Game of Monday, Sept. 8

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               78     59       .569     ---
Atlanta                 74     62       .544      3.5
Montreal              70     68       .507      8.5
Chicago               66     66       .500      9.5
New York            67     68       .496    10
Pittsburgh            64     68       .485    11.5
St. Louis              62     72       .463    14.5
Philadelphia         58    76       .433    18.5

Tuesday's games
Houston (Roberts) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Pittsburgh (Ellis and Kison) at St. Louis (Cleveland and Foster)

New York 7, Montreal 6 (14 innings): Ron Hodges came off the bench to deliver a two-run pinch-hit single in the bottom of the 13th, then stayed in to catch and drive in the winning run in the 14th. Pepe Mangual had a two-run pinch-hit single in the eighth to put the Expos up 3-1, but Don Hahn tied it with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning off Joe Gilbert. The two bullpens traded zeros for four innings, then Montreal scored three runs in the top of the 13th and the Mets matched it in the bottom of the inning. Ron Woods threw Bud Harrelson out at the plate one batter before Hodges got his game-winning single. John Strohmayer got the win. Tom Walker took the loss.

Games of Sunday, Sept. 7

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               78     59       .569     ---
Atlanta                 74     62       .544      3.5
Montreal              70     67       .511      8
Chicago               66     66       .500      9.5
New York            66     68       .493    10
Pittsburgh            64     68       .485    11.5
St. Louis              62     72       .463    14.5
Philadelphia         58    76       .433    18.5

Monday's game
Montreal (Wilcox*) at New York (Koosman)

Pittsburgh 3, Houston 2 (11 innings): Richie Hebner homered in the top of the 11th off Jim York to break the tie. Dave Giusti pitched three scoreless innings for the win, and Bob Johnson retired all three men he faced for the save. The game was scoreless after six innings, but the Astros scored two runs in the seventh off Nelson Briles (one run unearned) and the Pirates replied with a two-run homer in the top of eighth off Don Wilson by Willie Stargell.

Pittsburgh 6, Houston 1: The race pennant race got a bit tighter with Pittsburgh's sweep of the Astros. Willie Stargell's homer capped a four-run second inning again JR Richard, and John Morlan took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He ended up allowing three hits in 8.1 innings, with Ramon Hernandez finishing the game. Morlan also scored a pair of runs.

Montreal 3,  New York 2: Tom Seaver lost the strike zone for three batters in the sixth inning, and lost the game in the process. Leading 2-1, he walked the first three men he faced in the sixth, starting with opposing pitcher Mike Torrez. Torrez and Ron Hunt eventually scored, and the Mets never caught up. Torrez went 7.1 innings for the win. Joe Gilbert got two outs in the eighth, amd Mike Marshall loaded the bases in the ninth but got out of the jam with a double-play grounder.

St. Louis 6, Chicago 1: Scipio Spinks allowed one run on five hits in 6.2 innings, and Rich Folkers and Wayne Granger combined for 2.1 hitless frames. The Cardinals plated four runs in the fourth inning off loser Burt Hooton with four singles, a double, a walk and an error. Billy Williams homered for the Cubs sole tally.

Games of Saturday, Sept. 6

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               78     57       .578     ---
Atlanta                 74     62       .544      4.5
Montreal              69     67       .507      9.5
Chicago               66     65       .504    10
New York            66     67       .496    11
Pittsburgh            62     68       .476    13,5
St. Louis              61     72       .459   16
Philadelphia         58    76       .433    19.5

Sunday's games
New York (Seaver) at Montreal (Torrez)
Pittsburgh (Briles and Morlan) at Houston (Wilson and Richard), 2
Chicago (Hooton) at St. Louis (Spinks)

Atlanta 6, Montreal 5: Dave Johnson hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Ron Reed held the Expos hitless for the first four innings as the Braves built a 6-0 lead. They spent the rest of the game hanging on to that lead. Bernie Allen hit a two-run homer for Montreal in the fifth and the Expos scored three runs, all charged to Reed, in the eighth. Dan Frisella got the final out of the eighth and worked a scoreless ninth for the save. Steve Rogers took the loss.

Atlanta 15, Montreal 1: The Braves scored five runs before making an out and were never challenged in the nightcap. Dusty Baker hit a three-run homer in the first, Dave Johnson a two-run homer in the second and Darrell Evans a three-run homer in the fourth. Evans also tripled and singled, scored three runs and drove in six. Phil Niekro went the distance, allowing an unearned run on two hits and six walks. He struck out six. Steve Renko took the loss.

Philadelphia 3, New York 0: Steve Carlton threw a two-hitter, allowing singles to Ted Martinez and Willie Mays. He fanned 10 and walked four. Bob Boone homered off losing pitcher Jim McAndrew, who allowed three runs in seven innings.

Philadelphia 8, New York 7: Billy Grabarkewitz pinch-hit a solo homer to lead off the eighth inning against Tug McGraw for the winning run. It was the third homer the Phillies hit; Cesar Tovar hit a three-run homer in the second and Bill Robinson a two-run blast in the fifth, both off George Stone. Wayne Twitchell staggered through eight innings, allowing six earned runs, for the win. Mac Scarce walked two in the ninth but got the save.

St. Louis 15, Pittsburgh 3: The Cardinals went Moose hunting early, and bagged seven runs off the Pirates righty in the first two innings. Mick Kelleher had a three-run double in the first and Ted Simmons single to a pair in the second. The Cards also scored three runs in the sixth off Luke Walker and five in the top of the ninth off Steve Blass, who was mopping up. Bob Gibson allowed three runs in seven innings for the win.

Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 4: The Pirates hit for the cycle in the first inning to score three runs and led 4-0 going into the fourth. The Cardinals tied it with three consecutive homers, from Joe Torre, Ted Simmons and Ken Reitz. The tie lasted until the bottom of the seventh, when winning pitcher Jim Rooker, Al Oliver and Willie Stargell each doubled. Rick Wise took the loss. Ramon Hernandez entered with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth to strike out Jose Cruz for the save.

Houston 3, Chicago 2: Bob Watson hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Fergie Jenkins and Jerry Reuss went the distance with a four-hitter. One of the three runs the Astros scored off Jenkins in seven innings was unearned. Reuss walked two and struck out six. Houston's magic number is now 15.

Games of Friday, Sept. 5

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               77     57       .574     ---
Atlanta                 72     62       .537      5
Montreal              69     65       .515      8
Chicago               66     64       .508      9
New York            66     65       .504      9.5
Pittsburgh            61     67       .477    13
St. Louis              60     71       .458   15.5
Philadelphia         56    76       .424    20

Saturday's games
Montreal (Rogers and Renko) at Atlanta (Reed and Niekro), 2
New York (Stone and McAndrew) at Philadelphia (Carlton and Twitchell), 2
St. Louis (Gibson and Wise) at Pittsburgh (Rooker and Moose), 2
Chicago (Jenkins) at Houston (Reuss)

Philadelphia 5, New York 4: Tom Hutton tied the score at four with a two-run pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth, and Mike Ryan plated Mike Anderson with the game winning run with a singled in the bottom of the ninth. Buzz Capra gave up the eight-inning homer, but Phil Hennigan took the loss. Mac Scarce was the winner. Bill Champion came off the taxi squad to pitch six innings, allowing three earned runs. Jerry Koosman, on short rest after a disasterous start two days earlier, went seven innings and left with a 4-2 lead.

New York 8, Philadelphia 2: Ken Boswell clubbed a pair of homers and added two singles, driving in five runs, to support Harry Parker in his spot start. Parker went seven innings for the win, allowing on run on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Jeff James came up from the taxi squad to start for the Phillies and gave up five runs in seven innings for the loss.

Atlanta 7, Montreal 3: Mike Lum homered, doubled and singled to drive in three runs and score a pair, and Pat Dobson took a shutout into the sixth inning. Ralph Garr also had three hits for the Braves, and Henry Aaron hit a pair of doubles. Balor Moore took the loss for the Expos. The game ended on a triple play on a liner hit by Pepe Mangual to Darrell Evans at third, who caught Felipe Alou off third and Tim Foli off second.

