Surging Marlins Sweep Homestand
National League
Florida capped a six-game sweep against first-place teams and the best homestand in the Marlins’ three-year history with a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds Sunday in Miami.
Mark Gardner earned his fifth straight victory in front of a crowd of 40,027, the largest at Joe Robbie Stadium since opening night.
The Reds lost their fourth in a row, their longest losing streak since starting the season 0-6.
Terry Pendleton hit a two-run double and Jeff Conine added his 20th homer for the surging Marlins, who have won 10 in a row at home and 14 of their last 16 games overall. Florida had baseball’s worst record as recently as June 7.
Dodgers 4, Pirates 1
Los Angeles
Hot-hitting Eric Karros hit a two-run homer and Ramon Martinez won his 12th game as Los Angeles beat Pittsburgh to move into undisputed possession of first place in the N.L. West for just the second time this season.
Karros equaled his career high when he hit a 1-2 pitch from Denny Neagle into the left-field seats for his 23rd homer with one out and a runner aboard in the sixth.
Giants 6, Cubs 3
San Francisco
Deion Sanders hit an upper-deck homer, forced in a run with a walk and helped break up a bench-clearing brawl as San Francisco defeated Chicago.
Both dugouts and bullpens emptied when Chicago’s Shawon Dunston charged the mound after getting hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. Dunston appeared to punch Giants pitcher Sergio Valdez, who had a cut below his left eye.
Expos 3, Phillies 2
Philadelphia
Tim Laker’s solo homer snapped a 2-2 tie in the ninth and gave Montreal a win over Philadelphia.
Laker’s home run, his third, came after Philadelphia’s Gregg Jefferies had tied the game with a solo shot in the eighth.
Braves 3, Rockies 2
Atlanta
Rookie Mike Mordecai’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth helped Atlanta win in its final at-bat for the 20th time this season.
Rockies reliever Darren Holmes (5-1) retired the first two Braves in the ninth but walked pinchhitter Dwight Smith and Luis Polonia. Mordecai followed by ripping a liner down the right-field line.
Astros 5, Mets 3
Houston
James Mouton tied his career best with four RBIs, and Shane Reynolds allowed six hits over seven innings as Houston beat New York.
Mouton doubled in the first inning and had a two-run single in the second that gave the Astros a 4-3 lead. He went 3 for 4, and is 9 for 18 over his last six games.
Reds stymie Expos
Cincinnati general manager Jim Bowden, fearing that Los Angeles would acquire Montreal center fielder Moises Alou and possibly reliever Mel Rojas or starter Jeff Fassero in a package deal, put waiver claims on all of the Expos players.
“I talked with Fred (Claire), and there was interest,” Expos general manager Kevin Malone said, “but nothing’s going to happen now. They’re one of the limited number of organizations I’d trade with because I like a lot of their players, and they like a number of ours.”
It is also believed Bowden was the one who claimed the Pirates’ Orlando Merced and Jeff King to keep them from being traded to Houston.
Clearing the bases
San Francisco slugger Matt Williams reported no pain in his mending right foot after going 1 for 3 with two strikeouts in five innings for the San Jose Giants in their game against Modesto… . Pittsburgh reliever Jim Gott will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.