NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Reds Hit Four Homers Off Smoltz in the First

The Cincinnati Reds hit a team-record four home runs in the first inning off John Smoltz and routed the Atlanta Braves for the second day in a row, 12-4, Sunday at Atlanta.

The Braves, with the lowest earned-run average and best record in the major leagues, were pounded by the Reds on Saturday night, 16-0.

Cincinnati, which battered Smoltz (5-7) for eight hits in the first inning, got 20 hits for the second consecutive game.

Hitting homers in the seven-run first were Hal Morris, Kevin Mitchell, Jeff Branson and Eddie Taubensee.

“It looked like we got Smoltz a little flustered by hitting the home runs,” Cincinnati Manager Davey Johnson said. “Then he started throwing his fastball harder, but the harder he threw it, the harder we hit it.”

Said Smoltz: “I couldn’t go out and duplicate that in BP (batting practice). What were they hitting? Everything--fastballs down, fastballs up, fastballs down the middle.”

The Reds scored 33 runs and had 50 hits in the three-game series, although they lost the opener, 6-5.

Chicago 10, San Francisco 6--While most people at Candlestick Park will remember Sunday as the day the Giants signed Darryl Strawberry, Cub pitcher Kevin Foster will remember it for other reasons: He collected his first major league victory and first hit.

Foster (1-1) gave up six hits and five runs, four earned, in 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four.

“It was a rough one trying to control my fastball,” he said. “It was rising up in the strike zone. Early in the game, I really felt strong--maybe too strong.”

Said Chicago shortstop Shawon Dunston, who hit two home runs: “There were times when Foster should have won. He’s pitched good, so he really deserved today’s win.”

Dunston made sure Foster got off on the right track by hitting the first pitch of the game by Giant starter Salomon Torres into the left-field bleachers.

Dunston and Derrick May each had three of the Cubs’ 14 hits. Mark Grace had two hits and drove in three runs.

San Diego 5, Houston 1--Tony Gwynn’s disputed three-run homer off the center field wall highlighted a four-run fifth inning for the Padres at San Diego. Even Gwynn disputed it.

“That’s my second inside-the-park home run,” Gwynn said with a laugh. “I could see from where I was that it hit the orange line (on top of the wall).”

Scott Sanders struck out a career-high 11 and Bip Roberts extended his hitting streak to 22 games, best in the National League since Pittsburgh’s Jay Bell hit in 22 in a row in 1992.

Gwynn has hit safely in his last nine games, batting .432 (16 for 37). The four-time National League batting champion leads the league with a .385 average.

Pittsburgh 3, St. Louis 2--Zane Smith, saying the heat at St. Louis helps him, worked seven innings in temperatures that climbed to 101 degrees to continue his mastery of the Cardinals. He gave up one run on eight hits.

Since joining the Pirates in September 1990, Smith (7-6) is 5-2 with a 1.18 ERA against the Cardinals, with four of the victories at Busch Stadium.

“I’ve pitched a lot of Sunday day games, I know that,” Smith said. “This weather is really good for me because I think it tires me out, which makes my ball sink. That’s when I have my best sinker.”

Philadelphia 13, Montreal 0--Pitcher Bobby Munoz had three hits and his first two major league RBIs as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep at Montreal.

Darren Daulton hit his 14th homer, added an RBI double and scored three times as the Phillies roughed up Jeff Fassero (5-5), who came within one out of a no-hitter in his last outing.

New York 6, Florida 1--Dwight Gooden gave up three hits over eight innings at Miami for his first victory since April 16.

Gooden (3-3), sidelined because of ligament damage in his right big toe, struck out six and walked one.