Chicago 4, Houston 2: The Cubs peppered three Houston hurlers for 15 hits and drew four walks, but bounced into four double plays and stranded six in in scoring position, which kept the game close. Cesar Cedeno had a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth, but the Astrodome contained his deep fly to left with two on. Ron Santo homered for the Cubs. Milt Pappas allowed one run in seven innings for the win, Ken Forsch took the loss and Jack Aker got the two men he faced in the ninth, including Cedeno's fly ball, for the save.

Games of Thursday, Sept. 4

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               77     56       .579     ---
Atlanta                 71     62       .533      6
Montreal              69     64       .519      8
Chicago               65     64       .504    10
New York            65     64       .504    10
Pittsburgh            61     67       .477    13,5
St. Louis              60     71       .458   16
Philadelphia         55    75       .423    20.5

Friday's games
New York (Parker and Koosman) at Philadelphia (Champion* and Christenson or James*)
Montreal (Moore) at Atlanta (Dobson)
Chicago (Pappas) at Houston (Forsch)

Montreal 8, Atlanta 6: Hal Breeden hit a three-run pinch-hit homer for the Expos and Bernie Allen, filling in after Bob Bailey left with an injury, had a pair of RBI hits. Bailey homered in the first inning and Larry Lintz stole four bases and scored three runs. Pat Jarvis got the win in relief of Eddie Bane, who came off the taxi squad to make the start for Montreal, and Roric Harrison was the loser. Mike Marshall worked two innings for the save. Atlanta got homers from Herny Aaron, Dave Johnson and Marty Perez.

Atlanta 8, Montreal 7:  Joe Pepitone started a four-run fifth-inning rally with a solo homer, and Dusty Baker capped it with a three-run shot as the Braves overcame an early three-run deficit. Baker also tripled in a run, and Dave Johnson had a two-run homer. Mike Jorgensen homered for Montreal, and Ron Woods tripled, doubled, walked twice and scored a pair of runs. Gary Gentry got the win, Ernie McAnally took the loss, and Tom House pitched around a leadoff double in the ninth for the save.

New York 5, Philadelphia 3 (11 innings): Mac Scarce walked three men in the top of the 11th, the last two with the bases loaded, to hand the Mets the lead and the game. Greg Luzinski drove in all three runs for the Phillies with a two-run homer in the first and and a single in the eighth. John Milner had a two-run triple for the Met in the fourth. Buzz Capra got the win with a scoreless inning in the 10th, and Tug McGraw got through the bottom of the 11th for the save.

Chicago 9, Houston 1: Paul Popovich drove in five runs and scored a pair, with a triple, double, single and walk in five trips to the plate. Rick Reuschel went the distance for the Cubs, holding the Astros on one run on seven hits while striking out six with one walk. Dave Roberts took the loss.

Games of Wednesday, Sept. 3

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               77     55       .583     ---
Atlanta                 70     61       .534      6.5
Montreal              69     63       .523      8
Chicago               64     64       .500    11
New York            64     64       .500    11
Pittsburgh            61     67       .477    14
St. Louis              60     71       .458   16.5
Philadelphia         55    74       .426    20.5

Thursday's games
Montreal (McAnally and Bane*) at Atlanta (Gentry and Harrison), 2
New York (Matlack) at Philadelphia (Lersch)
St. Louis (Foster) at Pittsburgh (Ellis)
Chicago (Reuschel) at Houston (Roberts)

Montreal 6, Philadelphia 2: Mike Torrez took a shutout into the seventh inning and relievers Joe Gilbert and Pat Jarvis combined for eight outs without allowing a hit. The Expos got five hits off Jim Lonborg, but four were for extra bases as they tagged him for three runs in 6.2 innings. Bob Bailey homered in the sixth. Montreal added three runs off the Phillies bullpen.

Montreal 8, Philadelphia 4: Larry Jaster came off the taxi squad to work seven innings and garner the win. He allowed four runs on 11 hits. Tom Walker worked the last two innings. The Expos knocked Larry Christenson out of the box in the second inning, scoring five runs. Bob Stinson and Ron Fairly each drove in two runs. Bob Bailey homered in the eighth. Mike Jorgensen went 2-for-2 with three walks and scored a pair of runs.

Atlanta 5, New York 2: Carl Morton allowed one earned run in his complete game win, and the Braves knocked Jerry Koosman out of the box in the first inning. Koosman committed a pair of errors while surrendering a solo homer to Dusty Baker and a three-run double to Mike Lum. John Milner homered for the Mets, one of nine hits allowed by Morton.

Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 4: Willie Stargell and Manny Sanguillen each clubbed two-run homers as the Buccos turned around what had been a prime outing by Reggie Cleveland. Cleveland held Pittsburgh hitless through four innings, but the Pirates turned a single in the fifth into a run and then blasted Cleveland for three runs in the sixth -- consecutive doubles by Gene Clines and Al Oliver followed by Stargell's moonshot. Sanguillen's homer came in the eighth off Rich Folkers. Nelson Briles allowed three runs in seven innings, two earned, for the win; Dave Giusti allowed one run in two innings for the save.

Houston 3, Chicago 1: Don Wilson threw a three-hit complete game; he walked four and hit two while striking out six. The Astros twice strung together three consecutive hits off losing pitcher Burt Hooton, who allowed three earned runs in six innings. Houston chopped its magic number to 17 with the win.

Games of Tuesday, Sept. 2

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               76     55       .580     ---
Atlanta                 69     61       .531      6.5
Montreal              66     63       .512     9
Chicago               64     63       .504    10
New York            64     63       .504    10
Pittsburgh            60     67       .473    14
St. Louis              60     70       .461   15.5
Philadelphia         55    72       .433    19

Wednesday's games
Montreal (Torrez and Jaster*) at Philadelphia (Lonborg and Christenson), 2
New York (Koosman) at Atlanta (Morton)
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Pittsburgh (Briles)
Chicago (Hooton) at Houston (D Wilson)

New York 4, Atlanta 0: Tom Seaver fanned 10 Braves in his two-hitter, and Cleon Jones doubled in a pair of runs in the first inning off Phil Niekro. Seaver walked two and faced three men over the minimum. The only Braves hits were an infield dribbler by Frank Tepedino and a double by Sonny Jackson. Niekro allowed eight hits and five walks in eight innings but also got six double play grounders. One of the four runs he allowed were unearned. 

New York 7, Atlanta 2: The Mets broke open a tied game with five runs in the eighth inning, working loser Jimmy Freeman and Danny Frisella for four singles and three walks, plus an error by Atlanta first baseman Mike Lum. John Milner drove in two runs with a single. Tug McGraw got the win. The doubleheader sweep moved the Braves to 6.5 games out of first place and reduced the Astros' magic number to 18.

Philadelphia 8, Montreal 5: Greg Luzinski drove in four runs and Steve Carlton went eight innings for the win. Luzinski's three-run homer capped a four-run third inning off losing pitcher Bill Stoneman, and he drove in another run with a seventh-inning single. Del Unser scored four times for the Phillies. Bob Bailey and Terry Humphrey homered for the Expos.  Bill Wilson loaded the bases in the ninth before getting Ken Singleton to pop out for the final out and the save.

Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3: The Expos trailed 3-0 after six innings, but scored a run in the seventh and three more in the ninth. Phillies starter Dick Ruthven allowed a leadoff single to Boots Day to open the ninth, then booted John Boccabella's grounder. Bucky Brandon entered to retire Bernie Allen, but then Pepe Mangual doubled to plate Day. Larry Lintz followed with the a two-run single to put the Expos ahead. Mike Marshall pitched three scoreless innings for the win, working out of his own ninth inning jam. Tom Hutton scored two runs for Philadelphia.

Games of Monday, Sept. 1

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               76     55       .580     ---
Atlanta                 69     59       .539      5.5
Montreal              65     62       .512     9
Chicago               64     63       .504    10
New York            62     63       .496    11
Pittsburgh            60     67       .473    14
St. Louis              60     70       .461   15.5
Philadelphia         54    71       .432    19

Tuesday's games
New York (Seaver and Sadecki) at Atlanta (Niekro and Schueler), 2
Montreal (Stoneman and Renko) at Philadelphia (Carlton and Ruthven), 2

Montreal 7, Philadelphia 3:  Bob Bailey homered twice and drove in five runs and the Montreal bullpen picked up six innings after starter Ernie McAnally left with a minor injury after three no-hit innings. Joe Gilbert was credited with the win for his two scoreless frames. Wayne Twitchell took the loss. Mike Schmidt hit a two-run homer off Pat Jarvis in the Phillies' three-run fourth.

