NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Glavine Wins 12th as Braves Beat Cubs

Tom Glavine has no intention of giving into the Cy Young Award jinx.

Only three winners of the award have won more games the next season.

Glavine moved slightly ahead of last season’s pace when he pitched a five-hitter in the Braves’ 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs Friday night at Atlanta.

In addition to getting a hit and scoring a run, Glavine took over the major league lead with his fifth shutout and became the National League’s first 12-game winner.

Glavine had only a 1-0 lead when he opened the eighth inning with a single past third. Terry Pendleton, who had doubled in the first run, was given an intentional walk after Glavine was bunted to second. David Justice singled in one run and an infield out scored the other.

Glavine, who has four losses, won his 12th last season on July 5, but faltered a bit during the second half and finished 20-11. It was still good enough to win the Cy Young Award.

The three pitchers to win more games the year after winning the award, Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton and Warren Spahn, were left-handers--as is Glavine.

“I don’t give in to that jinx stuff,” Glavine said. “I have the willpower not to let that happen. If we make the plays, like we did tonight, and score runs, I’ll win. I have a lot of confidence in my ability.”

Although he said he was bothered by his lack of rhythm early in the game, Glavine, 26, finished with a flourish, retiring the last 10.

It was the sixth consecutive victory for Glavine and his second shutout in two starts against the Cubs. The first, in late April, was a two-hitter. The Cubs have been shut out all four times they have played in Atlanta this season and haven’t scored a run in Fulton County Stadium in the last 39 innings.

“They’ve been pretty good to us this year,” Glavine said of the Cubs. “But to me, this is a club you say to yourself, ‘They’ll be easy.’

“I feel good about the way I’ve been pitching lately. I had a little trouble with my rhythm early, but my breaking ball has been good.”

Although he is batting only .228, Justice has driven in 18 runs in his last 21 games.

Cincinnati 7, Pittsburgh 3--It is traditional in Pittsburgh to celebrate July 4 with a fireworks show after the game the night before.

However, the Reds put on their own explosive show a couple of hours earlier.

Chris Sabo’s three-run home run during the first inning was one of nine extra-base hits for the Reds that helped Tim Belcher improve to 8-6.

Belcher gave up 10 hits and worked out of jams in almost every inning before needing help during the seventh inning.

The Reds have won the first two games in the battle of the division leaders, after losing three in a row at Houston.

The Reds got 13 hits to hand Randy Tomlin (10-5) his second consecutive defeat.

Barry Larkin, batting .833 against the Pirates, had three doubles.

“Some of our guys--like Larkin, Sabo--are beginning to hit the way they can, and the defense is there,” said Manager Lou Piniella of the Reds. “When you get hitting in the middle of your lineup, sometimes it’s contagious.”

Sabo was surprised when his first inning drive went out.

“I said to myself, ‘There’s a sacrifice fly,’ ” Sabo said. “It kept carrying and just went out. What can I say? I’ll take it.”

San Francisco 4, St. Louis 1--The way these teams have been playing lately, it figured that if either scored two runs at San Francisco, it would win.

So when Will Clark hit a two-run opposite field home run against Omar Olivares during the fourth inning, it was all the Giants needed.

It also ended John Burkett’s slump. Burkett, hammered in his three previous starts, gave up a first-inning home run to Ray Lankford, then stopped the Cardinals.

He pitched a five-hitter, two of the hits doubles by Ozzie Smith. It was Burkett’s first complete game.

The Cardinals have scored only two runs in their last four games.

Before scoring four runs, the Giants had averaged 1.6 runs in their previous 15 games.

San Diego 6, Montreal 4--Fred McGriff, Gary Sheffield and Jerald Clark hit home runs at San Diego to lead the Padres.

It was the fifth time the Padres hit three home runs in a game. Thursday night they hit two but lost.

Sheffield and McGriff share the league home run lead with 16.

Rookie Frank Seminara won his fourth in a row. Seminara (4-2) gave up four hits and a run in six innings.

Houston at New York----A wild pitch by Sid Fernandez gave the Astros a 1-0 lead during the first inning at New York. But Fernandez and the Mets were taken off the hook by a rainstorm during the third inning that wiped out the game.

The teams will play a twi-night doubleheader tonight.