Neagle Gains 16th Victory
National League
Streaking Denny Neagle pitched 7-2/3 scoreless innings Thursday night to become the National League’s first 16-game winner as the Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 in Atlanta.
Neagle (16-2) ran his scoreless inning streak to 23-2/3 innings in sending the Cardinals to their fifth straight loss and ninth in 10 games.
Neagle matched his career-high 16 wins of a year ago when he was 16-9 with Pittsburgh and the Braves.
Dodgers 9, Expos 4 Montreal
Mike Piazza went 4 for 5 with a homer and three RBIs and Los Angeles survived a shaky outing by Hideo Nomo to beat Montreal.
Los Angeles, which won for the second time in five games after a seven-game winning streak, pulled within 1-1/2 games of first-place San Francisco in the N.L. West.
Cubs 6, Giants 3 Chicago
As Chicago announcer Harry Caray would say, they were dancing in the streets of Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Rookie Jeremi Gonzalez outpitched countryman Wilson Alvarez and Chicago beat San Francisco, stopping the Giants’ four-game winning streak.
Gonzalez (8-5) beat Alvarez (1-1) in a matchup of pitchers from Maracaibo, Venezuela, population 3.5 million.
Pirates 5, Marlins 1 Pittsburgh
Esteban Loaiza, who didn’t retire a batter as a starter the night before, and Marc Wilkins each pitched three shutout relief innings following Francisco Cordova’s ejection as Pittsburgh beat Florida.
Mets 12, Rockies 4 New York
Carlos Baerga, starting for the first time in eight games, had four hits and drove in four runs, leading New York over Colorado.
Baerga, who had been sidelined for six games with a strained left rib cage before pinch-hitting Wednesday night, was 4 for 4 with a homer and double. He added an RBI single in a six-run seventh inning.
Phillies 6, Astros 5 Philadelphia
Rex Hudler, in his first game since June 9, hit a tying home run in the seventh inning and then had an RBI single in the 11th as Philadelphia beat Houston.
Reds 7, Padres 0 Cincinnati
Brett Tomko pitched seven shutout innings and Cincinnati pounded Danny Jackson in his return to San Diego’s rotation.
Clearing the bases
The 4-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter of Mets outfielder Carl Everett were placed in foster care Thursday after a child-care worker at a Shea Stadium playroom noticed bruises on the girl, police said. However, police said no charges will be filed and the children will eventually be returned to Everett and his wife.
Cincinnati optioned outfielder Curtis Goodwin to the minor leagues after he stormed out of the clubhouse, angered by manager Jack McKeon’s suggestion that he needs to change his attitude.