Montreal 1, Philadelphia 0: Steve Rogers threw a four-hit shutout and bunted home pinch-runner Jorge Roque with the only run of the game.  Clyde Mashore led off the seventh inning with a walk against Ken Brett and was forced out on John Boccabella's grounder. Tim Foli hit another grounder, but Craig Robinson committed a two-base error. Roque then pinch-ran for Boccabella, and Rogers executed the squeeze bunt. Rogers walked three, hit one and struck out three. Both Brett and Rogers went the distance.

Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 0: Fergie Jenkins spun a four-hit shutout, and Ron Santo drove in four runs with three hits, including a two-run double in the first inning and a solo homer in the third. Billy Williams singled and tripled and scored twice. Jim Rooker gave up three earned runs in six innings for the loss.

Chicago 2, Pittsburgh 0: Larry Gura held the Pirates to five hits in as the Cubs whitewashed Pittsburgh for the second time on the day. The visitors scored a pair of runs in the first inning off Bruce Kison on three singles, an error and a walk, leaving the bases loaded. Kison and reliever John Lamb held the Cubs at bay the rest of the day, but Gura had enough runs to work with. He walked none, fanned five and induced a pair of double-play grounders

Atlanta 7, New York 4: Darrell Evans drove in three runs with a homer and a triple and Sonny Jackson stole a pair of bases en route to two runs scored. Pat Dobson went seven innings for the win, allowing four runs, three earned. The Braves pieced together the final two inning with Jimmy Freeman, Adrian Devine and Tom House, with House getting the final out with two men on for the save. Jim McAndrew was the losing pitcher.

Atlanta 4, New York 2: Darrell Evans hammered a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Tug McGraw to give the Braves the doubleheader sweep. Evans also singled and scored in the seventh. Jimmy Freeman got credit for the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Felix Millan hit an unlikely homer in the first inning off Ron Reed, who allowed just the one run in six innings. Henry Aaron homered for Atlanta.

Houston 7, St. Louis 3: Bob Watson and Tommy Helms each homered and J.R. Richard fanned seven men in six innings. Losing pitcher Rick Wise allowed six runs, five earned, in six innings. Lou Brock stole a pair of bases off Richard's slow delivery and scored twice. 

St. Louis 4, Houston 0: Scipio Spinks had a game: A three-hit shutout on the mound, a solo homer at the plate. Spinks walked six and struck out four. His homer came in the eighth inning off  reliever Cecil Upshaw. Jerry Reuss took the loss for the first-place Astros. 

Games of Sunday, Aug. 31

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               75     54       .581     ---
Atlanta                 67     59       .531      6.5
New York            62     61       .504    10
Montreal              63     62       .504   10
Chicago               62     63       .496    11
Pittsburgh            60     65       .480    13
St. Louis              59     69       .453   15.5
Philadelphia         54     69      .439    18

Monday's games
New York (Stone and McAndrew) at Atlanta (Dobson and Reed), 2
Chicago (Gura and Jenkins) at Pittsburgh (Kison and Rooker), 2
Montreal (McAnally and Rogers) at Philadelphia (Twitchell and Brett), 2
St. Louis (Wise and Spinks) at Houston (Ruess and Richard),2

New York 3, Montreal 2: Jon Matlack held Montreal to five hits, all singles, and Rusty Staub drove in a pair of runs with a double in the fifth inning off losing pitcher Balor Moore. Felix Millan worked three walks and singled; he scored two runs for the Mets. Ron Hunt singled and was twice hit by pitches; he stole two bases and  scored a run for the Mets. 

Pittsburgh 8, Chicago 5: The Pirates scored seven runs in the top of the ninth inning, getting five singles, three walks, a two-run double from Willie Stargell and a costly error by Don Kessinger on a potential game-ending double play. Jose Cardenal had four hits for the Cubs, including a pair of doubles, and scored two runs. Bob Johnson was credited with the win, Dave LaRoche got the loss and Dave Giusti the save.

Houston 1, St. Louis 0 (14 innings): Roger Metzger reached on an error by Mike Tyson leading off the 14th inning and scored from first base on Cesar Cedeno's double to center. Bob Gibson and Ken Forsch each threw nine scoreless innings for no decisions. Gibson struck out 13 men, twice fanning four hitters consecutively. He allowed just two hits and one walk. Forsch held the Cardinals to five hits and five walks with five strikeouts. Jim Crawford got the win and Wayne Granger took the loss.

ROSTERS NOW EXPAND, WITH ALL NON-INJURED PLAYERS ELIGIBLE TO PLAY

Games of Saturday, Aug. 30

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               74     54       .578     ---
Atlanta                 67     59       .531      6
Montreal              63     61       .508      9
Chicago               62     62       .500    10
New York            61     61       .500    10
Pittsburgh            59     65       .476    13
St. Louis              59     68       .464   14.5
Philadelphia         54     69      .439    17.5

Sunday's games
New York (Matlack) at Montreal (Moore)
Pittsburgh (Moose) at Chicago (Bonham)
St.Louis (Gibson) at Houston (Forsch)

Houston 5, Pittsburgh 2: Dave Roberts allowed two runs on six hits in his complete game, and Jim Wynn hit a two-run homer as the first-place Astros snapped a five-game losing streak. Luke Walker took the loss; he allowed all five runs, four earned, in five innings.

Atlanta 9, Philadelphia 4: The Braves got home runs from Ralph Garr, Darrell Evans and Dave Johnson to power past the Phillies. Ron Reed worked into the seventh inning for the win, and Jimmy Freeman pitched the final two innings for the save. Lowell Palmer came off the taxi squad to start for the Phillies and took the loss. 

Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 3: Paul Casanova broke a 3-3 tie with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth of Bill Wilson. Henry Aaron and Dusty Baker also homered for the Braves. Winner Carl Morton gave up a three-run homer in the first to Bill Robinson, but then shut out the Phillies the rest of the way, finishing with a seven-hitter. 

New York 5, Montreal 2: The Mets hit for the cycle in a three-run seventh. Ed Kranepool tripled in the go-ahead run and Don Hahn followed with a two-run homer. Jerry Koosman went the distance for the win, giving up two runs on seven hits, one a solo home run by Ken Singleton. Mike Torrez was the losing pitcher.

St. Louis 4, Chicago 3: Tim McCarver tripled and homered to power the Cardinals. The triple was the central blow in a two-run second, and the homer, with two out in the top of the ninth, provided the winning margin. Rick Monday hit a two-run homer in the second for the Cubs. Wayne Granger worked two scoreless innings for the win, and Diego Segui had a perfect ninth for the save. Rick Reuschel went the distance for the Cubs. 

Games of Friday, Aug. 29

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               73     54       .574     ---
Atlanta                 65     59       .524      6.5
Montreal              63     60       .512      8
Chicago               62     61       .504      9
New York            60     61       .496    10
Pittsburgh            59     64       .479    12
St. Louis              58     68       .460   14.5
Philadelphia         54     67      .446    16

Saturday's games
St. Louis (Murphy) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Atlanta (Morton and Reed) at Philadelphia (Lersch and L Palmer*)
New York (Koosman) at Montreal (Torrez)
Houston (Roberts) at Pittsburgh (L Walker)

Chicago 5, St. Louis 3: The Cubs strung together four straight singles in a three-run seventh to overtake the Cardinals. Winning pitcher Burt Hooton allowed three runs on five hits in seven innings, and Jack Aker pitched around three singles and and a hit batter over two innings for the save. Jose Cardenal drove in two runs, one with a single and another on a sac fly. Ted Sizemore singled in a pair of runs in a three-run fifth for St. Louis. Reggie Cleveland took the loss.

Montreal 4, New York 3 (12 innings): Jim Lyttle singled home pinch-runner Larry Lintz to end it in the bottom of the 12th. Tom Seaver and Steve Renko carried a 1-1 pitchers duel into the eighth inning, when Ken Singleton hit a two-run homer off Seaver in the bottom of the inning for a 3-1 lead. The Expos then brought in Mike Marshall to relieve, but Rusty Staub led off the ninth with a triple, Marshall walked two and, with two outs, yielded a game-tying single to Jerry Grote. Pat Jarvis got the win, and Jim McAndrew took the loss.

