Games of Friday, June 20

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               35     21       .625     ---
New York            33     24       .571     2.5
Atlanta                 27     25       .519     6
Montreal              28     26       .518     6
Chicago               26     29       .473     8.5
St. Louis              25     30       .455     9.5
Pittsburgh            23     30       .434   10.5
Philadelphia         19    31       .380   13

Saturday's games
Philadelphia ( Brett) at Montreal (Renko)
Houston (Forsch) at Pittsburgh (Briles)
New York (Sadecki) at Atlanta (Morton) 
St. Louis (Cleveland and Foster) at Chicago (Jenkins and Bonham), 2

Montreal 9, Philadelphia 1: Ron Fairly, Bob Bailey and Ken Singleton hit consecutive homers in the fourth inning off Dick Ruthven, and Balor Moore went the distance with a four-hitter. Singleton hit a second homer in the sixth, and Bob Stinson drove in three runs. Moore walked five and struck out 11. Mike Ryan was injured and is to miss Saturday's game.

Houston 6, Pittsburgh 1: J.R. Richard shut out the Pirates for seven innings, striking out 10, walking five and allowing just two singles. Doug Rader and Roger Metzger each tripled in the Astros' five-run sixth. Bob Moose took the loss. Jim York pitched the final two innings for Houston, allowing one run on five hits.

New York 7, Atlanta 5 (10 innings): Cleon Jones' two-run homer in the top of the 10th gave the Mets the final lead of a see-saw affair/ Jim McAndrew threw two scoreless innings of relief for the win, strining out Dave Johnson and Mike Lum for the final outs with runners on second and third. Marty Perez hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Jon Matlack. Pat Dobson took the loss in relief. 

Games of Thursday, June 19

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               34     21       .618     ---
New York            32     24       .571     2.5
Atlanta                 27     24       .529     5
Montreal              27     26       .509     6
Chicago               26     29       .473     8
St. Louis              25     30       .455     9
Pittsburgh            23     29       .442     9.5
Philadelphia         19    30       .388   12

Friday's games
Philadelphia (Ruthven) at Montreal (Moore)
Houston (Richard) at Pittsburgh (Moose)
New York (Matlack) at Atlanta (Niekro) 

Montreal 8, Houston 4: Ernie McAnally allowed one earned run in eight innings (and two unearned. John Boccabella hit a two-run homer in the fifth off loser Dave Roberts that put the Expos ahead to stay, and Ken Singleton salted the game way with a three-run shot off Tom Griffin in the eighth. Bob Watson homered, singled and scored twice for the Astros.

New York 3, Atlanta 1: A Dave Johnson error on the first batter of the game opened the door to a three-run inning for the Mets, and Jerry Koosman made the runs stand up with a three-hitter. Atlanta's only run came on a solo homer by Henry Aaron with two out in the ninth. Koosman walked two and struck out 10, including five of the final six hitters. Cleon Jones plated two runs in first with a bases-loaded double of loser Gary Gentry. Johnny Oates is out until the games of June 23.

Chicago 11, Philadelphia 5: The Cubs racked up nine runs in less than five innings against Jim Lonborg and cruised from there. Winner Milt Pappas allowed two earned runs in eight innings before allowing three runs on back-to-back homers by Bill Robinson and Mike Schmidt in the ninth. The Cubs drew five walks in the fifth inning off Lonborg and reliever Bucky Brandon, two with the bases loaded. 

Games of Wednesday, June 18

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               34     20       .630     ---
New York            31     24       .563     3.5
Atlanta                 27     23       .540     5
Montreal              26     26       .500     7
Chicago               25     29       .463     9
St. Louis              25     30       .455     9.5
Pittsburgh            23     29       .442   10
Philadelphia         19     29       .396   12

Thursday's games
Houston (Roberts) at Montreal (McAnally)
Chicago (Pappas) at Philadelphia (Lonborg)
New York (Koosman) at Atlanta (Gentry) 

Montreal 5, Houston 0: Mike Torrez and Mike Marshall combined for a six-hit shutout. The Expos hit three doubles in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead on Don Wilson, and Mike Jorgensen hit a two-run homer in the eighth. Ken Singleton doubled, singled, walked, scored two runs and drove in two.  Marshall relieved Torrez with the tying run up in the eighth and immediately got a double play to end the threat, then worked a hitless ninth for the save.

