NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Larkin, Reds Add to Giants’ Woes

John Roper made one mistake, but overcame it. John Burkett made one, and it cost him.

Roper gave up only a solo homer over seven innings Tuesday night to anchor the Cincinnati Reds’ combined two-hitter, and Barry Larkin homered against Burkett in the eighth inning at Cincinnati to give the Reds a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Roper didn’t give up a hit until Dave Martinez lined a two-out, game-tying homer in the sixth. Martinez pulled a belt-high, first-pitch fastball over the wall in right for his first homer.

Roper knew he had a no-hitter going, but it wasn’t on his mind at the time.

“I had glanced up at the scoreboard in the fourth inning and saw it said no hits. But the home run didn’t come from that,” he said. “It was just a bad pitch I made. After that, I was able to bear down and get them out.”

Not so Burkett (4-6), who has lost his last three starts. Manager Dusty Baker let him bat in the top of the eighth with two out and the score tied because he was pitching so well.

“That’s why I left him in. At the time, he was throwing as good as anybody I could bring in,” Baker said. “I took a chance and lost.”

After getting the first out, Burkett hung a first-pitch breaking ball to the hot-hitting Larkin, who had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. He pulled it over the wall in left for his fifth homer, sending the Giants to their 10th loss in 12 games.

Pittsburgh 7, Philadelphia 1--Dave Clark and Don Slaught homered for the Pirates at Pittsburgh.

Clark hit a three-run shot in a four-run first inning aided by three Philadelphia errors. Slaught added a two-run drive--only his third extra-base hit of the season--in the third.

Atlanta 4, New York 3--Fred McGriff’s two-out run-scoring single in the ninth lifted the Braves at Atlanta.

John Franco (1-3), trying to become the career saves leader among left-handers, squandered a 3-2 lead for his fourth blown save in 20 opportunities this season. Franco and Dave Righetti are tied with 252 career saves.

Colorado 8, Houston 0--David Nied pitched a four-hitter at Denver for his first career shutout, and the Rockies’ first shutout at home in their 1 1/2-season history.

Nied (6-4) did not give up a hit after the third inning until the ninth, when Andy Stankiewicz led off with a single. The right-hander struck out four and walked one to win at home for the first time in five starts.

Chicago 7, Florida 2--Sammy Sosa hit his 16th homer and drove in four runs to lead a 15-hit attack by the Cubs at Miami.

St. Louis 5, Montreal 4--Bernard Gilkey’s run-scoring single broke a ninth-inning tie at St. Louis, enabling the Cardinals to climb back to .500.