Pittsburgh 6, Houston 0: Nelson Briles struck out eight Astros in his complete game shutout, and Willie Stargell blasted a three-run homer. Dave Cash doubled in a pair of runs and scored twice. The Astros twice had three baserunners in an inning, but Al Oliver gunned down Bob Watson trying to score on a fly ball in the second inning and Briles wriggled out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the fourth. All nine Astros hits were singles. Don Wilson allowed five earned runs in four innings for the loss.

Philadelphia 8, Atlanta 7: Willie Montanez hit a two-run homer in the sixth to tie the game at 7, and Mike Anderson clubbed a pinch-hit homer leading off the bottom of the eighth off Tom House for the final run. Mike Wallace threw two scoreless innings in relief of Steve Carlton for the win. Del Unser also homered for the Phillies, while Dave Johnson hit the only homer for the Braves. Henry Aaron drove in three runs, and Mike Lum (4-for-5) had three doubles.

Games of Thursday, Aug. 28

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               73     53       .579     ---
Atlanta                 65     58       .529      6.5
Montreal              63     60       .512      8.5
Chicago               61     61       .500    10
New York            60     61       .496    10.5
Pittsburgh            58     64       .475    13
St. Louis              58     67       .464   14.5
Philadelphia         53     67      .442    17

Friday's games
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Chicago (Hooton)
New York (Seaver) at Montreal (Renko)
Atlanta (Niekro) at Philadelphia (Carlton)
Houston (Wilson) at Pittsburgh (Briles)

Atlanta 12, Philadelphia 5: The Braves sent 12 men to the plate in their eight-run third inning against Larry Christenson. He allowed 10 runs in three innings, but five of them were unearned as the Phillies infield committed three errors behind him. Ron Schueler allowed four runs in seven innings for the win. Bill Robinson homered for the Phillies, and Ralph Garr homered for the Braves. Dusty Baker had a bases-loaded triple.

Atlanta 11, Philadelphia 8: Paul Casanova homered twice and drove in five runs for the Braves. Roric Harrison allowed three runs, one unearned, through eight innings but wearied in the ninth, when the Phillies scored five runs on three singles and five walks before Jimmy Freeman finally got the final out. Darrell Evans also homered off losing pitcher Jim Lonborg, and Mike Lum scored three runs.

Chicago 5, St. Louis 1: Jose Cardenal homered, singled twice, walked and drove in three runs, and Ferguson Jenkins held St. Louis to six hits. Tommy Agee homered for the sole Cardinal run. Billy Williams had three singles for the Cubs. Alan Foster took the loss.

St. Louis 6,  Chicago 4: Joe Torre hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth to put the Cards ahead and salvage a split of the doubleheader. Rick Wise went eight innings for the win; he gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits. Bob Locker took the loss, and Diego Segui worked a perfect ninth for the save. Ted Simmons drove in two runs with a double.

Pittsburgh 5, Houston 4: The Pirates got three straight pinch-hit singles in the bottom of the ninth -- from Jackie Hernandez, Dave Cash and Vic Davalillo -- followed by another single by Al Oliver that plated Cash with the winning run. The outburst followed a three-straight-single rally in the top of the inning that put the Astros in the lead. Bob Johnson, who got the last two men in the top of the ninth, got the win. Jerry Reuss, who allowed the first two pinch-hits, took the loss. Jim York allowed the other two. Jim Wynn homered, doubled and singled, stole a base and scored three times while driving in a pair for the Astros. Willie Stargell homered and drove in two.

Games of Wednesday, Aug. 27

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               73     52       .584     ---
Atlanta                 63     58       .521      8
Montreal              63     60       .512      9
Chicago               60     60       .500    10.5
New York            60     61       .496    11
Pittsburgh            57     64       .471    14
St. Louis              57     66       .463    15
Philadelphia         53     65      .449    16.5

Thursday's games
St. Louis (Foster and Wise) at Chicago (Pappas and Jenkins),2
Atlanta (Schueler and Harrison) at Philadelphia (Christenson and Lonborg),2
Houston (Reuss) at Pittsburgh (Ellis)

Chicago 11, St. Louis 5: Billy Williams, Randy Hundley, Ron Santo and Rick Monday all homered for the Cubs. Larry Gura pitched into the seventh for the win; he allowed two runs in six innings but was charged with two more in the seventh after Tommy Agee hit a three-run pinch-hit homer off Jack Aker. Ted Simmons also homered for St. Louis. Rich Folkers, who gave up three of the Chicago long balls, was the losing pitcher.

Pittsburgh 2, Philadelphia 1: Jim Rooker and Bob Johnson combined to hold the Phillies to seven hits, and Willie Stargell's leadoff double triggered at two-run sixth inning. Rooker got the win, Johnson the save, and Ken Brett, who worked all eight innings for the Phillies, was the hard luck loser.

Games of Tuesday, Aug. 26

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               73     52       .584     ---
Atlanta                 63     58       .521      8
Montreal              63     60       .512      9
New York            60     61       .496    11
Chicago               59     60       .496    11
St. Louis              57     65       .467    14
Pittsburgh            56     64       .467    14.5
Philadelphia         53     64      .452    16

Wednesday's games
St. Louis (Folkers) at Chicago (Gura)
Philadelphia (Brett) at Pittsburgh (Rooker)

Chicago 10, New York 3: The Cubs scored four runs in the first and six more in the second, crushing Mets starter George Stone under a barrage of 10 singles, three walks and a hit batter. The Mets bullpen held the Cubs scoreless the rest of the way on three hits, but  New York could muster just two earned runs off Rick Reuschel, who granted seven hits in his complete game win.

Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 3: Bucky Brandon relieved with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the eighth and promptly threw a go-ahead wild pitch to plate the winning run. It was the second run Pittsburgh scored on a wild pitch. Tom Hutton and Greg Luzinski each homered off winning pitcher Bob Moose, who allowed eight hits in eight innings. George Culver took the loss, and Dave Giusti got a save.

Pittsburgh 9, Philadelphia 8: Willie Stargell homered twice, doubled and singled to drive in seven runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth. Stargell doubled in the first and hit a two-run homer in the third, which gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead at the time. He hit a grand slam in the fifth off starter Wayne Twitchell for a 7-4 lead. But the Phillies came back with three runs in the sixth, with Willie Montanez homering, and they took the lead 8-7 in the seventh. Mike Wallace and Barry Lersch combined to hold that lead into the ninth, when Mac Scarce took the hill for the Phillies. Rennie Stennett walked and went to third on Jackie Hernandez' single. Dave Cash plated Stennett with a fly ball to even the score. Al Oliver singled Hernandez to third, and Stargell singled to end the slugfest. Ramon Hernandez was the winning pitcher.

Atlanta 6, Houston 4: Ralph Garr singled home two runs in the top of the ninth and Gary Gentry allowed one run in three innings of relief for the win. Lee May homered twice and added a pair of singles for three RBIs for the losing Astros, who were charged with four errors and a passed ball. Cecil Upshaw took the loss.

Montreal 11, St. Louis 6: The Expos had pair of five-run innings after Bob Gibson left with a mild injury after two innings. Mike Jorgensen hit a three-run homer to highlight Montreal's first bat-around inning in the third. In the seventh, the Expos got back-to-back doubles from Tim Foli and pinch-hitter Pepe Mangual ahead of a two-run homer by Bob Bailey. Joe Torre had a solo homer for the Cardinals. Joe Gilbert got the win with an inning of scoreless relief. Tom Murphy took the loss.

Games of Monday, Aug. 25

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               73     51       .588     ---
Atlanta                 62     58       .516      9
Montreal              62     60       .508    10
New York            60     60       .500    11
Chicago               58     60       .491    12
St. Louis              57     64       .471    13
Philadelphia         53     62      .460    15.5

Pittsburgh            54     64       .457    16

Tuesday's games
New York (Stone) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Philadelphia (Twitchell and Ruthven) at Pittsburgh (Moose and Kison), 2
Atlanta (Dobson) at Houston (Richard)
Montreal (Stoneman) at St. Louis (Gibson)

Chicago 6, New York 0: Ron Santo hit a grand slam before Ray Sadecki could retire a man, and Bill Bonham got four double play grounders en route to a seven-hit shutout. Jose Cardenal tripled home a run in the second inning and Randy Hundley hit a solo homer in the third.

