NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Atlanta Pitcher Lilliquist Hits 2 Homers in Victory Over Mets

The Mets are wondering just how much more can go wrong in Atlanta.

Monday night their pitcher, David Cone, held the ball and argued with an umpire while two runs scored.

Tuesday, they lost their fourth consecutive game, 5-2, because Derek Lilliquist, a pitcher who had never hit a home run, hit two of them and pitched brilliantly, too.

Lilliquist, a left-hander who lost his first three starts, gave up only three hits in seven innings.

“Everybody told me what a great hitter he was,” Ron Darling, who served up the homers, said. “And I had to go out and prove it.”

Lilliquist would rather prove himself as a pitcher. “I’ve got to pitch before I can hit,” he said. “I enjoy hitting, though.”

The last Brave pitcher to hit two home runs in a game was Tony Cloninger in 1966. He hit two grand slams.

Charley Kerfeld, just obtained from Houston, worked the last two innings for his first save in four years.

Philadelphia 4, Cincinnati 2--Von Hayes, forced to cut down on his swing after being hit in the ribs by a pitch the night before, hit a tiebreaking home run, a double and a single to lead the Phillies at Cincinnati.

Reliever Norm Charlton of the Reds threw the pitch in the eighth inning Monday night that hit Hayes. The outfielder gestured angrily toward the mound and the Phillies were outraged by the pitch, which came five innings after the Reds’ Barry Larkin was hit by a breaking ball from Ken Howell.

“I didn’t get much sleep, so I figured somebody was going to pay,” said Hayes, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games. “It was very, very frustrating what happened last night.”

Hayes homered in the seventh off Tim Birtsas (1-1) to break a 2-2 tie. John Kruk also homered later in the inning.

“The home run was a surprise,” Hayes said. “I had to cut down on my swing, but Birtsas was tiring and had lost his fastball.”

The Reds, leading the West, have lost two pitchers in three days. Rick Mahler had to leave when he pulled a thigh muscle running out a ground ball in the third inning. Sunday, Danny Jackson suffered a bruised forearm and is out two weeks.

Birtsas, who had pitched six innings in four previous appearances, was pitching his fourth inning when he gave up the homers.

Barry Larkin, who was hitting .600 after eight games (all won by the Reds), is three for 30 (.100) in his last eight. He is hitting .364.

Montreal 2, Houston 1--Zane Smith is a pretty good hitter for a pitcher, but when he was summoned to pinch-hit in the 13th inning at Montreal, it was a desperate measure.

There was a runner on second and one out as Smith batted for Drew Hall (2-2) against Houston’s Larry Andersen.

Smith pulled an 0-1 slider into the right-center field gap, where Eric Yelding missed a diving attempt, allowing Otis Nixon to score.

“I don’t think any pitcher expects to hit in a situation like that,” said Smith, three for nine this season. “I was just trying to make contact and I guess I hit it in the right place.

“It was just kind of weird to be up there in a situation like that.”

St. Louis 2, San Diego 1--Bryn Smith (3-2) pitched a strong game into the eighth inning and Denny Walling singled in the winning run to lead the Cardinals at San Diego.

The Padres, who lost for the fifth time in a row, walked Pedro Guerrero, who earlier homered, with a runner on second and two out. Walling lined a single to left.

Smith gave up five hits in 7 2/3 innings. Scott Terry worked the ninth for his third save.

Chicago 7, San Francisco 4--The Giants’ problems at Candlestick Park just keep getting worse.

Shawon Dunston, Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg hit home runs as the Cubs handed the Giants their 10th loss in 12 games at home.

The Giants won the West Division title last year when they had the best home record, 53-28.