NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Dibble Is Available to Pitch In, but Does so a Bit Too Much

Maybe the Cincinnati Reds and Rob Dibble would have been better off if he had simply accepted the penalty for his part in the June 24 brawl against the Houston Astros.

Dibble protested the four-game suspension for “coming off the bench, inciting a brawl and prolonging the fighting.”

Because he was filing a complaint, Dibble was available in the ninth inning Wednesday at Chicago when the Reds needed somebody to save a victory for Tim Belcher.

Dibble didn’t simply blow the save, he blew everything and the Cubs won in the 10th, 3-2.

First, Dibble served up his first home run of the season to pinch-hitter Dwight Smith, who led off the ninth.

Even more embarrassing, Dibble hit rookie Rey Sanchez with the bases loaded in the 10th to force in the winning run.

“It’s been a bad week,” said Dibble, who--in addition to his suspension--lost the first game of the 10-game trip at Houston. “The losses and the suspension in between. It’s hard to lose a game like that; it’s all my fault.”

Dibble hit Sanchez, a .225 hitter, was a fastball.

“It doesn’t hurt at all,” Sanchez said. “I went up there trying to get a hit to win the game. When I saw the pitch, I tucked in, and when it hit me I knew we had won.”

Dibble, who has 12 saves, is 0-4 and has blown four save opportunities.

In the 10th, Derrick May and Rick Wilkins singled with one out. After going to 2-0 on Doug Dascenzo, he was given an intentional walk to load the bases.

“I wanted to walk Dascenzo from the start,” Dibble said. “Then I opened up a bit and hit the next guy.”

Cincinnati starter Belcher gave up seven hits and walked five in his eight innings.

Atlanta 2, New York 1--Early in the season, relief pitcher Alejandro Pena wasn’t doing the job and the Braves were suffering.

But the former Dodger star did a superb job of saving Tom Glavine’s 13th victory at Atlanta.

Pena picked up for Kent Mercker with the bases loaded in the ninth at Atlanta. First Pena disposed of the dangerous Howard Johnson on a pop-up. Then, he got Willie Randolph to hit into a game-ending double play.

In the seventh inning, before departing, Glavine struck out Randolph and Dave Magadan with runners on second and third.

San Francisco 4, Philadelphia 3--After a near collapse in June, the Giants are slowly returning to their best form.

Robby Thompson, who snapped out of a prolonged slump to hit a game-winning home run Tuesday night at San Francisco, played a key role in a Giant victory again.

After hitting a home run in the fifth inning, Thompson hustled to beat a double play in the eighth inning while the winning run scored.

It was a four-game sweep for the Giants, who extended their winning streak to five.

The Phillies tied the score, 3-3, in the seventh on hot-hitting pinch-hitter Jeff Grotewold’s two-run home run. In four pinch appearances in the series, Grotewold hit three home runs.

Houston 3, Pittsburgh 2--The Pirates continue to struggle for runs. They were held to two or fewer for the ninth time in the last 11 games.

Pete Incaviglia, who earlier hit a run-scoring double, hit relief pitcher Bob Patterson’s first pitch in the ninth inning at Pittsburgh for his seventh home run.

Rookie Brian Williams turned in another strong performance for the Astros. He gave up four hits in seven innings, but left after Alex Cole’s single tied the score with two out in the eighth.

Williams has allowed only five runs in 29 innings.

St. Louis 1, San Diego 0--Tom Pagnozzi hit his fourth home run in the ninth inning at San Diego and the surprising Cardinals moved within 3 1/2 games of Pittsburgh in the East.

Omar Olivares (5-4) gave up six hits in eight innings. Lee Smith got the game’s last two outs for his 21st save.

Ozzie Smith, elected to start in a record 10th All-Star game in a row, had two hits to raise his average to .298.