Chicago 1, New York 0: Burt Hooton and Dave LaRoche combined for a second shutout on the day for the Cubs. Hooton allowed five hits and three walks in seven innings with five strikeouts and was credited with the win. LaRoche got the s ave for two innings of two hit relief. The Cubs scored the games only run in the seventh when Ron Santo was hit by a Jerry Koosman pitch, advanced to when Jim Hickman walked and scored when Don Kessinger's fly ball to left dropped in.

Philadelphia 2, Pittsburgh 0: Steve Carlton struck out nine Pirates in a three-hit shutout. Del Unser scored both Philadelphia runs. Unser doubled in the third off losing pitcher Nelson Briles and scored on Denny Doyle's single, then homered off Bob Johnson in the eighth. Carlton walked two men and indced a pair of double plays.

Montreal 2, St. Louis 0: Steve Rogers shut out St. Louis on four hits. Ron Hunt doubled in the fifth inning to plate Tim Foli with the first run of the game and Bob Bailey homered to lead off the sixth, with both runs coming off Reggie Cleveland. Cleveland allowed just three hits in eight innings. Rogers walked two and struck out two.

Atlanta 7, Houston 3: Atlanta broke open a pitchers duel late,. Dave Roberts carried a 1-0 lead into the sixth, when Dusty Baker hit a solo homer. Ralph Garr put the Braves ahead in the top of the seventh with an RBI single, but the Astros scored twice in the bottom of the inning off Danny Frisella to take a 3-2 lead. The Braves responded with two runs in the eighth -- Mike Lum tripled -- and put the game away with three in the ninth, with Darrell Evans hitting a homer. Frisella vultured the win and Jim Ray took the loss.

Games of Sunday, Aug. 24

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               73     50       .593     ---
Atlanta                 61     58       .513    10
New York            60     59       .504    11
Montreal              61     60       .504    11
Chicago               57     60       .487    11.5
St. Louis              57     63      .479    13
Pittsburgh            54     63       .462    16
Philadelphia         52     62      .460    16.5

Monday's games
New York (Koosman and Sadecki) at Chicago (Hooton and Bonham), 2
Philadelphia (Carlton) at Pittsburgh (Briles)
Atlanta (Morton) at Houston (Roberts)
Montreal (Rogers) at St. Louis (Cleveland)

Chicago 10, New York 1: Rick Monday hit a three-run homer in the Cubs' five-run first and drove in five runs in all. Ron Santo also homered and totaled four RBIs. Jose Cardenal scored three times. Fergie Jenkins went eight innings, allowing one run on seven hits, for the win. Jon Matlack took the loss.

Montreal 4, St. Louis 1: Ron Fairly popped a two-run homer and Mike Torrez scattered six hits in eight innings for the win, Losing pitcher Rick Wise also allowed six hits in eight innings, but the Expos scored a pair of runs on outs in the fourth before Fairly's blase in the seventh. Joe Gilbert worked the ninth for the save.

St. Louis 7, Montreal 4: Tommy Agee drove in three runs, two of them with a grounder through a drawn-in infield in the Cardinals' four-run eighth inning. Lou Brock hit a two-run homer in the third innings, while Montreal catcher Bob Stinson had three RBIs, Orlando Pena, who had allowed a run in the top of the eighth that put the Expos ahead, was credited with the win; he allowed the one run in two innings. Ernie McAnally took the loss.

Houston 6, Atlanta 5: Two triples carried more weight in this one than three homers. Frank Tepedino, Henry Aaron and Johnny Oates each homered for Braves in the first three innings -- Tepedino and Aaron back to back -- as Atlanta built a 5-0 lead. But Skip Jutze singled in two runs in the fourth and Roger Metzger tripled home two more in the sixth, then scored on Jimmy Stewart's pinch-hit single to even the score. Jim Wynn led off the seventh with another triple and promptly scored on Lee May's single. Houston got five scoreless innings from three relievers. J.R. Richard got the win and Jim York the save. Phil Niekro was the losing pitcher.

Atlanta 3, Houston 1: Dave Johnson hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and Ron Reed took a shutout into the ninth. Tom House got the final two outs for the save. Reed allowed four hits and walked one while striking out five. Don Wilson was the losing pitcher. The doubleheader split left the Astros with a magic number of 24.

Games of Saturday, Aug. 23

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               72     49       .595     ---
Atlanta                 60     57       .513    10
New York            60     58       .509    10.5
Montreal              60     59       .504    11
Chicago               56     60       .483    13.5
St. Louis              56     61      .478    14
Pittsburgh            54     63       .462    16
Philadelphia         52     61      .460    16.5

Sunday's games
New York (Matlack) at Chicago (Jenkins)
Atlanta (Niekro and Reed) at Houston (Wilson and Griffin), 2
Montreal (Torrez and McAnally) at St. Louis (Wise and Spinks), 2

Pittsburgh 4, Atlanta 2: Al Oliver hit a three-run homer and Willie Stargell a solo shot to support Dock Ellis, who held the Braves to one earned run in eight innings. Ellis allowed four hits, one walk and one hit batter while striking out three. Dave Giusti worked a perfect ninth for the save. Roric Harrison took the loss.

Chicago 3, Montreal 1: Randy Hundley's three-run homer in the second inning stood up as Milt Pappas and Jack Aker combined for a six-hitter. Pepe Mangual homered for the only Montreal run. Pappas went seven innings and Aker worked the final two frames for the save. Steve Renko went all eight for Montreal, allowing two earned runs on three hits. Expos shortstop Tim Foli was charged with three errors.

Houston 12, Philadelphia 1: Jerry Reuss took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Astros slapped Phillies pitchers for 17 hits, 14 of them singles. Houston scored three runs in the second off Jim Lonborg, added another tally in the third and batted around in the eighth. Reuss walked eight but consistently worked out of jams before leaving for a pinch-htter after eight innings of one-run ball.

New York 5, St. Louis 1: Tom Seaver allowed one unearned run in his complete game win. He scattered eight hits while walking one and striking out seven, including Joe Torre three times. Ed Kranepool drove in two runs with a double. Alan Foster took the loss.

Games of Friday, Aug. 22

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               71     49       .592     ---
Atlanta                 60     56       .517      9
Montreal              60     58       .508    10
New York            59     58       .504    10.5
St. Louis              56     61      .478    13.5
Chicago               55     60       .478    13.5
Philadelphia         52     61      .460    15.5
Pittsburgh            53     63       .456    16

Saturday's games
Montreal (Renko) at Chicago (Pappas)
Atlanta (Harrison) at Pittsburgh (Ellis)
New York (Seaver) at St. Louis (Foster)
Philadelphia (Lonborg) at Houston (Reuss)

Chicago 3, Montreal 2: Ron Santo hit a three-run homer with two outs in the fifth, and Rich Reuschel pitched a shutout into the ninth inning. After Bob Bailey hit a two-run homer off Reuschel, Jack Aker entered to retire Ken Singleton, Mike Jorgensen and Boots Day in order for the save. Balor Moore took the loss.

Pittsburgh 5, Atlanta 4: Power mattered: The Pirates hit three doubles in their three-run third and Willie Stargell put them ahead to stay with a homer in the fifth. Luke Walker got the win with six innings in which he walked seven and allowed five singles but no extra base hits. Ramon Hernandez worked two scoreless innings and Dave Giusti worked out of his own two-on, no-outs jam for the save. Ron Schueler was the losing pitcher.

St. Louis 3, New York 2 (14 innings): An error by Ted Martinez, playing shortstop in place of the injured Bud Harrelson, set up a two-run rally in the bottom of the 14th. Mike Tyson reached on the error and was bunted to second. Tug McGraw retired Lou Brock but Ted Sizemore singled home Tyson. Joe Torre walked, and Ted Simmons singled to plate Sizemore. Wayne Granger, who yielded a pinch-hit homer to Ed Kranepool in the top of the inning, vultured the win.

Houston 4, Philadelphia 0: Ken Forsch threw a six-hitter and Lee May hit a two-run homer. Forsch walked three and fanned six, including Mike Schmidt three times. The Astros drew eight walks off Ken Brett, who went the distance for the Phillies.

