Piazza Homers Twice To Lift L.A.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

With red-hot Mike Piazza providing the spark, the Los Angeles Dodgers put on an explosive defensive display against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I’m in a pretty good groove,” Piazza said after hitting two homers, including a grand slam, and two doubles and knocking in seven runs as Los Angeles defeated host Philadelphia 9-1 Sunday night.

Piazza also walked, and his five plate appearances enabled him to take over the N.L. batting lead at .367, as well as tie Seattle’s Edgar Martinez for the major league lead.

In his last two games, Piazza has four home runs and 10 RBIs. In his last 29 at-bats, he has 14 hits, eight home runs and 11 RBIs.

Kevin Tapani (2-1), making his sixth start since being acquired from Minnesota on July 31, allowed five hits, tied his season high with nine strikeouts and did not walk a batter in eight innings. The only run he allowed was Jim Eisenreich’s sixth-inning homer.

Expos 1, Giants 0 Montreal

Kirk Rueter threw a one-hitter in his first start since a 3-1/2-month stay in the minors, and Montreal used an unearned run to beat San Francisco.

Rueter (1-2), pitching in place of the suspended Carlos Perez, allowed only a third-inning single to Kirt Manwaring in a game that lasted 1 hour, 54 minutes - the second-shortest game in the majors this season.

Cardinals 10, Rockies 5 Denver

John Mabry kept up his torrid hitting against Colorado with a homer and two doubles as St. Louis completed a three-game sweep with the win over the Rockies.

David Bell added four hits - missing the cycle by a home run - and three RBIs for the Cardinals, who had a season-high 18 hits. They won for the eighth time in 10 games and their season-best fourth in a row.

Padres 4, Mets 1 New York

Fernando Valenzuela earned his first victory as a starter in 2-1/2 months and Steve Finley hit a two-run homer as San Diego beat New York to end a four-game losing streak.

Reds 10, Pirates 1 Pittsburgh

Pete Schourek joined Atlanta’s Greg Maddux as a 14-game winner and had three of Cincinnati’s 16 hits as the Reds finished off a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh with the victory.

Braves 3, Cubs 1 Chicago

Tom Glavine allowed five hits in 7-2/3 innings before leaving with a back problem and hit an RBI single to lead Atlanta to their seventh straight win, a victory over Chicago.

Marlins 10, Astros 2 Miami

Houston tied a club record with its 10th consecutive defeat, allowing six runs in the first inning and losing to Florida.

Clearing the bases

Houston pitcher Doug Drabek’s ERA vs. Florida this season rose to 10.80 in two starts… . Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Tim Wallach, who was injured while chasing a foul ball Saturday night, has torn a ligament in his left knee and will undergo an MRI exam today… . The Astros have lost 17 of their last 20 games… . The Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the majors with 106 errors, have committed two errors or more in a game 26 times. Their record in those games is 9-17.