Red-Hot Braves Discover Reds Dressed Fit To Kill
National League
Javy Lopez hit a grand slam and Kenny Lofton went 5 for 6 Monday night as the hot-hitting Atlanta Braves rolled to a 15-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, who altered their road uniforms to honor Jackie Robinson.
The Braves batted around in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings, scoring four each in the fourth and fifth. They got five in the seventh, when Lopez hit the first grand slam of his career.
Michael Tucker set a career-high with four RBIs.
Atlanta, which had 19 hits, is batting .383 over the last five games. Cincinnati pitchers made things worse with eight walks.
Lofton and Tucker, acquired near the end of spring training, continued to pay off at the top of the batting order. The Braves have won nine of 10 games since opening the season with two losses.
Rockies 10, Expos 8 Denver
Andres Galarraga broke a sixth-inning tie with a two-run single and Vinny Castilla followed with his sixth homer as Colorado beat Montreal.
Colorado’s Larry Walker increased his league-leading RBI total to 18 by driving in three runs. Walker, batting .471 with five homers and nine RBIs against his former team, singled twice, doubled and walked.
Giants 3, Mets 2 New York
A day after spraining his neck in a collision, Jeff Kent homered against his former team again, leading San Francisco over New York.
Kent had a two-run homer and an RBI double in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, then crashed head first into the third-base bag and missed the remainder of the day.
Monday, he hit an RBI single in the third inning and a two-run homer in the eighth
Astros 4, Cards 2 (10) St. Louis
Pinch-hitter Bill Spiers doubled in two runs off Dennis Eckersley in the 10th inning, leading Houston over St. Louis.
U.S., Japan negotiate
The 1966 treaty between the major leagues and Japanese baseball needs revisions, both sides agreed in New York without deciding what changes are necessary.
Yoshiaki Kanai, the executive secretary of the Japanese commissioner’s office, met with N.L. president Len Coleman, A.L. president Gene Budig and Player Relations Committee head Randy Levine.
Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu is at the center of a dispute because his team, the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japan’s Pacific League, signed an agreement giving the San Diego Padres exclusive negotiating rights. Irabu wants to sign with the New York Yankees, and has refused to deal with the Padres.
Clearing the bases
Colorado’s Vinny Castilla is the N.L. player of the week… . Deion Sanders tied a Reds team record by stealing four bases… . The material cut from the Reds sleeves will be autographed by the players and auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting the Jackie Robinson Foundation.