National League Roundup : Dawson Comes Back to Haunt Expos Again, 5-4

Andre Dawson always did hit well at Montreal, it’s just that now he’s doing it for the Chicago Cubs.

Dawson hit a three-run homer off Mark Langston Sunday in the first inning to carry the Cubs to a 5-4 victory over his former Expo teammates and a 1 1/2-game lead over Montreal in the NL East race.

“I hit it on the nose,” Dawson said. “He just made a mistake. He threw it in my swing.”

Dawson, who left the Expos and signed with the Cubs as a free agent in 1987, is 48 for 140 (.343) against his former team, with seven homers and 30 runs batted in.

Dawson’s homer, his sixth of the season, was a towering drive to center field.

“On Dawson, that was just a fastball up and out over the plate,” Langston said. “I told myself it was one pitch I didn’t want to give him. That was the ballgame right there.”

The Cubs made it 4-0 in the second on singles by Domingo Ramos and Jerome Walton and a run-scoring grounder by Dwight Smith.

Mike Bielecki (6-2) gave up three runs on five hits in six innings. Mitch Williams, the fifth Chicago pitcher, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and went 1 1/3 innings for his 17th save.

The Expos got a run back in the third on Langston’s double and Tom Foley’s RBI single, then made it 4-3 in the fifth on Langston’s single, Otis Nixon’s triple and a balk by Bielecki.

Vance Law singled home a run in the seventh to make it 5-3, and the Expos got only Tim Wallach’s RBI grounder out of their bases-loaded opportunity in the eighth.

San Francisco 2, Cincinnati 1--Brett Butler singled home the tie-breaking run in the seventh inning and the Giants got past the Reds at San Francisco.

The victory kept San Francisco in first place in the NL West, one game ahead of Houston and 2 1/2 games in front of the Reds.

Terry Kennedy led off the Giants’ seventh with a single against Jose Rijo (6-4). Donell Nixon ran for Kennedy and took third on a single by Jose Uribe before scoring on Butler’s third hit of the game.

Houston 5, San Diego 2--Craig Biggio and Ken Caminiti hit home runs, and Mike Scott scattered eight hits as the Astros downed the Padres at San Diego.

Scott (11-4), 16-8 lifetime against San Diego, struck out seven and walked one in his seventh complete game of the season.

Biggio’s fourth homer of the season came off Walt Terrell (4-9) with one out in the seventh inning and broke a 2-2 tie. Caminiti hit his fifth homer, a two-run shot, off reliever Mark Grant in the eighth.

San Diego’s Tony Gwynn went three-for-three with a walk and set a team record by reaching base in nine consecutive at-bats. Gwynn was four for four Saturday night.

Philadelphia 6, New York 5--Von Hayes led off the ninth inning with his 13th home run to lift the Phillies to a victory over the Mets at Philadelphia, breaking a four-game losing streak.

Hayes connected off Randy Myers (6-3) to snap the Mets’ four-game win streak. Jeff Parrett (3-2) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win, despite throwing a wild pitch that allowed New York’s Howard Johnson to score the tying run.

The Phillies scored four runs in the first against Ron Darling, who walked Juan Samuel to force in a run before a two-run double by Curt Ford and a sacrifice fly by Ricky Jordan.

Johnson hit his 16th home run in the third and Dave Magadan hit his third homer in the sixth to get the Mets back into the game.

Pittsburgh 12, St. Louis 4--Gary Redus hit a three-run homer and Jose Lind drove in three runs as the Pirates trounced the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Morris Madden (2-1), making his second major league start, pitched five innings to get the win, allowing five hits and four runs. Bill Landrum pitched the last four inning to earn his fourth save.

The Pirates snapped Joe Magrane’s streak of 22 straight shutout innings in the first. One run scored on Lind’s sacrifice fly and another on Magrane’s wild pitch.

Magrane (5-6) was chased in the second when the Pirates added four runs, capped by Redus’ homer, and Pittsburgh put the game away with four more runs in the third.