National League Roundup : Leary Helps Reds Beat Padres, End 10-Game Losing Streak

Tim Leary, the Dodger pitcher traded to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Kal Daniels, helped his new team pull out of its longest slump in 23 years Thursday.

Rolando Roomes drove in two runs with a home run and a single, and Leary gave up eight hits in eight innings as Cincinnati ended a 10-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at Cincinnati.

The win was the Reds’ 11th in their last 42 games. The losing string was their longest since they dropped 11 in a row in 1966.

“It’s a big relief,” said Roomes, who also stole a base and scored twice. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had an opportunity to win. It feels great.”

Said Manager Pete Rose: “It’s rough to have to go home every night losing.”

Leary gave up a solo homer to Luis Salazar as he got his first victory in two starts for the Reds. He also drove in two runs with a single and a bases-loaded walk.

Leary, obtained from the Dodgers July 18, lost his only other start for the Reds and hadn’t won since June 21. He is 7-8.

“It was nice to get the six-run support,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about one guy or two guys getting on.”

Roomes put the Reds ahead to stay with a solo homer in the second, his sixth of the season. Singles by Jeff Reed, Ron Oester and Leary produced another run in the inning against Greg Harris (3-6), who has lost all three of his starts.

Leary’s single was his first run-scoring hit of the season.

Pittsburgh 10, New York 8--Jay Bell, batting .128, hit a three-run pinch triple that capped a five-run seventh inning as the Pirates beat the Mets for Pittsburgh’s first three-game sweep in New York in eight years.

Bell tripled off relief ace Randy Myers as the Pirates, who wasted a 5-0 first-inning lead, won their fifth consecutive game.

“We needed something like that,” Bell said. “They are a great team, and this is something we can build on.”

The last time the Pirates swept a three-game series in New York was April 28-30, 1981.

The Mets trail Montreal by five games in the East.