Marlins Give Boles First Major-League Win
National League
Florida manager John Boles won in his major-league debut, the first baseball game he’s managed in 10 seasons, as the Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves 9-8 Thursday night.
Boles, who replaced the fired Rene Lachemann on Monday, had previously managed only in the minor leagues.
Greg Colbrunn had three RBIs, and Gary Sheffield, Jeff Conine and Devon White all had three hits for the Marlins, the only N.L. East team with a winning record against the Braves (4-3) this season.
Atlanta starter Steve Avery (7-8) reaggravated a muscle strain in his left side and was replaced by Jason Schmidt after 17 pitches. Avery allowed one run on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Rockies 8, Padres 5, (10)
Denver
Dante Bichette hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning as Colorado rallied past San Diego.
The Rockies trailed 5-2 before scoring three runs in the ninth off Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to send the game into extra innings.
Dodgers 8, Giants 3
Los Angeles
Eric Karros and Mike Blowers had three hits apiece, including RBI singles during a six-run first inning, lifting Los Angeles past slumping San Francisco.
Chad Fonville also had three hits for the Dodgers.
Pirates 5, Reds 3
Cincinnati
Orlando Merced and Al Martin had three hits apiece and Jeff King stole home off an out-of-sync John Smiley (8-8) as Pittsburgh won for the fifth straight time at Riverfront Stadium.
The Pirates took a 4-0 lead into the seventh. Denny Neagle (10-4), who was working on a two-hitter, gave up four hits, including run-scoring singles by Oliver and Thomas Howard. A balk by reliever Ramon Morel forced in another run to make it 4-3.
Mets 8, Astros 2
New York
Mark Clark won his fifth straight decision and drove in two runs, and rookie Alex Ochoa drove in two more runs as New York won for the fifth time in six games.
Ochoa went 3 for 4 as the Mets improved to 10-6 since Ochoa’s recall from the minors June 21. The right fielder improved his average to .355 with 17 RBIs in 16 games.
Phillies 3, Expos 2
Montreal
Curt Schilling won his first game in six weeks and Todd Zeile homered as Philadelphia ended a club-record 14-game road losing streak.
Schilling (3-3) allowed three hits over seven innings to win for the first time since May 25 - a span of nine starts in which he went 0-3.
Cubs 6, Cardinals 0
Chicago
Ryne Sandberg’s three-run homer highlighted a four-run first inning and Jaime Navarro pitched a five-hitter.
Navarro (7-8) pitched his fourth complete game in 20 starts and his first shutout, striking out four and walking two.
Clearing the base
Dusty Baker signed a two-year contract extension to continue managing the San Francisco Giants through 1998. Baker, 47, is in his fourth season with the Giants and has a 263-244 record… . Los Angeles manager Tom Lasorda, who is recovering from a minor heart attack, may learn early next week whether he can return to the dugout. Lasorda is expected to meet Monday with Dodgers physician Michael Mellman and cardiologist Anthony Reid to discuss in detail his progress since an angioplasty to open a blocked coronary artery June 26.