BASEBALL - DODGERS WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT .
MONTREAL 1996-08-28
Hideo Nomo allowed a run in seven innings for his fifth win in seven road starts and Greg Gagne capped a three-run fourth with a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed a 5-1 victory the Montreal Expos on Tuesday .
With their fifth straight win , the Dodgers moved a half-game ahead of the Expos at the top of the wild card hunt behind Nomo ( 13-10 ) , who allowed six hits and walked four with six strikeouts .
In San Francisco , Mike Williams allowed two runs in 7-1/3 innings and Benito Santiago and Ruben Amaro had RBI hits in the first inning as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2 .
Williams ( 5-12 ) , who snapped a personal three-game losing streak , allowed five hits , walked two and struck out five .
It was also Williams ' first win in three career decisions against San Francisco .
In Pittsburgh , Al Martin 's run-scoring single snapped a fifth-inning tie and Denny Neagle outdueled John Smoltz as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Atlanta Braves 3-2 .
The Braves led 2-1 entering the fifth , but the Pirates pushed across two runs against Smoltz ( 20-7 ) .
Neagle ( 14-6 ) beat the Braves for the third time this season , allowing two runs and six hits in eight innings .
In St Louis , Gary Sheffield and Devon White each drove in two runs and Mark Hutton scattered four hits over six innings to lead the Florida Marlins past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 .
White added a solo homer , his 11th , off reliever Mark Petkovsek with one out in the fifth , giving the Marlins a 6-0 lead .
In New York , Steve Finley 's three-run homer capped a four-run eighth inning and gave the San Diego Padres a 4-3 victory over New York , spoiling Bobby Valentine 's debut as Mets ' manager .
The rally made a winner out of reliever Willie Blair
Tony Gwynn and Wally Joyner had two hits apiece , helping the Padres to their third straight win .
First-place San Diego has won seven of its last eight games and improved to 34-20 against NL East opponents .
In Houston , Tony Eusebio 's eighth-inning sacrifice fly capped a comeback from a five-run deficit that gave the Houston Astros a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs .
The Astros trailed 5-0 after three innings , but scored three runs in the fourth and one in the sixth before taking the lead in the eighth .
In St Louis , Gary Sheffield and Devon White each drove in two runs and Mark Hutton scattered four hits over six innings to lead the Florida Marlins past the St. Louis Cardinals , 6-3 ,
Sheffield , who was benched Monday , delivered a double down the left-field line in the first , scoring Luis Castilla and Alex Arias to put the Marlins ahead to stay .
At Colorado , Hal Morris and Eric Davis each homered and John Smiley scattered six hits over 6 2/3 innings as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-3 , snapping a four-game losing streak .
The Reds took a one-run lead in the second inning when Morris led off with his 10th homer off starter Armando Reynoso ( 8-9 ) .
They increased their bulge to 4-0 in the third when Barry Larkin drew a one-out walk , Kevin Mitchell singled and Davis launched his 22nd homer over the right-field wall .