on and he’s wild, but he’s taught to hit,” Cox said. “He’ll look wild and load the bases, and then he’ll throw the best curveball you’ll ever see. He did the job.”

DeJesus said he has gone to his new pitch often during his winning streak.

“I’ve been throwing it much more and it’s really helped,” DeJesus said. “It’s slower than my slider. Tonight they had trouble hitting it. That’s one of the best games I’ve pitched.”

Pittsburgh 3, San Diego 2--Don Slaught hit his first homer of the season to lead off the 12th inning at San Diego as the Pirates beat the Padres for their fifth consecutive victory.

Barry Bonds also had a two-run homer for Pittsburgh, which opened an eight-game lead over the Cardinals in the National League East. It’s the Pirates’ largest margin of the year.

Four pitchers limited the Padres to four hits, none after the fifth inning.

New York 8, Cincinnati 7--At this time last season, Rob Dibble was unhittable. He was in the process of pitching the Reds to the pennant and on to victory in the World Series.

In this turbulent season, the bullpen ace of the Reds has been hittable.

After his teammates blew a 5-0 lead, Dibble blew it in the 10th. Keith Miller hit a home run to cap the Mets’ comeback. It was the fourth home run against Dibble in 56 innings.

It was the second victory in a row for the Mets and Miller had the winning hit in each.

“He’s so tough and throws so hard, I just tried to meet the ball,” Miller said.

Switch-hitting Howard Johnson hit two home runs, one from each side of the plate, to tie Atlanta’s Gant for the league lead with 28.

San Francisco 6, St. Louis 1--The Cardinals’ slump is taking them out of the division race.

Left-hander Bryan Hickerson, who said he would rather pitch out of the bullpen, made his first start at San Francisco. He held the Cardinals scoreless on three hits in seven innings.

“I like pitching relief,” said Hickerson, filling in as a starter. “That’s all I’ve done for two years and I’m accustomed to it.

“I like to be ready for every game, but I’m willing to do anything they want me to do.”

The Giants, moving to within 10 games of the Braves, hammered Bryn Smith (11-8) for eight hits, including home runs by Matt Williams and Kevin Mitchell, and five runs in five innings.

Montreal 5, Houston 4--The two last-place teams, both long ago out of the division race, battled 10 innings at Montreal.

Astro third baseman Ken Caminiti threw away an attempted bunt in the extra inning and allowed Larry Walker to score the winning run.