NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Anthony Young Loses Again, 2 Short of Record

Anthony Young isn’t the type to get mad and kick things out of frustration. He knows better, now.

Young lost his 21st consecutive decision as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets, 5-3, Sunday for their first sweep of a four-game series at Shea Stadium in 13 years.

“I got mad at Montreal earlier this year and kicked something I thought was made of tin,” Young said. “It turned out to be some sort of brick and I hurt my foot. I just don’t react that way.”

The major league record for consecutive losses is 23 by Cliff Curtis of the Boston Braves, from June 13, 1910, through May 22, 1911. Young holds the club record.

“It’s a difficult situation for the manager and the player,” Phillie Manager Jim Fregosi said of Young’s streak. “The other team doesn’t want to be the first to lose to him. Mentally, it depends how tough the player is.”

Ricky Jordan and Pete Incaviglia hit consecutive solo home runs, deep over the center-field wall in the eighth inning off reliever Jeff Innis to support Ben Rivera (5-3).

Young gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings.

Mitch Williams got the last three outs for his 19th save.

Colorado 9, Houston 1--The Rockies swept a series for the first time with a franchise-record third consecutive victory, beating the Astros at Denver.

Andres Galarraga hit a two-run homer off Greg Swindell (5-6) in the first inning, Dante Bichette had four hits and Bruce Ruffin (3-2) held the Astros to five hits through 6 2/3 innings after opening with five consecutive strikeouts.

With a crowd of 60,349, the Rockies eclipsed the previous attendance record for an expansion club in a season, set by Toronto in 1977. In 30 home dates, the Rockies have drawn 1,719,566.

Bichette set a Colorado team record with seven consecutive hits. He hit safely in his last four at-bats Saturday night and in his first three Sunday before flying out in the seventh inning.

San Francisco 5, Chicago 3--John Burkett became the National League’s first nine-game winner and Barry Bonds hit his 17th home run, giving the Giants a three-game sweep at San Francisco.

Burkett (9-2) gave up three runs in the fourth inning but shut out the Cubs through the next four. He allowed seven hits and struck out six. Rod Beck pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

Bonds connected in the seventh inning with a towering drive off Mike Morgan (4-8) that reached the upper deck.

Atlanta 9, Cincinnati 2--Steve Avery won his seventh consecutive game and Mark Lemke hit a three-run homer as the Braves had 12 hits at Atlanta.

Avery (8-2), also supported by Jeff Blauser’s solo homer, gave up nine hits, allowed two runs, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six in seven innings while lowering his earned-run average to 2.79.

Lemke’s sixth home run, in the fourth inning off John Roper (1-1), gave the Braves a 6-2 lead.

Florida 5, Pittsburgh 2--Pinch-hitter Rich Renteria’s two-run triple in the seventh inning at Miami led the Marlins to their first sweep of a four-game series.

The victory was their fourth straight and eighth in nine games and gave the Marlins sole possession of fourth place in the East with a 30-31 record.

After his triple broke a 2-2 tie, Renteria scored on Chuck Carr’s sacrifice fly to make a winner of Ryan Bowen (4-6). Bryan Harvey struck out the last two batters for his 19th save.

Montreal 3, St. Louis 1--Dennis Martinez pitched well, and the Expos handed Rene Arocha (5-1) his first major league loss while averting a four-game sweep at St. Louis.

Martinez (6-5) allowed five hits and a walk and struck out four to win his fourth consecutive decision. John Wetteland pitched the ninth for his 12th save.