BASEBALL - CUBS EDGE BRAVES WITH RUN IN TOP OF NINTH .
ATLANTA 1996-08-25
Brian McRae singled in Tyler Houston in the top of the ninth inning to snap a tie as the Chicago Cubs avoided a three-game sweep with 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday .
The Braves scored four runs in the ninth for a 6-5 victory on Saturday .
Kevin Foster ( 5-2 ) won his second straight start , allowing two runs and six hits with two walks and three strikeouts over eight innings .
" The biggest thing was my fastball , I was able to rotate it pretty good , " Foster said . "
Also , I was able to keep my changeup down . "
At Colorado , Vinny Castilla homered twice and drove in four runs and Larry Walker went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI as the Colorado Rockies outslugged the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-9 in the rubber game of a three-game series .
Castilla 's first homer of the game , a solo shot in the seventh off reliever Marc Wilkins ( 3-1 ) extended Colorado 's lead to 9-7 .
He added a three-run homer in the eighth off John Ericks to make it 13-8 .
At Florida , Edgar Renteria 's two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Jesus Tavarez with the winning run as the Florida Marlins edged the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 .
" Right after Edgar made contact , I knew I had to score , " said Tavarez . "
I knew I would score even if he fielded it cleanly , he could n't throw me out . "
" Edgar is a tremendous player right now , " said Florida manager John Boles . "
But I ca n't wait to see how good he 'll be when he grows up . "
In San Francisco , Osvaldo Fenandez fired a seven-hitter and Trenidad Hubbard belted a two-run homer as the San Francisco Giants ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the Montreal Expos , 7-2 .
Fernandez ( 6-13 ) allowed two runs , walked one and struck out eight for his second career complete game , both against Montreal .
In Los Angeles , Greg Gagne had a run-scoring single and Chad Curtis drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 6-5 victory and a three-game sweep of the New York Mets .
" It was one of these games where you get three straight pinch-hits and a walk of a pinch-hitter , that 's how you win pennants , " Dodgers manager Bill Russell said . "
Mike Piazza
In San Diego , Steve Finley and Jody Reed drove in three runs apiece as the San Diego Padres built a six-run lead after three innings and cruised to an 11-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies .
Ken Caminiti added two RBI for the Padres , who have won six of their last seven games and remained one game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West .
In Houston , Jeff Bagwell homered and Donne Wall allowed one run over seven innings as the Houston Astros defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 .
Wall ( 8-4 ) allowed three hits , walked two and struck out seven as the Astros moved 1-1/2 games ahead of the Cardinals for the lead in the National League Central .
He left the game with a knot in his right shoulder .