National League Roundup : Pirates Draw 4th Straight Blank in New York

New York, N.Y., is not a wonderful town for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates were shut out for the fourth straight time at Shea Stadium Saturday as Met pitcher Sid Fernandez (6-8) recorded 12 strikeouts through 7 innings to hand Pittsburgh a 3-0 defeat before 50,815 fans, the largest Met home crowd of the season.

The Pirates haven’t scored in New York since the seventh inning of their game on June 20, a drought that spans 38 innings.

Howard Johnson hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, and Kevin Elster had two RBIs as the Mets increased their lead in the East over the Pirates to four games.

Johnson said: “If anything, we’re sending ourselves a message that when we’ve had to win, we’ve been able to win.”

With the 12 strikeouts, Fernandez equaled his own season high and that of the National League. He walked three and allowed four hits before giving way to Randy Myers, who pitched two innings for his 16th save.

The Pirates lost the first game of the four-game series with the Mets, 1-0, Friday and are hitting just .181 in their last eight games.

Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said: “They’re (the Mets) hitting a little bit and we’re not hitting at all.”

The Mets have won six of the eight meetings between the clubs this season.

Saturday’s win was the 16th shutout of the season for the Mets, the most in the major leagues.

The Pirates’ Brian Fisher (6-8) gave up two runs and six hits in six innings and took the loss.

San Francisco 2, Atlanta 1--Will Clark drove in his National League-leading 78th run with a double in the eighth to lead the Giants to victory over the Braves at San Francisco.

San Francisco pitcher Kelly Downs (11-8) gave up one run on six hits, walked four and struck out five in eight-plus innings to win his sixth game in his last seven decisions.

The Giants made it 2-0 when Brett Butler led off the eighth with a single and scored from second base one out later when Clark doubled down the left-field line.

The Braves’ Dale Murphy scored in the ninth when Andres Thomas singled off Downs. Giant reliever Craig Lefferts came on to close out the game for his seventh save.

Montreal 2, St. Louis 1--Tim Wallach had a sacrifice fly, and Wallace Johnson hit a two-out RBI single as the Expos rallied for two runs in the ninth inning at Montreal.

Andres Galarraga of the Expos led off the ninth by ripping a double into right field, then moved to third base on Tracy Jones’ ground-out. Cardinal reliever Todd Worrell (4-9) replaced starter John Tudor, only to have Wallach lift his sacrifice fly to center field to tie the score.

Mike Fitzgerald followed with a double down the left-field line and scored when Johnson, pinch-hitting for Luis Rivera, singled to left field to make a winner of Joe Hesketh (3-1).

Tudor yielded 6 hits, struck out 5 and walked 2 in 8 innings.

Philadelphia 3, Chicago 2--Juan Samuel hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning at Philadelphia, enabling the Phillies to break a four-game losing streak.

Don Carman (8-5) gave up 2 runs and 4 hits in 6 innings for the win, and Steve Bedrosian pitched the final two innings for his 20th save.

With the score tied, 1-1, in the sixth, Milt Thompson was walked by Al Nipper (1-4) to open the inning. Thompson and Nipper exchanged words, both dugouts emptied but the umpires kept control. Samuel then hit a 1-1 pitch for his 10th home run of the season.

The Cubs scored in the seventh on Damon Berryhill’s RBI single, but it wasn’t enough.

Cincinnati 2, San Diego 0--Tom Browning (10-4) allowed 4 hits in 8 innings, and John Franco set a major league record for most saves in a month to lead the Reds over the Padres at San Diego.

Browning entered the ninth with a two-hitter but yielded singles to Mark Parent and Stanley Jefferson. Franco relieved Browning and registered two outs for his 13th save in July and his 22nd overall, the most in the National League.

Sparky Lyle, Bruce Sutter and Bob Stanley had shared the major league mark for saves in a month at 12. Franco has saves in all of his last 12 appearances.