55,046 Padres Fans Witness 5-4 Setback

National League

Pinch-runner Jayhawk Owens scored the go-ahead run on Jody Reed’s fielding error in the ninth inning, and the Colorado Rockies beat San Diego 5-4 Saturday night in front of the largest regular-season crowd in Padres history.

The attendance of 55,046 was the 12th crowd this season above 40,000, equaling the club mark set in 1984. The Padres drew 54,841 against Montreal on May 10, 1991.

With one out in the ninth, Jeff Reed tripled off the right-field wall against reliever Doug Bochtler (0-3). Owens then replaced Reed and scored when Jody Reed was unable to backhand Quinton McCracken’s grounder to second with the infield drawn in.

Marlins 7, Phillies 4

Miami

Charles Johnson celebrated his 25th birthday by hitting a two-run homer and going 3 for 3, leading Florida to its sixth straight victory.

The loss was the Phillies’ seventh straight, their longest skid since they lost eight straight last August.

Cubs 3, Cardinals 0

St. Louis

Steve Trachsel pitched four-hit ball for seven innings and Chicago beat St. Louis, only the fourth loss in 16 games for the Cardinals.

Trachsel (8-6) struck out seven and walked three. In his previous start, he was tagged by the Cardinals for nine hits and six earned runs in four innings at Wrigley Field.

Giants 7, Dodgers 6

San Francisco

Robby Thompson hit a two-run single with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving San Francisco a win over Los Angeles.

Thompson grounded a single through the hole into left to score two runs and make a winner of reliever Jose Bautista (2-1).

Astros 2, Braves 1

Houston

Derek Bell singled home the winning run off Greg Maddux with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and Houston beat Atlanta before the fourth-largest crowd in team history.

Maddux (10-7) had retired 23 straight batters and allowed just two hits entering the ninth in front of 49,674 fans.

Reds 9, Pirates 3

Pittsburgh

Hal Morris wound up scoring when his bases-loaded single was helped along by two Pittsburgh errors in the sixth inning, sending Cincinnati past Pirates.

Morris hit a solo home run in the eighth as the Reds beat Pittsburgh for the fifth time in six games. He is on a 15-for-31 tear.

Mets 4, Expos 1

New York

Paul Wilson pitched three-hit ball for eight innings and Todd Hundley hit his 26th home run, leading New York over Montreal.

Wilson, in his second start since coming off the disabled list because of tendinitis in his right shoulder, walked none and struck out three. The 23-year-old right-hander was the No. 1 pick in the 1994 draft.

Olympic exile

The Braves cleared out of Atlanta for the duration of the Summer Olympics, starting a 17-game, 19-day road trip Thursday in Houston that will be the longest journey in Atlanta history. The team will cover 5,593 air miles with stops in Houston, St. Louis, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.

The trip will cost the Braves an estimated $327,000.

It is the longest big-league road trip since the Astros were forced to take a 26-game journey in 1992 while the Republican National Convention was staged in the Astrodome.

The inconvenience hasn’t completely stolen Olympic excitement from the Braves. Outfielder Marquis Grissom said he can’t wait to watch sprinter Michael Johnson, but admitted he wasn’t sure what his Braves’ teammates will have on the clubhouse big-screens.

“Knowing these guys, they’ll probably want to watch a golf tournament or some damn car race,” Grissom said.