Games of Thursday, Aug. 21

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               70     49       .588     ---
Atlanta                 60     55       .522      8
Montreal              60     57       .513      9
New York            59     57       .508      9.5
Chicago               54     60       .478    13.5
St. Louis              55     61      .474    13.5
Philadelphia         52     60      .464    14.5
Pittsburgh            52     63       .452    16

Friday's games
Montreal(Moore) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Atlanta (Schueler) at Pittsburgh (L Walker)
New York (Stone) at St. Louis (Folkers)
Philadelphia (Brett) at Houston (Forsch)

Montreal 12, Chicago 4: Mike Jorgensen hit a grand slam, Ron Hunt and Bob Bailey each drove in a pair of runs and three Expos relievers combined for four scoreless innings. Losing pitcher Burt Hooton was shelled for nine runs in 5.1 innings. Bill Stoneman allowed four runs in five innings for the win, with Rick Monday driving in all four Chicago runs with a single and a homer.

Pittsburgh 4, Atlanta 3: Manny Sanguillen drove in the final two runs in the Pirates' three-run bottom of the ninth rally. Al Oliver led off the inning with a double off Danny Frisella and scored on Willie Stargell's single. Richie Zisk walked. After Richie Hebner flew out, Bob Robertson singled to load the bases. Sanguillen followed with a gapper that plated both Stargell and Zisk. Dave Giusti got the win for the Pirates. Dave Johnson homered for Atlanta.

Atlanta 6, Pittsburgh 5 (12 innings): Jimmy Freeman threw four scoreless innings after Dusty Baker tied the game with a two-out homer in the top of the ninth, and Darrell Evans homered in the 12th for the decisive run. Freeman allowed one hit and two walks with two strikeouts. Evans also tripled in a pair of runs in the Braves' four-run sixth. Dave Cash had three hits and two RBIs for the Pirates; he also scored twice. Bob Johnson took the loss.

St. Louis 2, New York 0: Reggie Cleveland and Diego Segui combined for a five-hit shutout and the Cardinals scored unearned runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to saddle reliever Ray Sadecki with the loss. Jim Fregosi committed a two-base error on Jose Cruz's grounder to open the seventh; Cruz eventually scored on a Lou Brock flyball. Joe Torre opened the eighth by reaching second on an error by Don Hahn; he later scored on a Mike Tyson single. Cleveland got the win, Segui the save.

New York 3, St. Louis 2: Jerry Koosman surrendered a two-run homer to Joe Torre in the first inning but then threw eight scoreless frames to finish with a five-hitter. He walked three, struck out seven and hit a batter. Ed Kranepool scored all three runs off loser Bob Gibson, the last in the top of the ninth on Ted Martinez's base hit. Gibson went the distance, allowing two earned runs on seven hits, one walk and five strikeouts.

Philadelphia 9, Houston 4: Greg Luzinski  hit a pair of solo homers, and Bob Boone capped the Phillies' five-run outburst in the eighth with a three-run shot. Jim Ray was stung for all five runs and the loss. Wayne Twitchell went the distance for the win, giving up nine hits and three walks while striking out nine.

Games of Wednesday, Aug. 20

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               70     48       .593     ---
Atlanta                 59     54       .522      8.5
New York            58     56       .509    10
Montreal              59     57       .508    10
Chicago               54     59       .479    13.5
St. Louis              54     60      .473    14
Philadelphia         51     60      .450    15.5
Pittsburgh            51     62       .451    16.5

Thursday's games
Atlanta (Morton and Gentry) at Pittsburgh (Kison and Rooker), 2
New York (McAndrew and Koosman) at St. Louis (Cleveland and Gibson), 2
Montreal (Stoneman) at Chicago (Hooton)
Philadelphia (Twitchell) at Houston (Roberts)

Atlanta 6, Chicago 4: Henry Aaron hit a two-run homer off Fergie Jenkins in the sixth and singled and scored in the Braves' two-run eighth. Danny Frisella vultured the win, allowing a run in two innings of relief. Tom House entered to retire Billy Williams with the bases loaded for the save. Jose Cardenal scored two runs for the Cubs and Glenn Beckert had a pair of RBIs. Ray Burris was saddled with the loss.

Chicago 3, Atlanta 2: The Cubs salvaged a split of the doubleheader as Bill Bonham held the Braves to four hits and two runs in eight innings. Ralph Garr homered twice for the Braves runs, one to open the game and the other in the eighth inning. Pat Dobson allowed three runs, two earned, in eight innings for the loss; he granted eight hits and five walks, the last one with the bases loaded.  

Philadelphia 3, St. Louis 0: Steve Carlton shut out the Cards on four hits, and the Phillies bunched their six hits off Rick Wise enough to plate three runs. Carlton struck out nine and walked one. Wise struck out 13 without a walk.

St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 3: Joe Torre lumbered home from third on a Bernie Carbo flyball in the eighth for the go-ahead run, and Al Hrborsky got two outs with the bases loaded to save the win for the Cardinals. Diego Segui vultured the win, and George Culver took the loss. Mick Kelleher drove in two runs for St. Louis with a double in the fifth. Cesar Tovar went 4-for-5 with a double, a steal and a run scored.

Montreal 8, Pittsburgh 2: The Expos got plenty of free base runners in this one: 10 walks, a hit batter and a pair of Pirates error. They also had 10 hits, all singles. Montreal scored three runs in the first and four more in the fourth to saddle Bob Moose with the loss. Mike Torrez allowed two runs on four hits and six walks in eight innings for the win.

Games of Tuesday, Aug. 19

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               70     48       .593     ---
Atlanta                 58     53       .523      8.5
New York            58     56       .509    10
Montreal              58     57       .504    10.5
Chicago               53     58       .477    11.5
St. Louis              53     59       .473    14
Philadelphia         50     59      .459    15.5
Pittsburgh            51     61       .455    16

Wednesday's games
Atlanta (Niekro and Dobson) at Chicago (Jenkins and Bonham), 2
Philadelphia (Carlton and Ruthven) at St. Louis (Wise and Murphy), 2
Montreal (Torrez) at Pittsburgh (Moose)

Montreal 4, Pittsburgh 3: Ramon Hernandez, called upon with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth, walked pinch-hitters Hal Breeden and Pepe Mangual. The runs, both unearned, were charged to starter Nelson Briles and made him the losing pitcher; the loss dropped the Pirates into last place. Willie Stargell hit a two-run homer off Steve Renko in the first; Renko worked seven innings for the win. Mike Marshall threw two scoreless innings for the save.

New York 2, Houston 0: Jon Matlack shut out the Astos on five hits. He walked three and struck out eight. Cleon Jones singled home Felix Millan in the seventh for the first run, and Jerry Grote drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth for the second tally. Don Wilson (one run in seven innings) took the loss.

Games of Monday, Aug. 18

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               70     47       .598     ---
Atlanta                 58     53       .523      9
New York            57     56       .504    11
Montreal              57     57       .500    11.5
Chicago               53     58       .477    12
St. Louis              53     59       .473    14.5
Pittsburgh            51     60       .459    16
Philadelphia         50     59      .459    16

Tuesday's games
Montreal (Renko) at Pittsburgh (Briles)
New York (Matlack) at Houston (Wilson)

Atlanta 13, Chicago 4: Johnny Oates drove in six runs and Ron Reed threw three scoreless innings of relief for the win. The Braves mauled losing pitcher Larry Gura and Mike Paul for nine runs in the eighth and ninth innings, with Oates hitting a two-run homer off Gura in the eighth and a two-run double off Paul in the ninth. Dave Johnson scored four runs and Mike Lum three. Roric Harrison homered for Atlanta, and Ron Santo homered for the Cubs.

Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 0: Steve Rogers shut down the Pirates on five hits and Bob Bailey hit a solo homer for the Expos. Dock Ellis allowed all three Montreal runs in five innings; he allowed five hits and five walks.

Philadelphia 6, St. Louis 2: Bill Robinson went 4-for-5 to droie in two runs and score a pair, and Jim Lonborg allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings for the win. Robinson hit the Phillies' only homer and also had one of five doubles for the winners. Joe Torre hit a two-run homer in the first for the Cardinals' only tallies. Alan Foster took the loss, and George Culber worked two scoreless frames for the save.

Houston 4, New York 1: Jerry Reuss held the Mets to one run on five hits in seven innings and drove in a pair of runs himself with a single through a drawn-in infield. Reuss's big hit came in Houston's three-run fifth inning and was the fourth straight hit for the Astros in the inning against Tom Seaver. J.R. Richard overpowered the Mets over the final two innings (four strikeouts) for the save. The Astros became the first team in the league to 70 wins.

