Scorer’s Call Not a Hit with Smoltz

Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz couldn’t hide his frustration.

He took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning Sunday and lost it on a questionable double by Tony Gwynn. Smoltz gave up only that one hit in eight innings, leading the Braves over the host San Diego Padres, 4-0.

“I feel like I didn’t give up any hits today,” Smoltz said.

Three batters after he lost a perfect game, Smoltz lost his no-hit bid when Gwynn hit a fly ball deep to left field with one out in the seventh. Ryan Klesko had the ball in his mitt but it popped out just before he hit the fence.

“I thought it was a hit,” said official scorer Phil Collier. “It wasn’t a routine play.”

Said Smoltz (2-1): “I just think that Ryan’s made a lot of great plays and he would have caught that ball. You see it all around the league--they could have given it an error and then if somebody got a hit in the ninth, change it later. To me there’s no excuse in that situation to not make it an error.”

Cincinnati 5-9, Houston 3-8--Vince Coleman homered and singled home the go-ahead run as the Reds blew a five-run lead but recovered for a victory in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of the Astros at Cincinnati.

Joe Oliver and Eric Davis homered to drive in all of Cincinnati’s runs in the first game.

Jeff Brantley saved both games for the Reds.

Chicago 6, San Francisco 2--Brian McRae had a three-run double and Ryne Sandberg hit his second homer as the Cubs avoided a weekend sweep at San Francisco.

McRae’s double into the right-field corner came in a four-run fifth inning that also included a run-scoring single by Leo Gomez. Sandberg homered in the first as the Cubs broke a three-game losing streak.

St. Louis 6, Philadelphia 5--Royce Clayton and Willie McGee each drove in two runs as the Cardinals, down five runs in the third, rallied at home.

In three innings, Cardinal rookie starter Brian Barber walked six, gave up four hits and hit Len Dykstra with the bases loaded as the Phillies took a 5-0 lead.

But Sid Fernandez (1-2) couldn’t hold the lead as the Cardinals scored three runs in the third and three more in the sixth, with Pat Borders’ driving in the go-ahead run.

New York 10, Colorado 4--Jeff Kent homered and drove in three runs, and the Mets had nine extra-base hits at Denver.

Todd Hundley doubled twice, rookie Rey Ordonez tripled, and Bernard Gilkey homered and drove in two runs as the Mets pounded out 16 hits to end a three-game losing streak.

Pittsburgh 5, Montreal 2--Denny Neagle overcame early trouble to out-pitch Pedro Martinez, and Carlos Garcia’s two-run single keyed a four-run fourth inning that led host Pittsburgh.