NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Unlikely Power Source Shorts Out Braves

The Atlanta Braves say they are convinced that Rick Wohlers has a bright future. He throws a fastball that has been timed at almost 100 m.p.h.

But at 21, with limited minor league experience, the right-hander is being thrown into the middle of a tough pennant race.

The Braves called him up after bullpen ace Juan Berenguer was put on the disabled list with a sore arm in mid-August.

Wohlers pitched well in his first five appearances, getting a victory and giving up no runs in 6 1/3 innings.

And he pitched a scoreless ninth inning Sunday at Philadelphia in a 4-4 tie.

But in the 10th inning, he threw the fastball to John Morris, not known for his power hitting, and the utility outfielder hit it for his first home run of the season and a 5-4 victory for the Phillies.

Morris, who entered the game as a pinch-runner in the eighth, scored the tying run and stayed in the game to play center field. His home run, only his seventh in 549 at-bats in the majors, dropped the Braves into a tie for first place in the National League West with the Dodgers.

Terry Pendleton hit a two-run home run in the third inning for Charlie Leibrandt, the veteran left-hander who had won four in a row to help get the Braves to the top. Leibrandt departed with a 3-2 lead and two out in the seventh.

After the Braves scored in the eighth, the Phillies chased Jim Clancy and tied the score in the bottom of the eighth.

Morris said all he knew about Wohlers was that he threw hard.

“I wasn’t trying to hit the ball too hard,” Morris said. “I just wanted to get something going. Maybe that should tell me something.”

Wohlers reacted calmly to the first run he gave up in the majors.

“It was a fastball,” he said. “Sometimes they hit it; sometimes they don’t. I didn’t see the pitch when I let it go. I saw him swing, saw him hit the ball. I knew when he hit it, it was gone.”

Mitch Williams (10-4) gave up one hit in the last two innings to get the victory.

New York 9, Cincinnati 4--Before this weekend, the Reds were talking about the pennant. They had pulled to within seven games of first place in the West. Furthermore, they were at home for a three-game series against the Mets, a team seemingly in a state of collapse.

The Reds had won four in a row, the Mets had lost three in a row and won only 15 of 47 games since the All-Star break.

Howard Johnson spent the weekend demolishing the Reds.

He hit his league-leading 29th home run, drove in three runs and scored three as the Mets completed a sweep.

Johnson hit two home runs Saturday and singled in a run in the 3-2 victory Friday night.

The Reds are eight games behind and two games below .500 with only 32 games remaining. With two teams eight games ahead of them, their hopes aren’t very bright.

San Diego 7, Pittsburgh 4--Benito Santiago hit a three-run home run and Tim Teufel hit a two-run homer at San Diego and the Padres ended the Pirates’ five-game winning streak.

St. Louis 14, San Francisco 1--Felix Jose emerged from his first batting slump of the season to hit two home runs at San Francisco, drive in five runs and end the Cardinals’ four-game losing streak.

Ray Lankford also hit two home runs for the Cardinals, who hit only 48 home runs in their first 128 games.

Bob Tewksbury (9-9) had a shutout until Matt Williams hit his 26th home run in the seventh.

Montreal 6, Houston 1--It’s too late to do the Expos much good, but Chris Nabholz finally pitched another good game at Montreal.

Nabholz (3-7) pitched a four-hitter for his first victory in three months to give the Expos a three-game sweep in the series between the two last-place teams.