Games of Sunday, Aug. 17

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               69     47       .595     ---
Atlanta                 57     53       .518     9
New York            57     55       .508    10
Montreal              56     57       .496   11.5
Chicago               53     57       .482   13
St. Louis              53     58       .478   13.5
Pittsburgh            51     59       .463   15
Philadelphia         49     59      .454   16

Monday's games
Atlanta (Harrison) at Chicago (Pappas)
Montreal (Rogers) at Pittsburgh Ellis)
Philadelphia (Lonborg) at St. Louis (Foster)
New York (Seaver) at Houston (Reuss)

Houston 5, Montreal 0: Dave Roberts took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finished with a three-hit shutout, while the Astros got homers from Lee May, Cesar Cedeno and Bob Watson. May's was a two-run homer in the first inning off Balor Moore, who allowed seven hits in seven-plus innings for the loss. Roberts walked none and struck out three.

Houston 7, Montreal 4: Doug Rader homered, doubled and singled with three RBIs and a pair of runs to power Houston to the doubleheader sweep. Cesar Cedeno hit his second homer of the day in the fifth inning to even the score at three, and the Astros plated three runs in the seventh off Tom Walker to take their first lead of the contest. Tom Griffin got the win in relief, and Jim Crawford got the final three outs with two on in the ninth to earn the save.

Chicago 5, Philadelphia 2: Rick resuchel struck out 10 Phillies in eight innings, and Jose Cardenal singled in a pair of runs in the Cubs' three-run third. Cardenal also doubled and scored in the ninth. Ken Brett took the loss. Jack Aker worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

Atlanta 4, St. Louis 1: Henry Aaron and Darrell Evans hit back-to-back homers in the eighth inning off Bob Gibson, and Ron Schueler limited the Cardinals to one run and three hits in eight innings. Joe Torre homered in the seventh for St. Louis' only run. Danny Frisella walked the first two men he faced in the ninth but then retired the next three for the save. 

Games of Saturday, Aug. 16

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               67     47       .588     ---
Atlanta                 56     53       .514     8.5
New York            57     55       .508     9
Montreal              56     55       .505     9.5
St. Louis              53     57       .482   12
Chicago               52     57       .477   12.5
Pittsburgh            51     59       .463   14
Philadelphia         49     58      .457   14.5

Sunday's games
Montreal (Moore and McAnally) at Houston (Roberts and Forsch)
Philadelphia (Brett) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Atlanta (Schueler) at St. Louis (Gibson)

Chicago 5, Philadelphia 1: Burt Hooton threw a complete-game seven hitter, and was backed by homers from Rick Monday and Pat Bourque. Jose Cardenal doubled in a pair of runs as well. Hooton walked one and struck out nine. Greg Luzinski homered for the Philadelphia run. Wayne Twitchell took the loss.

New York 3, Pittsburgh 2: Ron Hodges singled in a pair of runs in the sixth inning and Bud Harrelson followed with a successful squeeze bunt. Jerry Koosman and HarryParker made those three runs stand up, barely. Koosman took a shutout into the eighth inning, but left with two runs in, a man on first and one out. Parker got out of the inning and added a scoreless ninth for the save. Bruce Kison took the loss.

Atlanta 8, St Louis 3: Mike Lum's solo homer in the sixth broke a 1-1 tie, and he followed with a grand slam in a six-run seventh that broke the game open. Ralph Garr led off the game with a homer for the visiting Braves. Carl Morton went the distance, allowing three runs on eight hits. Reggie Cleveland was the losing pitcher

Games of Friday, Aug. 15

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               67     47       .588     ---
Atlanta                 55     53       .509     9
Montreal              56     55       .505     9.5
New York            56     55       .505     9.5
St. Louis              53     56       .486   11.5
Chicago               51     57       .472   13
Pittsburgh            51     58       .467   13.5
Philadelphia         49     57      .462   14

Saturday's games
Philadelphia (Twitchell) at Chicago (Hooton)
New York (Koosman) at Pittsburgh (Kison)
Atlanta (Morton) at St. Louis (Cleveland)

Philadelphia 3, Chicago 2: Mike Schmidt hit a two-run homer in the second inning and Steve Carlton went eight innings for the win. Carlton allowed two runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out nine. Ron Santo homered for the Cubs. Bill Wilson threw a perfect ninth for the save. Fergie Jenkins took the loss.

Pittsburgh 9, New York 8: Rennie Stennett led off with a homer and walked off the Mets with a bases-loaded two-run single in the ninth, which capped a four-run rally off Tug McGraw. New York starter George Stone was more noteworthy for his hitting than his pitching; he allowed four runs in six innings but had two singles and a double at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in three. Jim Rooker, who allowed one unearned run in two innings of relief, got the win.

St. Louis 3, Atlanta 2: Rick Wise allowed one earned run on eight hits in 8.2 innings to outduel Phil Niekro. Al Hrbrosky got the final out after the Braves plated an unearned run in the ninth and had the tying run on. Niekro went all eight innings for the Braves, allowing two earned runs on seven hits.

Houston 9, Montreal 3: Cesar Cedeno's three-run homer in the sixth busted one a tight game, and Jim Wynn added a two-run homer in the eighth.  Don Wilson allowed three runs on five hits in six innings for the win, and Jim York threw three scoreless innings for the save. Mike Torrez took the loss. Cedeno and Wynn scored three runs apiece.

Games of Thursday, Aug. 14

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               66     47       .584     ---
Atlanta                 55     52       .514     8
Montreal              56     54       .510     8.5
New York            56     54       .510     8.5
St. Louis              52     56       .482   11.5
Chicago               51     56       .477   12
Pittsburgh            50     58       .463   13.5
Philadelphia         48     57      .457   14

Friday's games
Philadelphia (Carlton) at Chicago (Jenkins)
New York (Stone) at Pittsburgh (L. Walker)
Atlanta (Niekro) at St. Louis (Wise)
Montreal (Torrez) at Houston (D Wilson)

Montreal 2, Houston 1: Steve Renko allowed one unearned run on three hits in eight innings, and Mike Marshall pitched out off a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth for the save. Tim Foli singled in the first run in the sixth inning and John Boccabella doubled in the second in the eighth, both runs off losing pitcher Jerry Reuss.

New York 3, Pittsburgh 0: The Mets scored three runs in the topof the ninth, the first on a leadoff double by Bud Harrelson that Richie Zisk turned into a little-league homer. Two outs later, Rusty Staub hit a two-run homer off losing pitcher Nelson Briles. Jon Matlack struck out nine men in eight innings; he allowed five hits and one walk. Ray Sadecki threw a perfect ninth for the save.

 

Game of Wednesday, Aug. 13

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               66     46       .589     ---
Atlanta                 55     52       .514     8.5
New York            55     54       .505     9.5
Montreal              55     54       .505     9.5
St. Louis              52     56       .482   12
Chicago               51     56       .477   12.5
Pittsburgh            50     57       .467   13.5
Philadelphia         48     57      .457   14.5

Thursday's games
New York (Matlack) at Pittsburgh (Briles)
Montreal (Renko) at Houston (Reuss)

Pittsburgh 4, New York 1: Rennie Stennett hit a three-run homer in the second inning off Tom Seaver and Dock Ellis threw a complete-game six-hitter. The sole run for the Mets came on a sac fly by Willie Mays after singles by John Milner and Felix Millan in the second. Al Oliver scored from first base on a double to center by Willie Stargell. Ellis walked one and struck out five.

Games of Monday, Aug. 11

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               66     46       .589     ---
Atlanta                 55     52       .514     8.5
New York            55     53       .509     9
Montreal              55     54       .505     9.5
St. Louis              52     56       .482   12
Chicago               51     56       .477   12.5
Pittsburgh            49     57       .453   14
Philadelphia         48     57      .457   14.5

Tuesday's games
None

Wednesday's game
New York (Seaver) at Pittsburgh (Ellis)

New York 2, Houston 1: Ted Martinez scored from first base on Jim Fregosi's two-out double in the bottom of the ninth for the winning run. Jerry Koosman allowed six hits in his complete game win. Dave Roberts also allowed six hits in 8.2 innings and took the loss. Felix Millan homered in the sixth inning for the Mets.

