NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Glavine Beats Pirates for Ninth in Row

Tom Glavine didn’t fool American League hitters in the All-Star game, but he still has the National League baffled.

Glavine and his Braves continued their hot streaks Friday night at Atlanta when he became the first 15-game winner in the major leagues in the 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Glavine (15-3) gave up four hits and only two earned runs in seven innings to win his ninth decision in a row.

“When you get into a situation like this nightly, there’s a feeling we’re going to win no matter what’s going on out there,” the 26-year-old left-hander said. “When you have that kind of feeling about yourself, things seem to go your way.

“I’ve learned to keep us in games without my best stuff. Tonight, I struggled a lot with the slider. But I had the pitches I had to have.”

Except when the American Leaguers pounded him for nine hits in less than two innings, Glavine hasn’t lost since the Montreal Expos beat him May 22.

Kent Mercker pitched a perfect eighth inning and Alejandro Pena pitched a hitless ninth for his 11th save.

“This is the kind of game it should be when two good teams get together,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said. “The only negative is we came out on the short end. It was a real good ballgame.”

While the Braves increased their lead to two games in the West, the Pirates’ lead in the East was cut to three games over Montreal.

Terry Pendleton led the Atlanta attack on Bob Walk (3-4) with two singles. He scored a run and drove in another.

St. Louis 8, Cincinnati 2--The Reds continued to struggle at St. Louis, and the Cardinals put on a rare power show.

Andres Galarraga and Ray Lankford hit two-run home runs and Bernard Gilkey had a two-run triple as the Cardinals’ handed the Reds their fourth consecutive defeat.

Bob Tewksbury (10-4) gave up both runs and eight hits in seven innings. His major league-leading earned-run average rose to 2.01.

Galarraga, a disappointment all season, hit his third home run, his first at Busch Stadium as a Cardinal.

“I feel so much better,” Galarraga, batting .207, said. “I heard the cheering instead of jeering.”

Despite a recent slump, the Cardinals are only 4 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh.

New York 3, San Diego 0--Sid Fernandez pitched a three-hitter at New York for his first shutout in more than two years.

Fernandez (9-8) gave up an infield hit to Fred McGriff leading off the second inning, then retired 14 in a row before Tony Fernandez doubled in the sixth.

Fernandez also had a hand in the offense as the Mets beat Brooklyn native Frank Seminara. The rookie had won five in a row, but he gave up eight hits and all the runs in seven innings. Fernandez singled and scored the Mets’ final run.

“I was heavy last year and in previous seasons,” said Fernandez, who hasn’t given up a run in the last 20 innings. “Losing the weight in the off-season has helped my confidence.”

Met Manager Jeff Torborg praised his pitcher.

“Sid has picked up the tempo this season,” Torborg said. “He’s maturing. His staying power is improving.”

Chicago 1, Houston 0--Rick Wilkins broke up a scoreless duel at Houston in the ninth inning with his third home run.

Mike Morgan (8-4) gave up five hits in eight innings to get the victory. Bob Scanlan pitched the ninth to complete the Cubs’ third shutout in a row.

The largest crowd in the Astrodome this season, 28,112, gave the Astros a send-off for their 26-game, 28-day trip to accommodate the Republican Convention.

Jimmy Jones matched Morgan until the eighth inning, when Andre Dawson’s line single struck him in the chest and he had to leave.

Doug Jones was on the mound in the ninth when Wilkins hit the home run.

Philadelphia 8, San Francisco 4--Darren Daulton drove in four runs at Philadelphia and took over the league RBI lead with 67.

But it was a single by pinch-hitter Ricky Jordan that drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning after Will Clark brought the Giants back to a 4-4 tie.

Clark, who drove in all the Giant runs, doubled in two in the sixth to tie the score, 4-4. On the previous pitch Clark fouled it off his knee. After tying the score, he limped off the field in pain.