NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Smith’s Errors Help Padres Top Cardinals

Ozzie Smith, the St. Louis Cardinals’ normally flawless shortstop, committed a double error in the bottom of the 10th inning and Brad Ausmus hit a bases-loaded single Wednesday to give the Padres a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals and a three-game sweep at San Diego.

With one out in the 10th, Smith charged Jeff Gardner’s grounder, but couldn’t glove it. The ball bounced off Smith for one error. Then he picked the ball up and overthrew first base for his third error of the game, allowing Gardner to reach second.

Tony Gwynn was intentionally walked with two out, and Phil Plantier also walked to load the bases. Ausmus followed with a single up the middle against Lee Guetterman (2-3), scoring Gardner to extend the Cardinals’ longest losing streak of the year to six games.

“All balls that take hops are tough plays,” said Smith, who has won 13 Gold Glove awards, the most ever by a National League player. “You make it so many times, and when you don’t, it’s something to write about.”

St. Louis Manager Joe Torre felt other shortstops might not have attempted to charge the ball.

“It’s unfortunate the ball came up and hit him,” Torre said. “With a lesser shortstop, that ball comes up, hits off the shoulder and they give the batter a base hit. He stayed with it. He tried to make the play.”

Gene Harris (5-5) ended a personal five-game losing streak.

San Diego took a 1-0 lead when Gwynn hit a two-out double in the first inning and scored on Plantier’s single.

St. Louis tied it, 1-1, with two out in the fourth. Whiten singled and scored on a double into the left-field bullpen by Bernard Gilkey, who had been in a two-for-24 slump.

Cincinnati 4, New York 1--Jose Rijo pitched eight shutout innings and Reggie Sanders drove in three runs for the Reds at New York, eliminating the Mets from title contention at the second-earliest point in franchise history.

Rijo (11-7) held the Mets to three hits in eight innings. Rob Dibble pitched the ninth and gave up a one-out homer to Bobby Bonilla.

After giving up a second-inning single to Jeff Kent, Rijo retired 14 of the next 15 batters before Bonilla led off the seventh with a single.

The Mets, who are 43-83, fell 36 1/2 games behind first-place Philadelphia in the National League East. The Mets haven’t been eliminated from pennant contention this early since their first season, 1962, when they were eliminated on Aug. 11.

The Mets made four errors, three by Bonilla at third base.

Houston 3, Florida 2--Mark Portugal, Todd Jones and Xavier Hernandez combined on a three-hitter at Miami as the Astros extended their winning streak to four games.

Portugal (13-4) gave up one hit--a two-run homer by Darrell Whitmore--in five innings, walked four and struck out four. He is 7-0 with a 1.88 earned-run average in his last nine starts.

Jones and Hernandez each gave up a hit, and Hernandez recorded his seventh save by striking out four of the seven hitters he faced.

Jeff Bagwell drove home Steve Finley in both the first and third innings, once on a double and once on a sacrifice fly. A groundout by Portugal scored Ken Caminiti to put Houston up, 3-0, in the fourth.

Philadelphia 8, Colorado 5--Curt Schilling pitched eight strong innings and backup catcher Todd Pratt hit a two-run homer for the Phillies at Philadelphia.

Schilling (11-6) gave up four runs and matched his career-high with nine strikeouts in winning for the first time since Aug. 10 and the third time since the All-Star break.

Philadelphia took the lead for good in the fourth inning when Milt Thompson led off with a walk and Pratt homered one out later, making it a 4-3. The home run was Pratt’s third in his last five starts in place of regular catcher Darren Daulton.

Montreal 7, Chicago 3--Jeff Fassero beat the Cubs for the second time in a week as the Expos won at Montreal.

Fassero (9-3), coming off his first complete game since being switched from a reliever to a starter, gave up six hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Fassero, who previously had made 40 relief appearances, is 4-2 with a 1.75 ERA in nine starts.

Larry Walker’s two-run double capped a three-run first inning for Montreal.