NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Gwynn Gets a Little Message, Then Ties Two Padre Records

Before tying a Padre record with his eighth consecutive hit, Tony Gwynn got hit with the first pitch of the game Sunday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

He thinks he knows why.

“It all stemmed from last night. When I was on second base in the fourth inning, Ben Rivera thought I was giving signs to the hitter,” Gwynn said after San Diego took a six-run lead and held on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5.

Gwynn, who had five hits in five at-bats Saturday, said he tried to convince Rivera and catcher Darren Daulton he wasn’t stealing signs.

“I can’t even read their signs,” Gwynn said.

Curt Schilling (0-3) said he wasn’t trying to hit Gwynn. The ball struck Gwynn just below the right knee.

“The guy’s got eight straight hits,” Schilling said. “You’ve got to pitch inside. Obviously, he was feeling pretty comfortable up there because he couldn’t get out of the way. I’ve got all the respect in the world for Tony Gwynn. He’s a .330 hitter.”

Gwynn and Schilling exchanged words and Schilling received a warning from plate umpire Bob Davidson, but no punches were thrown.

“The only thing I don’t know is if Schilling hit me on purpose or if he was ordered to hit me,” Gwynn said. “I’m not going to charge the mound and get suspended four games and fined $5,000 for getting hit by a pitch. But at the same time, there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from trying to go up the middle.”

Gwynn singled in the third and fourth before hitting into a double play in the sixth and singling in the eighth. The eight straight hits tied the record set by Dave Winfield in 1979. Gwynn also tied a team record--held by himself and Bip Roberts--by reaching base nine consecutive times.

Andy Benes, meanwhile stopped his nine-game losing streak as San Diego completed a three-game sweep. Benes (1-4) won for the first time since last Sept. 1 against Florida, yielding five runs--four earned--and six hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Chicago 12, Colorado 4--Rookie right-hander Steve Trachsel, the Cubs’ first-round draft choice in 1991 from Long Beach St., pitched his first major league complete game.

Trachsel (2-1), making his seventh career start, yielded seven hits, struck out four and walked four before 71,329, the seventh-largest crowd in the Rockies’ history.

Chicago’s first five batters got hits, starting with Karl Rhodes’ 416-foot homer into the right field bleachers. The Cubs, who finished with a season-high 16 hits, scored four runs in the first, getting a run-scoring single from Derrick May, an run-scoring double from Sammy Sosa and a run-scoring groundout from Shawon Dunston.

Atlanta 3, Pittsburgh 0--Greg Maddux ended the Braves’ longest losing streak in a year at four games, pitching a three-hitter and striking out a career-high 11 at Atlanta.

Maddux (4-1) gave up three singles in lowering his earned-run average to 0.88. He retired 16 of the last 17.

The right-hander, who has won the National League Cy Young Award two consecutive years, walked none in his second complete game this season and first shutout since last Aug. 15. It was his 51st complete game and 15th shutout.

Atlanta hadn’t had a longer losing streak since losing five in a row last April 25-29.

San Francisco 4, New York 2--Matt Williams hit a two-run homer, tying Jeff Kent of the Mets for the league lead, to help the Giants win at Candlestick Park.

Williams’ eighth homer helped send Bret Saberhagen (2-1) to his first loss since June 25, 1993. Saberhagen, injured at the end of last season, had won six consecutive decisions.

With the Giants trailing, 2-0, Darren Lewis led off the sixth with a bunt single, stole second and scored on Todd Benzinger’s single. Williams homered on the next pitch for a 3-2 lead, giving him five homers in nine games and a team-leading 17 RBIs this season.

John Burkett (2-1) gave up six hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked one. Dave Burba pitched a perfect eighth and Mike Jackson pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save.

“I’m progressing to the point where I feel like I did last year,” said Burkett, who was 22-7 last year. “Saberhagen was pitching well, so I just wanted to keep us close.”

Cincinnati 5, Florida 2--Reggie Sanders tripled in the first inning, doubled in the fourth inning, then drove a three-run homer into the second deck in the fifth inning at Cincinnati.

Sanders’ homer, his fourth, came after pitcher Tom Browning singled and Hal Morris walked in the fifth. Cincinnati added a run in the eighth when Kevin Mitchell doubled and scored on Brett Boone’s sacrifice fly.

Browning (2-0) pitched a three-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, struck out five and walked none as the Reds won for the eighth time in 10 home games.

Prior to last Sunday’s two-hit shutout against Philadelphia, Browning hadn’t thrown a complete game since July 24, 1991, at Chicago. Against Florida, he retired the side in order six times.

St. Louis 5, Houston 4--Bernard Gilkey scored on a wild pitch by Mike Hampton to cap a three-run eighth inning at St. Louis as the Cardinals rallied past the Astros.

St. Louis trailed, 4-2, in the eighth when Ray Lankford led off with a double against Shane Reynolds. Gregg Jefferies singled to drive in Lankford, then took third on Todd Zeile’s single against Tom Edens (2-1).

Jefferies scored on Gilkey’s groundout. Brian Jordan’s double sent Gilkey to third, and Gilkey scored on the wild pitch by Hampton.

Astro starter Greg Swindell yielded two runs and four hits in seven innings. His 17-inning scoreless streak ended in the first on Jefferies’ sacrifice fly.