Know-How Carries Mets Pitcher Jones

Bobby Jones knows all too well that he does not have overpowering stuff, even though he leads the N.L. in victories.

Jones won his fourth consecutive decision, pitching the New York Mets past the Colorado Rockies 3-1 Saturday.

Jones (7-2) scattered seven hits in eight innings, striking out four and walking three.

“I know I don’t have great pitches, but the thing that has got me to where I am is knowing how to pitch,” Jones said. “I have confidence I can throw any pitch where I want it to go.”

Braves 11, Cardinals 6

Atlanta

One night after being no-hit for 8-2/3 innings, Atlanta broke loose for 19 hits - five by Kenny Lofton - to beat St. Louis.

John Smoltz (5-3), whose scheduled start was pushed back one day by the flu, had two hits to lift his batting average to .435 (10 for 23). Jeff Blauser added three hits, including a two-run homer.

Lofton went 5 for 5 for a major league-leading 66 hits.

Phillies 4, Astros 2

Philadelphia

Curt Schilling allowed three hits and struck out 11 in eight innings to lead Philadelphia to a win over Houston.

Schilling (6-3) raised his major league-leading strikeout total to 79. In his last two games, the right-hander has struck out 23.

Padres 6, Reds 2

Cincinnati

Tony Gwynn had three hits, including a two-run homer, as San Diego ended a four-game losing streak with a victory over frustrated Cincinnati.

Reds manager Ray Knight coached third base for a second consecutive game and was ejected for arguing a call with umpire Jerry Layne. Knight kicked dirt on third base, uprooted it and slammed it down before leaving.

Knight is showing the strain of the Reds’ worst start (12-28) in 47 years.

Dodgers 8, Expos 3

Montreal

Hideo Nomo struck out a season-high 11 in 8-1/3 innings, and doubled to ignite a four-run third inning that carried Los Angeles past Montreal.

Nomo (5-2) allowed six hits to win his third consecutive decision and stop Montreal’s five-game winning streak.

Marlins 11, Pirates 1

Pittsburgh

Pitcher Pat Rapp homered for one of Florida’s season-high 19 hits and the Marlins defeated Pittsburgh for their sixth consecutive victory.

The Marlins, now nine games over .500 for the first time in their five-year history, have won the first two games of manager Jim Leyland’s three-game homecoming to Pittsburgh.

Giants 4, Cubs 1

Chicago

Rick Wilkins, who entered the game as a replacement for injured Damon Berryhill, hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning as San Francisco beat Chicago.

Wilkins’ third homer followed a leadoff walk to Mark Lewis and came off Amaury Telemaco (0-3), who had been working on a two-hit shutout.

Clearing the bases

Cincinnati third baseman Willie Greene severely twisted his left ankle during infield practice before the game against San Diego and first baseman Eduardo Perez also had to be scratched from the lineup at the last minute because of blurry vision. … Pittsburgh’s Kevin Elster, who broke his left wrist in a first-base collision with Florida’s Kurt Abbott on Friday, underwent several hours of surgery Saturday and will miss at least three months - or, nearly the rest of the season.

New York stopper John Franco has not allowed a run in his last 16 games, spanning 17-2/3 innings. … After making three errors in his first four games, Phillies shortstop Kevin Stocker has committed only two in the last 36.

The big league record for five-hit games in a season is four, shared by Willie Keeler (1897), Ty Cobb (1922), Stan Musial (1948) and Tony Gwynn (1993). Atlanta’s Kenny Lofton has three this year.