NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Williams Makes a Smart Move for the Phillies

Many people think Mitch Williams, the bullpen ace of the Philadelphia Phillies, is a bit of a character. Off the mound he does and says unusual things.

But in a game Williams has never been accused of giving anything but his best. His smart move Sunday at Philadelphia saved the Phillies’ 5-4 victory over the New York Mets.

Sent in to protect a one-run lead during the ninth, Williams was in trouble. The Mets put runners on first and third with one out and Bobby Bonilla was at the plate.

Williams picked off rookie Kevin Baez at first base, then struck out Bonilla to end the game.

“I was really kind of lucky,” Williams said. “I knew there was a good chance Bonilla would at least tie the game. I had to do something. My eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when they brought in the rookie to run. I knew he had never seen my move.”

Met Manager Jeff Torborg, who saw his team blow Dwight Gooden’s 4-3 lead during the seventh inning, seemed shocked by the baserunning mistake.

“I didn’t know what happened,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. It’s an inexcusable play. You just can’t do that in that spot. I’m sure he feels worse than I do.”

It was a costly loss for the Phillies. Rookie starter Andy Ashby broke a bone at the base of his right thumb and will be out at least two months. The Mets’ Mackey Sasser hit a line drive during the fourth inning and it caught Ashby on the thumb of his pitching hand.

Atlanta 3, Houston 2--Terry Pendleton, last year’s batting champion, is starting to hit and the Astros are finding life on the road can be tough.

Pendleton, who had two doubles and scored both runs in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Atlanta, homered and singled to raise his average to .288.

Damon Berryhill also homered for the Braves and Otis Nixon, in his third game back from his lengthy suspension, singled in what proved to be the winning run during the fourth inning.

The wind, blowing in at Atlanta, probably saved the Braves. With two out in the ninth Benny DiStefano hit an Alejandro Pena fastball that Nixon caught against the wall in left.

“I thought it was out,” Nixon said, “but the wind held it up.”

San Diego 2, Cincinnati 1--Left-hander Craig Lefferts, hammered in his first two starts at San Diego, made amends and put the Padres within half a game of first place in the West.

Lefferts, a converted reliever, gave up one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Jose Melendez and Randy Myers finished to end the Reds’ four-game winning streak.

The only run off Lefferts was Billy Hatcher’s home run leading off the sixth. It was the Reds’ first home run in 10 games.

Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 4--Mike Morgan still doesn’t have a victory for the Cubs, but he avoided his third defeat.

Joe Girardi came through with a bases-loaded single with one out in the 10th inning at Chicago and the Cubs handed the Pirates only their fourth loss in 18 games.

Morgan, a 14-game winner for the Dodgers last season, gave up six hits and four runs 6 2/3 innings.

Morgan retired 10 of the first 11 Pirates, but the Pirates got their first hits and three runs during the fourth. The big hit was Steve Buechele’s two-run double.

Because of back injuries, Girardi played in only 21 games last season and hit only .191.

“This is the situation everybody wants to be in,” Girardi said. “Last year was such a struggle. I really got down. This really gave me a lift.”

Montreal 6, St. Louis 0--Chris Haney endeared himself to the rest of the Expos’ pitching staff when he pitched his first shutout, a five-hitter at St. Louis.

The Expos and Cardinals battled through 17 innings Saturday night in a game that ended about 12 hours before Sunday’s game started.

“Our bullpen is basically shot,” said Haney, who also had a two-run single. “We needed a complete game.”

Haney (2-1), who gave up seven runs in four innings in his previous outing against Pittsburgh, lowered his earned-run average from 8.18 to 4.50.