NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Phillies’ Schilling Proves Himself to Astros, 4-3

The Philadelphia Phillies are last in the National League East, but with the problems Manager Jim Fregosi has had, it’s surprising they aren’t far, far behind.

Injuries have decimated the team. Four of the five top pitchers are sidelined because of injuries, and problems in the outfield have forced him to use Mariano Duncan, an infielder, in left field.

But when Dave Hollins hit two home runs and Curt Schilling pitched six shutout innings Tuesday night at Philadelphia, the Phillies beat Houston, 4-3, and are only half a game out of sixth place.

Because starters Ken Howell and Jose DeJesus are sidelined for the season, and one of their replacements, Kyle Abbott, is 0-7 and now sent down, Schilling was brought out of the bullpen to start.

Schilling, in his first start since 1989, gave up only three hits in six innings and departed with a 4-0 lead. Jeff Bagwell hit a three-run home run during the eighth against Barry Jones that left the Astros a run short.

“I wanted this game as badly as I’ve ever wanted a game,” Schilling said. “I thought I had left the Astros with good feelings on both sides.”

But on April 13, the day after he was traded to the Phillies, a Houston paper quoted an Astro official as saying Schilling didn’t report in shape.

“It wasn’t true,” Schilling said. “My adrenaline has been going for six days. I’ve been thinking of nothing but this game and what it meant to my career. This is as good as I’ve ever felt in the big leagues.”

Hollins, doing a solid job at third base, hit a solo home run during the third and a two-run homer during the fifth against Butch Henry (0-4).

Shortly before game time, the Phillies’ Dale Murphy went on the disabled list again because of a knee injury, further complicating the Phillies’ outfield problems.

Ricky Jordan, who recently came off the disabled list, drove in the final runs for the Phillies with a pinch single.

San Francisco 7, Pittsburgh 2--Will Clark hit a two-run home run during the seventh inning against Doug Drabek (3-3) at San Francisco to bring the Giants from behind.

The Giants added four more runs during the eighth, three coming on Matt Williams’ bases loaded triple.

Trevor Wilson (4-2) went the first seven innings. Dave Righetti pitched the last two innings for his second save.

It was the Pirates’ fourth loss in a row and left them one game ahead of St. Louis in the East.

St. Louis 7, Atlanta 2--Felix Jose continued his hot hitting for the Cardinals at Atlanta.

Jose, who has hit safely in 17 of 19 games since coming off the disabled list, had two hits, drove in three runs and scored another.

Even the rain that delayed the start 50 minutes didn’t slow Felix. His two-run double during the sixth inning gave Bob Tewksbury (5-1) breathing room.

Tewksbury, who gave up seven hits in eight innings, stopped Terry Pendleton’s hitting streak at 15 games. Pendleton was hitless in five at-bats.

Tewksbury had lost his three previous decisions to the Braves, even though he had a 1.75 ERA against them. The Cardinals had lost 10 in a row in Atlanta.

“Personally, it was important to beat a team I hadn’t beaten,” Tewksbury said. “We’ve had some tough times here.”

Cardinal catcher Tom Pagnozzi had two hits, drove in two runs and increased his average to .306.

Cincinnati 7, Montreal 4--Bill Doran hit a grand slam during the ninth inning at Montreal to bring the Reds from behind.

John Wetteland, who had been successful in six of eight save tries, came in to protect a 4-3 lead. But with one out, the Reds filled the bases on two walks and Bip Roberts’ single.

Ivan Calderon, activated before the game, had given the Expos a 4-3 lead in the eighth with a sacrifice fly.

New York 8, San Diego 0--The Padres lost the game and right fielder Tony Gwynn, at least for a couple of days.

Early in the day at San Diego, Gwynn broke the tip of his right middle finger when he closed a door on it. His status is day-to-day.

David Cone, a 7-0 loser to the Padres last week in New York, turned the tables on the Padres, giving up seven hits.