NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Astros’ Bagwell Surpasses 100-RBI Mark

Jeff Bagwell hit his 33rd home run to become the first major leaguer with 100 runs batted in, and the Astros rallied after blowing a five-run lead to beat the Reds, 6-5, at Cincinnati.

Luis Gonzalez doubled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to move the Astros to within a game of Cincinnati in the Central Division.

Houston built a 5-0 lead off Jose Rijo behind Bagwell’s two-run homer, which gave him 101 RBIs in 101 games. It didn’t occur to him at the time that he had become the first to hit triple digits--not Frank Thomas, not Ken Griffey Jr., not Matt Williams.

“I guess I’m as surprised as much as anybody else that I’ve got 101 already,” Bagwell said. “It helped tonight, which is all I wanted. That was the big thing. It helped win the game.”

The Reds rallied against Pete Harnisch in the sixth when Deion Sanders leveled Scott Servais at the plate to score the tying fifth run.

“I saw him coming around third,” Servais said. “He’s playing hard, I’m playing hard. I’m not going to give any ground. Now I know what guys in the NFL feel like.”

“I’ve had collisions before like that, but nothing that intense,” Sanders said. “It was a big play, but we still lost. I’m so disappointed we didn’t win. It would have been so much better if we’d have won.”

Montreal 5, Atlanta 3--The Expos took advantage of four unearned runs to gain their eighth consecutive victory by defeating Greg Maddux and the Braves at Atlanta.

The Expos opened a 3 1/2-game lead over the Braves in the East Division, turning errors by Maddux and shortstop Jeff Blauser into a three-run seventh inning for a 5-2 lead.

Butch Henry (8-2) gave up only three hits and two runs in seven innings. Both runs came on a homer by Charlie O’Brien in the second inning.

“Other than that one pitch, he was almost perfect,” said Montreal Manager Felipe Alou. “Maddux had his good control and stuff, but they made a couple of errors--some mistakes.”

The Braves held a players-only meeting before the game, but still lost for the seventh time in 10 games. They’ve lost two consecutive games to Montreal and seven of 10 to the Expos this season.

Maddux (13-6) lowered his earned-run average to 1.68, best in the majors, despite the loss. He had retired 13 consecutive batters until the seventh, when leadoff hitter Wil Cordero reached on Blauser’s error.

Colorado 6, San Diego 5--Mark Thompson won his major league debut and the Rockies moved within one game of the first-place Dodgers by defeating the Padres at San Diego.

Thompson, Colorado’s second pick in the 1992 draft, became the first player taken in an amateur draft by the Rockies to appear in a big-league game. He gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out two.

Steve Reed got the last out, striking out Derek Bell with a runner on third, for his second save. Scott Sanders (3-8) lost his fourth consecutive decision.

New York 10, St. Louis 9--Rico Brogna drove in four runs, two on a game-winning home run in the 11th inning at St. Louis.

Brogna, who tied a club record with five hits Monday night, has hit safely in his last 12 starts and is batting .488 (21 for 43) in those games.

Mike Maddux (2-1) pitched a scoreless 10th to pick up the victory and John Franco earned his 24th save. Franco was the eighth New York pitcher, tying a club record.

Philadelphia 10, Florida 8--Ricky Jordan hit a tie-breaking single in the 12th inning as the Phillies blew a six-run lead but rallied to win at Miami.

Jim Eisenreich led off the 12th with a single and took second when right fielder Gary Sheffield overran the ball for an error. Jordan then singled off Robb Nen (4-5) and scored on an infield single by Kim Batiste, who had four hits and three RBIs.

Chicago 8, Pittsburgh 4--Mark Grace and Rick Wilkins hit eighth-inning home runs and the Cubs overcame Anthony Young’s injury-shortened start at Pittsburgh.

Young, activated off the disabled list before the game, lasted four innings before leaving with fatigue in his right elbow and forearm. Young had been on the disabled list since July 10 because of a strained elbow.

Chicago’s bullpen survived Tom Foley’s solo homer in the sixth and Dave Clark’s two-run homer in the seventh to finish up for Young, who is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in three starts against Pittsburgh this season.