Sizzling Reds Keep Cardinals In Free Fall

National League

The Cincinnati Reds made it five straight victories and nine of 11 Friday night as Barry Larkin’s two-out single capped a three-run seventh inning in a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at St. Louis.

The Cardinals wasted a strong effort from 29-year-old rookie Mark Petkovsek, making his first start in nearly four seasons, and lost for the eighth time in 11 games. St. Louis led 3-0 after five innings.

The Reds had three hits and a walk off Petkovsek in the sixth, but scored only one run, on Eddie Taubensee’s infield hit. Lenny Harris grounded into a double play and Taubensee was caught stealing on the back end of a double steal to end the inning.

Cincinnati started the seventh with three more hits off Rene Arocha, with pinch-hitter Thomas Howard singling home a run. Two batters later, Larkin’s two-run single put the Reds ahead.

Phillies 2, Padres 0

Philadelphia

Rookie Michael Mimbs pitched a twohitter for his first major-league shutout as Philadelphia beat San Diego.

Mimbs (3-1) allowed a double to Ken Caminiti in the second inning and a double to Andujar Cedeno in the eighth. He struck out four and walked one in the first shutout by a Phillies rookie since Ben Rivera defeated St. Louis 10-0 in September 1992.

Greg Jefferies and Dave Hollins drove in runs in the first inning for Philadelphia, which has won seven of nine and 17 of 21.

Marlins 5, Cubs 3

Chicago

Tommy Gregg, Kurt Abbott and Charles Johnson hit solo home runs as Florida beat Chicago for just its fourth win in the last 18 games.

Johnson led off the seventh inning with his second home run of the season, breaking a 3-3 tie against losing pitcher Mike Perez (0-2).

Pirates 4, Rockies 2

Pittsburgh

Paul Wagner won as a starter for the first time in nearly a year, allowing only three hits in seven innings as Pittsburgh beat Colorado.

Wagner (1-5) hadn’t won a start since last June 26 against New York, a span in which he was 0-8 with a 7.40 ERA, including 0-5 and 7.34 this year. Wagner was aided by four double plays.

Expos 9, Dodgers 4

Montreal

Gil Heredia struck out a career-high eight and Tim Laker drove in three runs as Montreal ended a three-game winning streak for Los Angeles.

Dodgers starter Ramon Martinez (4-3) had his worst outing of the season, allowing seven runs on six hits in fourplus innings.

Giants 6, Mets 4

New York

Darren Lewis broke a ninth-inning tie with an RBI single as San Francisco extended New York’s losing streak to six games.

New York reliever Doug Henry (1-3) entered the game in the ninth and gave up a leadoff double to Mark Carreon. Jeff Reed sacrificed, but Henry misplayed the bunt for an error and Lewis followed with a single. One out later, reliever Eric Gunderson threw a wild pitch that allowed Reed to score from third.

Braves 8, Astros 3

Houston

Rookie Chipper Jones had three hits, including his seventh homer of the year, as Atlanta handed Houston its fourth straight loss.

The Braves reached Astros starter Greg Swindell (3-2) for eight hits and six runs in 1 innings.

Clearing the bases

Florida’s Andre Dawson needs one home run to become the 11th player in league history to hit 400 homers and nine more to move into 10th on the all-time N.L. list… . Brian Jordan of St. Louis is mired in a 5-for-53 slump… . Colorado has led the N.L. West for 26 of the 28 playing dates this season… . San Diego’s Andy Benes (0-5) lost his 10th straight decision since defeating New York on July 3, 1994.