Snubbed Hurler Wins For Mets

National League

Rick Reed, snubbed in spring training for being a replacement player during the strike in 1995, got his first major league victory in three years as the New York Mets beat visiting Cincinnati 7-2 on Tuesday.

Reed also doubled in a run in the second inning.

Reed (1-1) made the Mets in spring training as a non-roster player. He scattered seven hits while striking out four and walking none.

Braves 4, Giants 0

San Francisco

Greg Maddux pitched six shutout innings before apparently re-aggravating a hamstring injury as Atlanta ended San Francisco’s nine-game winning streak. Maddux (2-1), whose mild hamstring strain forced him to miss a start last week in Cincinnati, appeared to hurt his leg again in the sixth inning while making a pitch to J.T. Snow.

Expos 5, Cubs 1

Montreal

Dustin Hermanson, making his first start since college, pitched five effective innings for Montreal.

Rockies 13, Marlins 4

Denver

Larry Walker was 4 for 5, raising his batting average to .507, and Roger Bailey and Colorado sent Florida to its fourth consecutive loss.

Walker recorded his second straight four-hit game and his fourth of the season. He is 34 for 67 this year.

Astros 12, Padres 3

San Diego

Derek Bell and Jeff Bagwell each went 3 for 5 with two RBIs to spark Houston.

Cardinals 6, Dodgers 4

Los Angeles

Ray Lankford, playing his first game of the season, triggered a three-run rally with two outs in the ninth inning that lifted St. Louis over Los Angeles.

Clearing the bases

Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg returned to the lineup after missing six games and went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts. Sandberg received 14 stitches after being struck on the right ear by a foul ball while sitting in the dugout April 13.

Second baseman Carlos Baerga became one of baseball’s most expensive part-time players when Mets manager Bobby Valentine decided to bench him - temporarily, anyway - until Baerga’s swing shows signs of producing more than weak grounders and pop-ups. Signed for $4.67 million for this year and next, he is hitting .167 in 54 at-bats.