NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Jefferies Stays Hot, Lifts Cardinals, 13-3

Gregg Jefferies went four for five with a three-run homer, two doubles and a single as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Montreal Expos, 13-3, Saturday night at St. Louis.

Jefferies recorded the 10th four-hit game of his career. Over his last 10 games, he is batting .537 (22 for 41).

“I’ll just ride with it and see where it takes me,” Jefferies said of his recent tear.

The Cardinals have won three in a row and seven of nine.

Ray Lankford and Mark Whiten also homered for St. Louis, which hadn’t hit three home runs in a game since April 9 against Cincinnati.

Rheal Cormier (3-3), making his first start since May 13, held the Expos to one hit and no runs for five innings.

Montreal has lost four in a row and six of seven.

“Jefferies is hot and we didn’t make any adjustments,” Expo Manager Felipe Alou said. “We laid the ball right into him. We’re not hitting right now. We’re making everybody look good.”

Philadelphia 3, New York 0-- Danny Jackson pitched a six-hitter for his first shutout in five years and first complete game since 1989 to lead the Phillies over the Mets at New York.

Philadelphia won its fourth consecutive game and ninth in the last 11. The Phillies (43-17) lead the last-place Mets by 23 1/2 games.

Jackson (6-3), in winning for the fourth time in his last five decisions, struck out five and walked one.

The left-hander had six shutouts for Cincinnati in 1988 when he finished 23-8 with 15 complete games.

But he has battled nagging injuries since, going 8-13 last season for the Cubs and Pirates.

Dwight Gooden (7-5), who had won five of his six previous decisions, gave up three runs and seven hits in eight innings.

The Phillies have won 12 of their last 13 games against New York, including eight of nine at Shea Stadium.

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Lenny Dykstra hit a two-out single, stole second and scored on Mariano Duncan’s single.

San Francisco 5, Chicago 4--Robby Thompson went five for five and drove in three runs to lead the Giants past the Cubs at San Francisco.

Darren Lewis also had three hits, walked twice and scored twice as he and Thompson, the first two batters in the Giants’ order, reached base 10 times in 10 plate appearances. The five hits for Thompson matched a career high.

Chicago starter Mike Harkey, bothered by shoulder stiffness, left after the fourth inning trailing, 4-0, but the Cubs rallied to tie it in the fifth behind two-out, two-run hits by Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace.

Jeff Reed put the Giants ahead in the sixth with his fourth homer of the season, driving a 1-1 delivery from Chuck McElroy (2-2) over the right-field wall.

Bill Swift (8-3) gave up seven hits over six innings. Bryan Hickerson and Mike Jackson kept the Cubs in check through the seventh and eighth and Rod Beck pitched the ninth for his 18th save.

Florida 5, Pittsburgh 2--The surging Marlins won for the seventh time in eight games as Junior Felix hit a three-run homer at Miami.

Felix’s fourth-inning shot off the scoreboard was the seventh home run of the season for the outfielder, who returned to the roster Friday after being optioned to the minor leagues on May 28.

Felix tripled in the seventh, the fourth consecutive time he reached base since returning to the Marlins, and scored on a single by starting pitcher Chris Hammond (6-4).

A solo homer in the eighth by Dave Magadan, his second in two nights and fourth of the season, gave Florida its three-run cushion.

Hammond, who has a 6-1 mark since changing his uniform number from 38 to 11 on May 4, gave up two runs and 11 hits in 7 1/3 innings. Bryan Harvey finished the game for Florida, extending his expansion record for saves to 18.

Loser Bob Walk (7-5) failed in his second attempt to pick up his 100th victory. His lifetime mark is 99-72. Walk did not give up a hit until the fourth and gave up only four in seven innings.

Atlanta 7, Cincinnati 2--Ron Gant homered in his first two at-bats and drove in four runs, leading the Braves at Atlanta.

Atlanta’s John Smoltz (6-5) ran his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 20 before Jeff Branson hit his first major league home run--a two-run shot--in the seventh.

Smoltz gave up five hits and two runs in eight innings. Jay Howell got the last three outs.

Gant keyed a four-run first inning against John Smiley (3-8) with a three-run homer, his 13th of the season. Brian Hunter and Greg Olson doubled for the other run.

Colorado 14, Houston 11--Andres Galarraga’s run-scoring single broke a 9-9 tie and sparked the Rockies’ five-run eighth inning at Denver.

Colorado rallied from an early 7-0 deficit, pounding out a club-record 20 hits and overcoming five errors to win for the third time in four games.