Jones’ 3-Hitter Lifts New York
National League
Bobby Jones pitched six innings of no-hit ball and finished with a three-hitter Friday night as the New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos 5-0.
The no-hit bid, which would have been the first in the Mets’ 33-year history, ended when Sean Berry opened the seventh with a clean single up the middle. Darrin Fletcher followed by grounding into a double play.
Jones, a right-hander retired 12 straight until Dave Silvestri drew a two-out walk in the fifth.
Cardinals 5, Padres 2
St. Louis
Donovan Osborne won his first game in more than two years, and Ray Lankford extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an upper-deck home run as St. Louis defeated San Diego.
Dodgers 8, Pirates 2
Pittsburgh
Ramon Martinez, overpowering as usual against Pittsburgh this season, pitched a six-hitter and added two doubles and two RBIs in Los Angeles’ victory.
Martinez (15-7) came within one out of his third shutout of the season, and improved to 3-0 with an 1.19 ERA against the Pirates in 1995. The right-hander has allowed just 11 hits and three runs in 22-2/3 innings over three starts against Pittsburgh.
Giants 7, Cubs 3
Chicago
Sergio Valdez, lifted after a brawl the last time he faced Chicago, pitched seven strong innings and Mark Carreon homered in the first inning to carry San Francisco to a win.
Braves 6, Marlins 5
Miami Mike Devereaux hit a tie-breaking single in the eighth and Rafael Belliard added a two-run single as Atlanta lowered its magic number to four with a victory over Florida.
Rockies 10, Reds 5
Denver
Pinch-hitter John Vander Wal ignited a seven-run seventh inning with a two-run triple and Andres Galarraga followed with a grand slam, rallying Colorado past Cincinnati.
Astros 12, Phillies 3
Philadelphia
Mike Hampton allowed six hits in seven innings and Houston tied an N.L. record with four sacrifice flies as the Astros beat Philadelphia.
Clearing the bases
Cincinnati’s Xavier Hernandez, Ron Gant and Reds manager Davey Johnson received suspensions for their part in bench-clearing beanball wars against Houston earlier in the week. Hernandez was suspended eight games, Gant for four and Johnson for two. Astros manager Terry Collins was suspended for two games, and Astros pitcher Doug Drabek and catcher Pat Borders each received five-game suspensions. Those suspended all also received undisclosed fines. … A crowd of 48,026 was Colorado’s 39th consecutive sellout, boosting its major league-leading total to more than 2.8 million for the year. … Despite going hitless in the first two games and having his 13-game hitting streak snapped Thursday, San Diego’s Tony Gwynn is still batting .394 in his last 32 games (50 for 127).