Fernandez Is Tough for Reds

Osvaldo Fernandez retired the last 19 batters he faced Tuesday night, helping the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Expos at Cincinnati.

Fernandez (2-0) gave up only two hits and didn’t walk a batter in seven innings before leaving for a pinch-hitter.

Only four of the 23 batters he faced got the ball out of the infield--five struck out and 14 grounded out.

“That guy pitched well,” Expo Manager Felipe Alou said. “He’s really recovered from that arm problem he had. He’s like a new pitcher. He’s better now than when he first came over from Cuba. Whatever the doctor fixed, you’ve got to keep an eye on.”

The Reds called up Fernandez on May 13 to fill in for Pete Harnisch, disabled by a weak shoulder. The loss of Harnisch seemed at first to be a major setback; Fernandez has turned it into no problem at all by leading the Reds to wins in all four of his starts.

“I’m getting into my rhythm,” Fernandez said through teammate Alex Ochoa, doubling as a translator.

“I’m throwing a lot of pitches for strikes, getting ahead of batters and throwing the pitches where I want to.”

The Expos lost their sixth in a row.

St. Louis 6, Arizona 1--Shawon Dunston hit a grand slam in the sixth, then was ejected two innings later at Phoenix when he protested after being thrown out at home trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park homer.

Replays appeared to show that Dunston’s foot was on the plate before Kelly Stinnett applied the tag.

San Diego 6, Milwaukee 3--Right-hander Adam Eaton took care of it all in one game at San Diego--first major league start, win, hit, RBI and run.

A double by the 22-year-old started a string of four consecutive run-scoring hits in the fifth inning. He gave up three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Colorado 10, Houston 7--Todd Helton, who leads the majors with a .420 batting average, put the Rockies ahead for good with a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning at Denver.

Helton went one for one with three walks, giving him 12 hits in his last 17 at-bats. He is hitting .500 at Denver.

Pittsburgh 3, Florida 2--Brian Giles capped a comeback with a home run in the 10th inning at Pittsburgh.

Atlanta 5, Chicago 2--Andres Galarraga made a diving catch in the fifth and homered to spark a three-run sixth for the Braves at Chicago.

San Francisco 7, Philadelphia 3--Livan Hernandez scattered eight hits in 8 1/3 innings and had a run-scoring double, and Jeff Kent and Bill Mueller each homered at San Francisco.