NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Cardinals Are the Perfect Tonic for Pirates

The St. Louis Cardinals have put the faltering Pittsburgh Pirates back on track.

The Pirates, who dominated the National League East at every milepost for 2 1/2 seasons, were showing signs of fading in July.

They had lost seven of nine games, blown a five-game lead and were tied with the surging Montreal Expos for first place.

But the Cardinals played eight games in less than two weeks against the Pirates, beginning July 30, and brought about a complete turnaround.

When the Pirates completed a sweep of the eight games with a 7-5 victory Sunday at St. Louis, they had a 10-game winning streak and a 3 1/2-game lead in the division.

Orlando Merced drove in four runs, including two with a double during the first inning. He drove in 10 in the eight games.

But even with five runs in the finale, the Cardinals scored only 13 runs in the eight defeats. The Pirate hitting, if not robust, at least was timely.

“I don’t understand it,” said Ray Lankford, who hit his 12th home run but leads the league with 108 strikeouts. “We have chances to put them away and don’t do it.”

Between the two four-game series against the Pirates, the Cardinals swept three games from the Philadelphia Phillies, scoring 16 runs, and the Pirates swept two from the Mets. Until they scored four runs in 3 2/3 innings against Danny Jackson on Sunday, the Cardinals had scored only four runs in the previous 31 innings.

Bob Walk, who would prefer starting, appears to be the answer to the Pirate bullpen problems. He pitched the last two innings for his second save. In his last four appearances, he has three victories and a save.

Montreal 6, Philadelphia 2--At Philadelphia, Gary Carter hit a home run and Mark Gardner (11-8) and Mel Rojas combined on a three-hitter for the Expos’ sixth victory in the last eight games.

Carter’s home run was his 26th at Veterans Stadium, the most by any visiting player.

It was Carter’s fourth home run, his first since May 31.

“It had been a long drought,” Carter said. “I changed my stance a little and am trying to find a groove. I guess it helped.”

San Francisco 7, Cincinnati 1--Matt Williams has a sore knee, foot and thumb, but he talked Manager Roger Craig into putting him in the lineup at Cincinnati. Williams hit a two-run home run and a two-run single and the Giants dropped the Reds 4 1/2 games behind the Braves in the West.

Williams’ hitting helped Trevor Wilson improve to 7-11. Wilson had a three-hitter until leg cramps in the 94-degree weather forced him out in the seventh.

“I was drained,” Wilson said. “I wasn’t in agony. It was just cramps.”

San Diego 4, Houston 3--The Padres’ Gary Sheffield got two hits for the sixth game in a row before suffering a concussion at San Diego. Sheffield did not lose consciousness and was in the clubhouse after the game, but declined comment.

“That was a scary moment, seeing him on the ground motionless,” San Diego Manager Greg Riddoch said. “It’s hard to lose any player, but a key player like him, it’s tough.”

With the score tied, 2-2, in the eighth inning, Sheffield reached on an error. On a force play at second, shortstop Candy Candaele’s knee struck Sheffield in the eye.

Sheffield had gone 12 for 24 in his last six games with four homers and 11 RBIs, moving to second in the National League in batting average (.334), home runs (23) and RBIs (77).

One out after Sheffield left the game, Jerald Clark hit a two-run homer against Doug Jones (8-8) to win the game.

Chicago 6, New York 2--Andre Dawson had three hits, made a spectacular catch in right field, threw out a runner at the plate and led the Cubs to a sweep of the four-game series at Chicago.

It was the third time in two seasons the Cubs have swept a four-game series with the Mets.

The loss dropped the Mets 11 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh.