NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Pirates Spoil Burkett’s Homecoming, 10-3

John Burkett had hundreds cheering for him. Barry Bonds had thousands booing him. And the problem for the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday was that neither of the two made much noise.

Burkett lasted only two innings to absorb his first loss in 2 1/2 months, giving up home runs to Jeff King and Carlos Garcia in the Pirates’ 10-3 victory over the Giants at Pittsburgh.

The San Francisco loss, coupled with Atlanta’s 3-2 victory over the Dodgers, cut the Giants’ lead over the Braves in the National League West to 6 1/2 games--the first time the cushion has been below seven games since June 17.

Cheered on by much of the population of his hometown, nearby Beaver, Pa., Burkett (18-5) was trying to become the National League’s first 19-game winner, but was pounded for eight runs on nine hits. It was his first loss in 11 starts.

“You want to pitch good in your hometown, but, hey, I don’t want to have a game like that anywhere,” he said. “You don’t want to pitch like that in spring training.”

King’s three-run homer in the first gave him 77 runs batted in and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games.

Bonds, the two-time National League most valuable player who left Pittsburgh for San Francisco after last season, was hitless in four at-bats and is 0 for 12 in his last three games in Pittsburgh. He was booed loudly during every at-bat.

“The fans made a lot of noise,” said winning pitcher Steve Cooke (7-7). “It was a real fun atmosphere, and it seemed the fans were pumped up for the game. I think it helped everybody.”

Cooke gave up 10 hits over eight innings, including two RBI singles to Mark Carreon, to win for only the second time since June 26.

Cincinnati 6, New York 0--Bobby Ayala pitched seven innings and Chris Sabo had a homer and four RBIs as the Reds ended a seven-game losing streak at Cincinnati.

The Reds also got homers from Joe Oliver and Greg Tubbs, his first in the majors, as they broke out of a weeklong slump.

Oliver hit a solo homer and Sabo a three-run shot off Dwight Gooden (11-13), who lasted six innings. Tubbs hit a solo homer off reliever David Telgheder in the eighth, and Sabo added an RBI single.

Chicago 7-4, Montreal 2-6--Jose Guzman pitched a five-hitter and struck out 12 and Derrick May drove in three runs as the Cubs won the first game of a doubleheader at Chicago.

The Expos gained a split as Moises Alou and Sean Berry hit RBI doubles in a three-run sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie.

Guzman (11-7), who walked two, did not give up a hit until Marquis Grissom doubled in the fourth inning. The complete game was only his second of the season and first since April 6, when he lost a no-hitter with two out in the ninth against Atlanta.

In the second game, rookie Kirk Rueter (3-0) allowed four runs and 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings for Montreal.

The Expos broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth when Grissom and Rueter sandwiched singles around consecutive run-scoring doubles by Alou and Berry.

St. Louis 8, San Diego 4--Ray Lankford had a homer and a two-run double to lead Bob Tewksbury and the Cardinals at St. Louis.

The Cardinals scored five runs in the second on a walk, a wild pitch, four singles and the double by Lankford off starter Andy Benes (13-9) in 95-degree heat. Benes, who gave up eight runs in 4 2/3 innings in his last start, gave up eight runs on nine hits with six walks and one strikeout in 6 2/3 innings.

Tewksbury, who had walked only 13 batters all season, issued his second walk of the game to Ricky Gutierrez with one out in the third. Singles by Tony Gwynn and Phil Plantier loaded the bases. Then Tewksbury hit Derek Bell for a run and gave up a single to Guillermo Velasquez for two more.

Houston 4, Florida 0--Darryl Kile pitched a career-best three-hitter for his second shutout at Houston.

Kile (13-4) struck out eight, walked two and had only two runners make it past first base. He retired 18 of the last 22 batters he faced.

Philadelphia 10, Colorado 7--Pete Incaviglia had a decisive two-run single after Lenny Dykstra’s solo homer tied the score and the Phillies cooled off the Rockies at Denver.

Ben Rivera (11-6) was the recipient of the fifth-inning outburst in which the Phillies turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead.

The Rockies, who got two RBIs from both Joe Girardi and rookie Roberto Mejia, lost for only the second time in nine games.