NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : This Time, Braves’ Glavine Handles Expos, Gains 19th Victory

Although he was 5-6 in the last two months of the 1991 season, Tom Glavine won the Cy Young Award.

This season the Atlanta Braves’ left-hander is pitching his best down the stretch.

Glavine set a franchise record with his 13th consecutive victory in the Braves’ 4-2 victory Wednesday night at Montreal.

Glavine’s 19-3 record is easily the best in the majors. He has a 2.48 earned-run average.

The 26-year-old left-hander also starred on offense, having a hand in each inning in which the Braves scored and driving in the last two runs, one on a squeeze bunt.

The work on offense might have caused Glavine to tire. He needed help in the ninth inning after holding the Expos to one run in eight innings. Mike Stanton got the last two outs.

Glavine broke the Braves’ record for consecutive victories set by Dick Rudolph in 1914 when the team was in Boston.

Jeff Blauser gave Glavine a working margin with a two-run home run in the third inning. Glavine’s contribution was a sacrifice before the home run.

Glavine last lost May 22 in Montreal. Two of his three losses have been to the Expos and lifetime he is 3-10 against them.

“The fact I haven’t pitched well against Montreal isn’t something I think a lot about,” said Glavine, 20-11 last season. “When I get out there on the mound, I don’t say: ‘I haven’t done well against these guys, so I’ll have to do something different.’ ”

Glavine was proud of his squeeze bunt in the seventh inning.

“It was a perfect pitch for me to bunt, high and out of the strike zone,” Glavine said. “Being able to put the ball in play can make a difference.”

Even Expo Manager Felipe Alou, who loves to use the squeeze, was impressed.

“Glavine did it on two strikes against a guy with a 96-m.p.h. fastball and a wicked curve,” Alou said.

The Expos fell four games behind Pittsburgh in the National League East, and the Braves stretched their lead in the West to 6 1/2 over Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh 3, San Diego 2--The Pirates, desperate for a closer, gave Danny Cox a chance at Pittsburgh and might have found an answer.

Cox, once an 18-game winner, has had arm trouble for several seasons. The Pirates recently brought him back from the minors.

He gave up one hit in 1 2/3 innings to pick up his first save. Bob Walk (6-4), who gave up a home run to Benito Santiago, was the winner.

It was the 30th one-run victory for the Pirates, the most by any team in the majors.

The strong point of the Pirates is defense. It sparkled in this victory. Andy Van Slyke made two great catches in center, and third baseman Jeff King made a sparkling play on Darrin Jackson’s smash in the sixth inning.

Philadelphia 9, Cincinnati 3--In late May, Atlanta sent Ben Rivera to the Phillies for Donnie Elliott in an exchange of minor league pitchers.

The deal has been a godsend to the Phillies. Rivera won his third consecutive start, giving up only four hits in seven innings at Philadelphia.

Dave Hollins, Mariano Duncan and Darren Daulton hit two-run homers for the Phillies.

Daulton, who has 22 home runs, took over the RBI lead with 86. Hollins hit his 17th, leaving him one shy of the Phillies’ record for a switch-hitter, set by Buzz Arlett in 1931.

San Francisco 9, Chicago 1--Most of the season Bill Swift has had to do without offensive support from the Giants. In this game at San Francisco, he had more than needed.

In 18 of Swift’s 21 starts the Giants have scored three or fewer runs. It explains why Swift (9-3) has nine no-decisions despite a 2.14 ERA.

Mark Leonard came out of a two-for-20 slump with a two-run home run that broke a 2-2 tie in the third inning.

“Even with the time spent on the disabled list, he should have 15 or 16 victories,” Manager Roger Craig of the Giants said.

St. Louis 12, Houston 1--Ray Lankford had four hits, including his 14th home run, and drove in four runs at St. Louis to lead the Cardinals’ 17-hit attack.

The Astros fell to 9-13 on their long trip. They still have four more games before returning to the Astrodome, now the site of the Republican National Convention.