NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Saberhagen Shows Artistry; Rockies Show Bats

Bret Saberhagen kept throwing hard and inside, sawing off the wood in Colorado batters’ hands.

“I’ve got a lot of firewood for my fireplace this winter, but not much else to show for it,” he said Wednesday.

That’s because, despite being jammed and breaking their bats, Dante Bichette and Joe Girardi got enough wood on the ball for run-scoring singles in the eighth inning to rally the Rockies past the New York Mets, 5-4, at Denver.

Girardi, who had lined out to Saberhagen on his first at-bat and was called out on strikes on his next two appearances, got the game-winner.

“He pretty much abused me the whole day, and he abused me on the last at-bat, too,” Girardi said. “The two previous times he got two strikes on me and I had no chance. This time, I was trying to hit the first pitch I could hit. He threw me a fastball inside and jammed me. It was basically a lucky hit.

“We got five runs off a guy who’s got as good a stuff as anybody in the league. They weren’t five pretty runs, but they were winners.”

Saberhagen (6-3) overcame an early 3-0 deficit and nursed a 4-3 lead into the eighth.

“I put a lot of pitches where I wanted,” said Saberhagen, who struck out seven and extended his streak without a walk to a club-record 41 innings. “They had four hits off broken bats, and four or five were jam shots. That hurt me.”

Atlanta 5, San Diego 2--Terry Pendleton, fighting one of the worst slumps of his career, had three hits and three RBIs as Tom Glavine and the Braves won at Atlanta.

The victory was the Braves’ eighth in nine games and improved their record to 20-2 against the National League West.

Glavine (7-5) allowed a run and six hits and struck out seven before leaving for a pinch-hitter after seven innings.

St. Louis 8, Cincinnati 2--Terry McGriff drove in three runs and Allen Watson won his second consecutive start as the Cardinals used a 14-hit attack to win at St. Louis.

McGriff, a reserve catcher, had a two-run double off John Smiley (4-8) in the second inning and an RBI groundout in the sixth.

Watson (4-3) left with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand in the sixth inning.

Smiley has lost his last six decisions, going winless since May 7.

Houston 9, Montreal 2--Jeff Bagwell hit two home runs and pitcher Brian Williams went two for four and drove in the deciding runs as the Astros won at Montreal to snap the Expos’ six-game winning streak.

Williams (3-2) broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning with a two-out, two-run single to left field on an 0-and-2 pitch from Jeff Fassero.

Bagwell’s home runs, a three-run shot off reliever Brian Looney in the seventh inning and a solo homer off Fassero (4-4) in the fourth, were his 14th and 15th of the season.

Philadelphia 3, Chicago 0--David West pitched seven strong innings at Philadelphia and the Phillies sent the Cubs to their ninth loss in a row, longest losing streak for Chicago in three years.

West (2-5) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked two, and allowed only two runners to reach second base. It was his fourth start of the season after joining the rotation because of injuries to other starters.

Heathcliff Slocumb pitched the eighth inning for the Phillies and Doug Jones worked the ninth for his 16th save.

Pittsburgh 3, San Francisco 1--Denny Neagle pitched his first complete game in 124 major league appearances, shutting down the Giants on four hits at Pittsburgh.

Andy Van Slyke, back in the lineup after a slump-induced two-game benching, tripled in a run as the Pirates beat the Giants for the first time in six tries.

Neagle (6-6), making his 28th start in the majors and 12th of the season, never allowed more than one runner in any inning.