National League Roundup : Acquisition of LaPoint Paying Off for Pirates

In their struggle to keep within range of the New York Mets in the National League East, the Pittsburgh Pirates appear to have made the right move when they acquired left-hander Dave LaPoint from the Chicago White Sox.

LaPoint, in his second start for the Pirates, pitched another strong game, and Andy Van Slyke’s two-run home run in the seventh was enough to help LaPoint earn a 2-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night at Pittsburgh.

Van Slyke’s 22nd home run ended the Pirates’ scoreless string at 25 innings.

LaPoint gave up just four hits, three of them infield hits, before Jim Gott took over with two outs in the eighth and earned his 24th save.

LaPoint, who also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres, has not given up an earned run in 14 innings since his return to the NL. His first victory was 2-1. He has a streak of five wins in a row, having won his last three for the White Sox before they sent him to Pittsburgh for Mike Diaz.

“Dave’s been exactly what we thought he would be. He’s a veteran who knows how to pitch, who doesn’t panic in a tough situation,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said.

“He proves you don’t have to throw 93 or 94 miles per hour to win. He’s just like (Bob) Ojeda, (John) Tudor, (Bob) Knepper and (Frank) Tanana. They’re all over baseball. They use their heads and know what they’re doing. Those guys are pitchers.”

Rookie left-hander Norm Charlton, making his second major league start, was working on a one-hitter when Jose Lind blooped a double down the left-field line to open the seventh. Van Slyke then hit a 2-and-1 pitch over the right-field wall for his third home run against a left-hander this season.

“I was just trying to move Jose over to third,” Van Slyke said. “I wasn’t even thinking about a home run. We have had so much trouble scoring, I was just trying to help get any kind of run.

“I raised my average to .178 against lefties. That will send a scare around the league.”

Montreal 2, San Francisco 1--Hubie Brooks drove in Rex Hudler with a two-out, pinch-single in the 13th inning at San Francisco as the Expos ended their nine-game losing streak.

The Expos, 29-6 in extra-inning games over the last two seasons, ended the Giants’ six-game winning streak. The Giants hit into five double plays.

Scott Garrelts (3-7) walked Nelson Santovenia to open the 13th, and Hudler pinch ran. Luis Rivera sacrificed Hudler to second, and Hudler stole third, his 24th steal in 26 attempts.

Mike Fitzgerald pinch-hit and struck out before Brooks, pinch-hitting for only the second time this season, singled to center.

The Expos’ Andy McGaffigan (5-0) pitched two innings of hitless relief, and Joe Hesketh pitched the 13th inning for his fifth save.

The Giants’ Will Clark hit 25th homer, raising his league-leading RBI total to 91, in the seventh inning.

Chicago 9, Houston 3--The Cubs had seven hits and seven runs in the seventh inning at Chicago to end a two-game losing streak.

Jamie Moyer survived a rocky start to improve his record to 7-12. Although he gave up 12 hits, Moyer allowed only one run after the first inning.

Andre Dawson’s 20th home run brought the Cubs even in the second inning, 2-2. It was the fourth year in a row that Dawson has hit at least 20 home runs.

Damon Berryhill hit a two-run homer in the Cubs’ big inning, and Vance Law had a two-run single.

St. Louis 7, Atlanta 0--The Cardinals’ Bob Forsch proved that he can still pitch.

The 38-year-old right-hander, who began his major league career in 1974, pitched a six-hitter. He allowed only one runner past second and won for the fourth time in his last five decisions.

Tom Brunansky hit a two-run home run in the first inning to give Forsch the cushion he needed.

San Diego 9, Philadelphia 1--Carmelo Martinez hit a pair of two-run home runs at San Diego to make it easy for the Padres’ Ed Whitson (11-8) to breeze to his first complete-game victory this season.