NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Walker’s Pinch-Hit Homer Lifts Rockies

Larry Walker says he doesn’t let his emotions run out of control.

So, when he hit the second pinch-hit home run of his career Thursday at Denver to give the Colorado Rockies an 8-6 comeback win over Pittsburgh, it was little more than a ho-hum occasion for the laid-back Walker.

“I’m not excited about what happened,” he said. “It helped the team win, but I’m not going to come to the ballpark tomorrow doing back flips because it doesn’t mean I’m out of this funk.”

Walker, whose other pinch-hit homer came in 1991, had only three hits in his last 26 at-bats before the home run. Manager Don Baylor rested him for the second consecutive day to help him get through the dry spell.

“If anyone needed a big hit, Larry Walker needed one,” Baylor said. “For the last couple of weeks he’s been kind of frustrated at the plate.”

He was so frustrated that Walker jokingly asked Baylor if he should bunt with runners at first and second and no outs in the seventh inning.

“I said, ‘If I’m going to remain the manager here, you’re not bunting,’ ” Baylor said.

Walker swung away and hit a hanging curveball from left-hander Jason Christiansen into the right-field seats for his 28th homer of the season, and his first since Aug. 12.

“I don’t care if he’s in a slump, you’ve got to pitch him better,” Christiansen said. “I tried to get him to go fishing on a curve low and away the pitch before, but he didn’t bite.”

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Chicago 6, Florida 2--Sammy Sosa hit his seventh homer in seven games and Kevin Foster pitched eight strong innings, leading the Cubs at Chicago.

Sosa hit his 27th homer of the season in the seventh inning, a two-run shot that put Chicago ahead, 6-2.

Foster (8-9), who had lost four decisions in a row, gave up two runs on five hits before being replaced by Randy Myers with two men on and nobody out in the ninth. Myers got the last three outs for his 29th save.

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St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 5--The Cardinals blew a five-run lead but got the victory on Ray Lankford’s sixth-inning single at St. Louis.

Lankford’s run-scoring single came after reliever Hector Carrasco (2-5) walked two in the sixth. Lankford, who also had a run-scoring double in the first, entered the game with four RBIs in his previous 18 games.

Cardinal starter Donovan Osborne, however, continued a lengthy drought, remaining winless since Aug. 18, 1993. He gave up five runs in five innings, including two home runs by Ron Gant.

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San Francisco 5, Montreal 3--Glenallen Hill hit a two-run double in the eighth inning against Mel Rojas to give the Giants the victory at Montreal as the Expos lost their sixth in a row.

The Giants, who have won three in a row, trailed, 3-2, in the eighth after going hitless for six innings against starter Gil Heredia.

Deion Sanders opened with a single and, after Robby Thompson flied out, Heredia was relieved by left-hander Dave Leiper (0-1). Barry Bonds singled Sanders to third before Tim Scott relieved to face Matt Williams, who was walked intentionally.

Hill doubled down the third-base line on Rojas’ first pitch, scoring Sanders and Bonds. Williams scored on left fielder Curtis Pride’s error.

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New York 5, San Diego 4--Pinch-hitter Chris Jones’ RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning capped the Mets’ three-run rally at New York.

A day earlier, Jones was denied a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth when his blast off the right-field foul pole was ruled foul.

New York trailed, 4-2, going into the ninth when Carl Everett led off with a single against reliever Trevor Hoffman. Rico Brogna’s single moved Everett to third, a wild pitch scored him and, four batters later, Jones hit the game-winner.