National League Roundup : Brenly’s Hit Leads Giants Past Cardinals

Bob Brenly, who had hit a home run earlier, singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning Saturday at San Francisco to give the Giants a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, and some new-found confidence.

The second one-run victory in two games over the team with the best record in the major leagues has the Giants talking about a division title. The Giants are a game above .500 but only 2 1/2 games out of first place in the West.

“I think we’re ready to make a move,” Brenly, a hot hitter this month, told United Press International. “I don’t think you have to get hot in this division. Lukewarm might be good enough to do it right now.”

Brenly, hitting .410 in his last 17 games after batting around .200 the first six weeks of the season, hit a two-out, two-strike single off Bill Dawley to score Mike Aldrete with the winning run.

“I was battling off a pitch I didn’t really want to hit,” Brenly said. “With two strikes, you don’t have much of a choice. He threw a slider and got it over the plate a little bit.”

Scott Garrelts (8-6) gave up just 1 hit and struck out 4 in 2 innings to gain the win after the Cardinals fought back from a 4-0 deficit and tied the game on a two-run homer by Jose Oquendo, his first, in the seventh.

Mike Krukow, who has not won since April 30, had a one-hitter and a 4-0 lead going into the sixth when the Cardinals missed a chance to break it open. Rod Booker, Vince Coleman and Ozzie Smith singled, but poor baserunning held St. Louis to one run.

The Cardinals tied it in the seventh, which Jack Clark started by drawing his sixth walk in two games. Willie McGee doubled Clark to third. Clark scored on an infield out before Oquendo hit a home run to tie the game.

“We self-destructed in the sixth, and that’s why we lost,” Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog said. “On Ozzie’s hit, I don’t know who the runners thought would catch the ball. Instead of having a run in and runners on first and third, we had the bases loaded and no runs in. Then (Tom) Herr hit into the double play, and we only got a run.”

Montreal 4, Cincinnati 3--Mike Fitzgerald hit a bases-loaded single in the 12th inning at Montreal to give the Expos the victory and move them within 7 1/2 games of the Cardinals in the East.

It was the daring baserunning of Tim Raines that set up the winning run. Raines singled to open the inning, and Tim Wallach walked. After Hubie Brooks struck out, Raines stole third on a 2-and-2 pitch to Andres Galarraga, and Wallach stole second. Galarraga was then intentionally walked.

With the outfield playing in, Fitzgerald hit a fly ball over left fielder Dave Collins’ head to drive in the winning run.

Terry Francona’s pinch home run had given the Reds a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth, but in the bottom of the inning, Wallach hit his 13th home run to tie it.

Houston 7, New York 5--Jim Deshaies was concerned about a shoulder problem when he took the mound at New York, and it didn’t appear he would be around long. In the first inning, Kevin McReynolds hit a three-run home run, which brought Astro Manager Hal Lanier rushing to the mound.

“I had been trying to be a finesse pitcher because of the stiffness in my shoulder,” Deshaies said. “When Lanier came to the mound, I told him I was going to air it out and hope it loosened up.”

Deshaies went on to pitch six strong innings, and some heavy hitting by his teammates enabled him to improve his record to 9-4. The victory moved the third-place Astros within 3 1/2 games of the Reds in the West.

Denny Walling hit a two-run triple in the fifth inning, and Glenn Davis followed with a two-run home run to put an end to the Mets’ three-game winning streak.

Atlanta 2, Philadelphia 1--David Palmer, just off the 21-day disabled, pitched brilliantly at Philadelphia to end the Phillies’ three-game winning streak.

Palmer (5-8), who was sidelined with a strained left elbow, held the Phillies to 2 hits in 6 innings. Gene Garber finished to get his ninth save, giving up a run in the eighth on a wild pitch.

Pittsburgh 9, San Diego 3-- Sid Bream drove in five runs, two with a single during a five-run first inning, as the Pirates beat the Padres at San Diego. Bream had three singles in five at-bats.

Brian Fisher (6-6) gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings and tied a career high with 8 strikeouts.