NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Another Lost Cause Ends Giants’ Month

June swoon isn’t unfamiliar to the San Francisco Giants.

Many a Giant team has scaled the heights in the first two months of a season, only to slip back.

This year’s Giants, who led the National League West when June began, know something about that. They lost, 4-3, to John Smoltz and the Atlanta Braves Tuesday at San Francisco, ending a month in which they were 7-19.

And, at 10 games out, they are considerably closer to last place than first.

Only a short time ago, the Giants seemed to delight in the plight of the Dodgers. Now they are fighting to stay ahead of the Dodgers in the standings.

The Braves, trying to stay close to Cincinnati in the West, used back-to-back home runs by Otis Nixon and Terry Pendleton in the fifth inning to build a lead for Smoltz (9-5).

Smoltz pitched his third complete game, giving up nine hits, including a ninth-inning home run by Kevin Bass, but won his fourth in a row.

Six days ago he shut out the Giants.

Nixon’s two-run shot off Trevor Wilson (5-8) put the Braves ahead. It was only Nixon’s third in seven major league seasons, but the second this season off Wilson.

“Smoltz just shut us down,” Manager Roger Craig of the Giants said. “He was throwing 93, 95-m.p.h. fastballs and he was ahead of the batters. That’s tough to beat.”

Even the return of Will Clark, who missed three games because of a rib injury, failed to help the Giants. Clark had two hits and drove in a run.

Pittsburgh 2, St. Louis 0--Only 24 hours after signing a contract with the Cardinals to play baseball exclusively, Brian Jordan might have had some misgivings.

The former Atlanta Falcon defensive back, faced Doug Drabek on one of the Pirate pitcher’s best nights and struck out four consecutive times at St. Louis.

Drabek (6-6) gave up only three hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine to give the Pirates only their second victory in their last six games.

The Pirates, holding pace in the Eastern Division without injured Barry Bonds, boosted their lead to five games. Bonds, who had a painful rib injury, is expected to return this weekend.

Felix Jose, 11 for 26 in the last six games, had two of the hits off Drabek, and Craig Wilson doubled for the other.

After Wilson’s double in the fifth, Drabek retired 14 in a row, throwing the Cardinals a steady diet of curveballs.

“The curve is a key pitch for me and it was working from the start,” Drabek said. “I threw it for strikes and then, when I was ahead in the count, bounced it in the dirt.”

Shortstop Ozzie Smith, on the disabled list with chicken pox, will rejoin the Cardinals today.

Chicago 3, New York 1--Greg Maddux turned in another strong performance at Chicago to pitch the Cubs into second place.

Maddux (9-7), in beating the Mets for the second time in a row, gave up only four hits to win for the fourth time in his last five starts.

The score was tied, 1-1, until the eighth. Andre Dawson, who hit his 10th home run in the third inning, opened with a walk. Mark Grace singled and Derrick May beat out a bunt to fill the bases.

Luis Salazar hit a sacrifice fly for one run and Rey Sanchez singled in the other.

Maddux usually relies on his fastball, but against the Mets, who are only half a game out of last place, he threw numerous changeups.

Manager Jeff Torborg lamented the Mets’ hitting slump: “We’re struggling. You’re not going to score many runs when you only get four hits.”

Houston 5, Cincinnati 1--After winning three in a row over the weekend, the Reds have lost two in a row at Houston and their lead in the West has been quickly cut to 2 1/2 games.

The Reds were at the mercy of Jimmy Jones (4-1) until he had to leave in the sixth with a blister on his right index finger. He gave up three hits and one run.

Montreal 7, Philadelphia 2--Ken Hill pitched and batted the Expos to the victory at Philadelphia that put them ahead of the Mets into fourth place in the East.

Hill (8-4) had two hits and scored two runs, giving up four hits in seven innings, to win his third in a row and seventh in his last nine decisions.

John Vander Wall hit a home run and a double to drive in three runs, and Larry Walker also homered to spoil Mike Williams’ major league debut. Williams gave up six hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings.