Pittsburgh Rookie Stifles L.A. In Replacement Role
National League
Rookie Marc Wilkins, forced to make his first major league start because Denny Neagle had back spasms, pitched five shutout innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 Wednesday night at Los Angeles.
Al Martin homered and drove in three runs for Pittsburgh, which has won a season-high four straight. Raul Mondesi went 4 for 4 with a triple for the Dodgers.
Wilkins (1-0) had 4.05 ERA in nine relief appearances before being pressed into a starting role when Neagle’s back began bothering him earlier in the day. He held the Dodgers to two hits and one walk, striking out four.
Wilkins, 25, also had his first major league hit and run batted in, singling home a run during a four-run fourth.
Eric Karros ended the Dodgers’ streak of 29 innings without an earned run, dating back to Saturday, with a solo homer off Jon Lieber in the seventh. The homer also ended a streak of 23 scoreless innings by the Pirates’ staff.
Francisco Cordova, the Pirates’ third pitcher in the ninth, recorded the last three outs for his seventh save.
Martin’s homer off Pedro Astacio (3-4) opened the scoring in the third inning. Charlie Hayes added an RBI single in that inning.
Padres 6, Cardinals 4
San Diego
Tony Gwynn broke out of a rare slump with his first homer of the season, hitting a three-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that rallied San Diego past St. Louis.
Expos 2, Marlins 1
Miami
Rheal Cormier (3-3) pitched 7-2/3 shutout innings, and Mike Lansing drove in one run with his league-leading 20th double as Montreal beat Florida.
Braves 8, Mets 6
Atlanta
Pinch-hitter Tyler Houston hit a two-out, bases-loaded triple in the seventh and Atlanta rallied from a 6-5 deficit to beat New York.
Giants 15, Reds 4
Cincinnati
Matt Williams and Marvin Benard drove in four runs apiece, and Mark Gardner (7-1) won his fifth straight as San Francisco scored in each of the first seven innings to beat Cincinnati.
Cubs 9, Phillies 6
Chicago
Sammy Sosa hit three homers that accounted for five runs, personally bringing Chicago from a four-run deficit to beat Philadelphia.
Ryne Sandberg hit his 12th homer for the Cubs.
Astros 4, Rockies 1
Houston
Donne Wall (2-0) came within one out of his major league shutout, but still finished for his first complete game as Houston beat Colorado.
Good break for Joyner
The cast won’t come off Wally Joyner’s broken left thumb for four weeks.
That’s OK, Joyner figures. He can still take ground balls with his right hand, which he did Tuesday and plans to do every day until his cast comes off.
“I can still walk and still put a glove on my hand,” said the left-handed Joyner, who broke the thumb Sunday in Philadelphia. “I’ll do whatever I can so it’s not a big rehab once I can start swinging.”
Joyner’s hitting and defense have been a big reason the Padres have been in first place in the N.L. West for 63 days. But they’ll have to play without him for the next 6-8 weeks, including rehab time once the cast comes off.
He broke his thumb when he jammed it sliding into second base while trying to break up a double play.
The good news was that Joyner didn’t injure the ulnar collateral ligament, which he did in 1981.
Joyner is hitting .321 with 33 RBIs.
Clearing the bases
The Cubs have 13th comeback wins. … Chipper Jones of Atlanta had four hits in a game for the eighth time in his career. … Florida’s Kevin Brown has a major league-leading 2.09 ERA, yet is just 4-4. … The Dodgers’ Tom Lasorda tied Dick Williams for 12th place on the career list with his 3,023rd game as a big league manager. Lasorda and Williams both played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954.
Cincinnati’s Chad Mottola hit his first major league homer, a solo shot, in the fourth. … San Diego’s Steve Finley recorded his 1,000th career hit with a double in the eighth.