NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Glavine, Braves Zero In Again

Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox has mastered the understatement.

“Our pitching is starting to come around,” Cox joked after the Braves shut out the Houston Astros for the second game in a row and Tom Glavine won his eighth consecutive decision, 3-0, Saturday at Houston.

Atlanta pitchers have thrown 19 consecutive shutout innings against Houston and lead the majors with 16 shutouts. The Braves also lead the majors in complete games with 19.

The Braves’ eight-game winning streak is their longest of the season.

Glavine (14-3) is tied for the league lead in complete games and shutouts and leads the league in victories. He struck out seven and walked one in seven innings. Marvin Freeman and Alejandro Pena each pitched one hitless inning, Pena earning his ninth save.

“He got a little gassed because he had thrown quite a few pitches, but he threw awfully well,” Cox said.

Glavine hit well too, tripling and scoring the Braves’ first run.

“I didn’t have great stuff so I got in trouble now and then,” Glavine said. “But I made the pitches when I had to, and that’s the key to staying around in this league.”

Jimmy Jones (4-4) took the loss.

Cincinnati 3, St. Louis 2--Hal Morris’ two-run double completed a three-run first inning against Bob Tewksbury, and Jose Rijo and the Reds’ bullpen made it stand for a victory at Cincinnati.

The Reds maintained their one-game lead over Atlanta in the NL West by winning for the second time in six games.

Rijo (7-6) won his fourth consecutive decision. He gave up six hits in six innings.

Bip Roberts and Dave Martinez opened the first inning with singles, and Barry Larkin’s ground out drove in the first run. Tewksbury (9-4) walked Paul O’Neill--the first time he walked a batter since June 15--and Morris doubled to right-center for a 3-0 lead.

Pittsburgh 4, Chicago 0--Bob Walk, making his first start since June 1, gave up two hits in six innings and improved his record against the Cubs to 13-3 as the Pirates won at Pittsburgh.

Walk (3-3), who has been on the disabled list twice for a total of 66 days this season and has been in the bullpen since being activated June 19, won his first game since he beat the Cubs on April 14.

Bob Patterson worked the last three innings for his fifth save, finishing the Pirates’ 14th shutout of the season.

Barry Bonds’ RBI double highlighted a three-run fifth inning against Mike Morgan (7-4).

The Pirates have won seven of 10 games, and are 18-3 against the Cubs at home since 1990.

New York 3, San Francisco 0--The Mets blanked the Giants for the second game in a row as Sid Fernandez pitched four-hit ball over 7 2/3 innings at New York.

David Cone defeated the Giants, 1-0, on Friday night.

Fernandez (8-8) won for the fourth time in five decisions, throwing 134 pitches before giving way to Lee Guetterman with two on and two out in the eighth inning. Guetterman struck out Will Clark, ending the threat.

Fernandez, who struck out nine, also had two hits, including a double off Trevor Wilson (6-10) in a two-run fifth inning.

San Diego 10, Montreal 3--Rookie Frank Seminara won his fifth consecutive decision, beating the Expos at Montreal.

Seminara (5-2) gave up one run on seven hits in seven innings. In his last six starts, he has five victories and got no decision in a 1-0 loss to St. Louis.

Montreal’s Dennis Martinez (9-9) lost his third consecutive game, giving up four runs, three earned, on six hits in 6 1/3 innings.