Philadelphia 14, Pittsburgh 4: The Phillies scored seven runs in the first inning off Bob Moose to start the rout. Greg Luzinski homered in the third and drove in five runs in all. Denny Doyle had three hits and a walk, scored three times and drove in a pair. Mike Schmidt also had two RBIs. Steve Carlton went the distance for the win despite allowing back-to-back homers to Manny Sanguillen and Willie Stargell in the seventh.

Pittsburgh 12, Philadelphia 9: Bob Robertson homered twice, one with the bases loaded, as the Pirates got a split of the doubleheader and stayed out of the cellar. Manny Sanguillen had four hits, including a triple and a double, scored three times and drove in three runs. Greg Luzinski hit two more homers in the  and drove in four runs for the Phillies. Bruce Kison gave up six runs in six innings and was credited with the win. Wayne Twitchell was the loser.

St. Louis 6, Montreal 1: Tom Murphy allowed one run on five hits in eight innings, while Bernie Carbo and Jose Cruz each drove in two runs. Cruz was gunned down at home plate twice by Expos center fielder Boots Day. Ernie McAnally allowed five runs, three earned, in eight innings for the loss.

Atlanta 12, Chicago 5: The Braves plated eight runs of Milt Pappas in the first three innings, and Carl Morton allowed one run in eight inning despite allowing 12 hits. Herny Aaron homered for Atlanta, Ralph Garr scored three runs, Dusty Baker drove in three runs and Paul Casanova had four hits. The Cubs scored four in the ninth off Jimmy Freeman.

Games of Sunday, Aug. 10

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               66     45       .595     ---
Atlanta                 54     52       .509     8.5
Montreal              55     53       .509     9.5
New York            54     53       .505   10
Chicago               51     55       .481   12.5
St. Louis              51     56       .477   13
Pittsburgh            48     56       .462   14.5
Philadelphia         47     56      .456   15

Monday's games
Pittsburgh (Moose and Kison) at Philadelphia (Carlton and Twitchell)
St. Louis (Murphy) at Montreal (McAnally)
Houston (Roberts) at New York (Koosman)
Chicago (Pappas) at Atlanta (Morton)

Montreal 3, St. Louis 2: Mike Torrez allowed eight hits, none after the fifth inning, in his complete-game win. Boots Day drove in two runs with a single and a sac fly off losing pitcher Reggie Cleveland, who allowed three runs in six innings. Bernie Carbo scored both Cardinals runs.

Montreal 11, St.Louis 3: Rich Folkers walked eight men while allowing five runs in his four innings, and the Expos got a two-run homer from Ron Fairly and a three-run shot from Bob Bailey against the Cardinals bullpen.  Bill Stoneman got through six innings for the win, allowing two runs on nine hits and two walks. 

Houston 9, New York 8 (14 innings): Lee May tripled and scored on Doug Rader's single in the 14th inning. The game was 8-8 after nine innings, at which point the bullpens -- most Harry Parker and J.R. Richard -- put the clamps on. Rusty Staub and Cleon Jones homered for the Mets; Cesar Cedeno homered for Houston. Richard was the winner, Parker the loser and Jim Ray picked up the save.

Houston 5, New York 3: Doug Rader drove in four runs with three singles and Don Wilson allowed three runs on seven hits in eight-plus innings. Cecil Upshaw entered with a man on and no outs in the ninth and promptly got a double play grounder followed by a comebacker to get the save. Cesar Cedeno scored two runs. Lee May homered for Houston, and Wayne Garrett and John Milner homered for the Mets. George Stone took the loss.

Games of Saturday, Aug. 9

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               64     45       .587     ---
New York            54     51       .514     8
Atlanta                 54     52       .510     8.5
Montreal              53     53       .500     9.5
St. Louis              51     54       .486   11
Chicago               51     55       .481   11.5
Pittsburgh            48     56       .462   13.5
Philadelphia         47     56       .456  14

Sunday's games
St. Louis (Cleveland and Folkers) at Montreal (Torrez and Stoneman) 
Houston (Wilson and Forsch) at New York (McAndrew and Stone)

Montreal 3, St. Louis 0: Steve Renko held the Cardinals to five hits in his complete game, but he also walked six while striking out eight. Jim Lyttle tripled home the first run in the sixth inning off loser Rick Wise and scored on a sac fly. Bob Bailey homered in the eighth off Wayne Granger.

Atlanta 2, Chicago 1 (10 innings): Darrell Evans led off the bottom of the 10th with a homer off Dave LaRoche. Tom House got credit for the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Starters Bill Bonham and Phil Niekro each worked eight innings; Niekro allowed one run on six hits and Bonham one run on three hits.

Atlanta 11, Chicago 5: The pitchers duel of the first game was followed by a slugfest and sloppy defense. The Braves got homers from Darrell Evans and Dusty Baker. Rico Carty came off the bench to double, homer and walk for the Cubs. Paul Casanova drove in three runs for Atlanta, and both Ralph Garr and Dave Johnson scored three times. Roric Harrison pitched into the eighth inning for the win. Larry Gura was the loser.

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 2: Jim Lonborg yielded two runs on three hits in the second inning, then limited the Pirates to just three hits the rest of the way. Tom Hutton's double was the centerpiece of the Phillies' rally in the fifth, in which they scored three runs on three hits and two walks. Nelson Briles took the loss.

Philadelphia 17, Pittsburgh 9: Bill Robinson drove in six runs with a homer and four singles, Terry Harmon socred four times and Tom Hutton homered with three RBIs as the Phillies completed the sweep of the doubleheader. Dave Parker pinch-hit a homer for the Pirates, and Manny Sanguillen also went deep, while Al Oliver and Richie Zisk hit back-to-back triples. Barry Lersch allowed five earned runs in six innings and was credited with the win. Luke Walker was the losing pitcher.

New York 2, Houston 1 (10 innings): Two wild pitches by Jerry Reuss in the bottom of the 10th plated the winning run for the Mets. Bud Harrelson led off the inning with a double and moved to third on the first wild pitch, thrown while pinch-hitter Ted Martinez drew a walk. The second wild pitch came during the next at-bat (Wayne Garrett). Tug McGraw got the win with three scoreless innings in relief of Jon Matlack. Cesar Cedeno threw Willie Mays out at the plate in the seventh inning. 

Games of Friday, Aug. 8

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               64     44       .593     ---
New York            53     51       .510     9
Atlanta                 52     52       .500   10
Montreal              52     53       .495   10.5
St. Louis              51     53       .490   11
Chicago               51     53       .490   11
Pittsburgh            48     54       .471   13
Philadelphia         45     56       .446  15.5

Saturday's games
St. Louis (Wise) at Montreal (Renko) 
Houston (Ruess) at New York (Matlack)
Pittsburgh (Briles, L Walker) at Philadelphia (Lersch, Lonborg)
Chicago (Bonham, Gura) at Atlanta (Niekro, Harrison)

Montreal 8, St. Louis 0: Steve Rogers threw a four-hit shutout and Tim Foli and Bob Bailey hit back-to-back homers in the first inning as the Expos overpowered Alan Foster and the Cardinals. Pepe Mangual hit a three-run blast in the eighth off Ed Sprague to blow the game open. Rogers walked five and fanned three.

New York 6, Houston 3: John Milner clubbed a three-run homer in the third and Tom Seaver struck out five Astros in a row en route to eight in his complete game win. Bud Harrelson drove in a pair of runs. Tom Griffin took the loss.

Chicago 6, Atlanta 5: Randy Hundley's three-run homer in the eighth vaulted the Cubs back into the lead, and Jim Aker retired Darrell Evans and Henry Aaron with the tying run on third in the ninth inning. Winning pitcher Rick Reuschel carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but Evans hit a three-run homer with two outs to put the Braves ahead. Atlanta reliever Ron Reed quickly gave that lead away. Aker gave up a solo homer in the eighth but worked around a single and an error in the ninth.  

Philadelphia 5, Pittsburgh 3: Tom Hutton's two-run homer in the eighth off John Morlan broke a 3-3 tie after Ken Brett squandered a 3-0 lead. Denny Doyle had a pair of RBI singles for the Phillies. but also committed an error that allowed the Pirates' first run in the sixth inning. Brett was the winner, Morlan the loser and George Culver pitched the ninth for the save.