NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Pirates Earn Split With Padres

On a team with players such as Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke, the no-name bullpen of Vicente Palacios, Bob Patterson, Bob Kipper, Neal Heaton, Stan Belinda and Bill Landrum rarely gets much attention.

But Monday night the Pittsburgh Pirate relief pitchers did what the starters failed to do--they shut down San Diego’s hitting by pitching five scoreless innings to help beat the Padres, 5-3, at Three Rivers Stadium.

“We’re ready to go out there and pitch two or three innings every night,” said Palacios (4-2), who pitched three hitless innings after starter Bob Walk left in the fifth with a strained hamstring.

The Pirate bullpen is a combined 8-2 and hasn’t lost since April 15, Pittsburgh’s seventh game of the season.

Patterson, Palacios and Landrum limited the Padres to four hits over the final six innings. The Pirates split the four game-series despite being outhit, 50-25.

Bonds had a two-run single and Jeff King hit a two-run home run as the Pirates scored four unearned runs in the first against Dennis Rasmussen (2-1), who lowered his earned-run average to 0.30 despite the loss. Rasmussen has allowed one earned run in 31 innings since coming off the disabled list May 25. Bonds’ single broke Rasmussen’s 19-inning scoreless streak.

Tony Gwynn failed to get a hit, ending his 15-game hitting streak, the longest in the National League this season.

Montreal 7, Atlanta 1--Dennis Martinez gave up one run in seven innings and Dave Martinez hit a home run to lead the Expos at Atlanta.

Ron Gant hit Martinez’s first pitch of the game for his 11th home run. But Martinez (8-4) settled down and allowed only six hits in seven innings. Scott Ruskin earned his fourth save.

The Expos tied the score, 1-1, in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Ivan Calderon off John Smoltz (2-7). They scored twice in a bizarre fourth inning on a wild pitch and bases-loaded walk to Delino DeShields.

DeShields, who had hit two singles earlier, was ejected by home plate umpire Terry Tata after flinging his bat about 60 feet and striking the stands near the Expo dugout after drawing the walk.

St. Louis 3, San Francisco 2--Milt Thompson’s two-run pinch-hit triple, a line drive that sailed over the head of three-time Gold Glove winner Willie McGee, tied the score in the seventh inning and Pedro Guerrero followed with a sacrifice fly to lead the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Tom Pagnozzi and Jose Oquendo started the seventh with singles off Jose Segura (0-1) before Thompson’s drive went to the wall to score two. One out later, Thompson scored on Guerrero’s fly ball to center.

Scott Terry (1-0) worked two-thirds of an inning, and Lee Smith, the fourth St. Louis pitcher, worked the ninth for his 14th save.

The Cardinals’ major league record-tying streak of 15 consecutive errorless games came to an end in the first inning when Ray Lankford missed McGee’s pop fly. Cincinnati also went 15 games without an error in 1975.

Cincinnati 9, Philadelphia 3--It was an easy day on the mound for Jose Rijo.

Backed by multi-hit games from four players, including a three-run home run and four runs batted in by Paul O’Neill, Rijo pitched a four-hitter at Riverfront Stadium.

Rijo (5-2) struck out five, walked two and allowed only one earned run. It was Rijo’s first complete game since Sept. 26 against Atlanta and the first for the Reds since Jack Armstrong pitched a four-hitter against San Francisco on May 23.

Houston 6, New York 4--Jeff Bagwell hit a two-run double to tie the score and Rafael Ramirez followed with a two-run single off reliever John Franco to lead the Astros at Houston.

Dwight Gooden, hit hard in his previous four starts, gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings before Franco (1-5) relieved. Gooden entered the game having allowed 42 hits and 23 runs in his past 22 1/3 innings.