New York 1, St. Louis 0: It was a pitching duel worthy of the greats involved. Tom Seaver went the distance, shutting out the Cardinals on five hits. He walked four and stuck ut five. Bob Gibson gave up a run in the first inning for the loss. He went six innings before departing for a pinch hitter, allowing six hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Wayne Garrett led off the first with a single, went to second on Felix Millan's grounder and scored on Cleon Jones' two-out double.

Philadelphia 8, Chicago 7: The Phillies overcame a 7-0 deficit with a pair of four-run innings in the sixth and seventh. Billy William gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead three batters into the game with a three-run homer off Steve Carlton. Ken Rudolph also homered and added an RBI triple in the top of the sixth. But the Phillies got four runs off Rick Rueschel in the bottom of the inning and drove from from the mound with a pair of hit to open the seventh. Dave LaRoche retired just one of the three men he faced, and Jack Aker allowed his inherited runners to score. Bucky Brandon, Barry Lersch and Mac Scarce each worked a scoreless inning, with Brandon getting the win and Scarce the save. LaRoche was tagged with the loss.

Atlanta 14, Pittsburgh 11: Three-run homers abounded. Dusty Baker hit one in the first inning and Frank Tepedino one in the seventh for the Braves. The visiting Pirates got one from Gene Alley in the fourth and one from Willie Stargell in the ninth. It was Stargell's second homer of the game.  Ron Schueler allowed just one earned run through seven innings but surrendered three homers in the eighth and ninth as the Braves tried to avoid going to their depleted bullpen. Tepedino had five RBIs for Atlanta and Dave Johnson scored four times.

Games of Tuesday, June 17

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               34     19       .641     ---
New York            30     24       .556     4.5
Atlanta                 26     23       .530     6
Montreal              25     26       .490     8
Chicago               25     28       .472     9
St. Louis              25     29       .462     9.5
Pittsburgh            23     28       .461   10
Philadelphia         18     29       .383   13

Wednesday's games
Houston (Wilson) at Montreal (Torrez)
St. Louis (Gibson) at New York (Seaver)
Chicago (Reuschel) at Philadelphia (Carlton)
Pittsburgh (Kison) at Atlanta (Schueler)

Atlanta 6, Pittsburgh 4: Darrell Evans's two-out, two-run homer off reliever Bob Moose in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Braves to the win. Dave Parker had evened the score leading off the top of the ninth off Dan Frisella, who blew the save but wound up getting credit for the win. Richie Hebner homered for the Pirates in the second inning off Atlanta starter Roric Harrison. Dock Ellis worked eight innings for the Pirates, allowing four runs on 12 hits.

Atlanta 12, Pittsburgh 11: Rod Gilbreath came off the bench to drive in three runs, including the go-ahead run, as the Braves overtook the Pirates to sweep the doubleheader. Gilbreath had an RBI single pinch-hitting in the seventh inning, stayed in the game to play third base, and tripled in a pair of runs in the eighth. Bob Moose again took the loss. Tom House was credited with the win and Dan Frisella got the save. Darrell Evans and Dave Johnson each scored three runs. There were no home runs. The Pirates have lost four in a row, and the Braves have won four straight.

Houston 5, Montreal 3: The Astros took advantage of Steve Renko's error in the eighth inning for two unearned runs off the Expos ace, then plated two more in the top of the ninth to secure their 12th win in 13 games. Tom Griffin picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Jim York gave up a run in the ninth but still got the save. Tim Foli had three hits and two RBIs for the Expos.

New York 4, St. Louis 3: Wayne Garrett homered and scored a pair of runs to back up George Stone. Stone allowed three runs in 8.2 innings of 10-hit ball. Harry Parker got the final out for the save. Don Hahn drove in two runs in the sixth off loser Rick Wise. Ted Sizemore must miss Wednesday's game.

Philadelphia 8, Chicago 3: Greg Luzinski and Bill Robinson hit back-to-back homers in the first inning off Burt Hooton, and the Cubs never caught up. The Phillies added three more in the third, with Bob Boone driving in two of the runs. Wayne Twitchell went eight innings for the win, allowing three runs on just two hits. He walked six and hit a batter. Ron Santo must sit for three days.

Games of Monday, June 16

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               33     19       .634     ---
New York            29     24       .547     4.5
Atlanta                 24     23       .511     6.5
Montreal              25     25       .500     7
Chicago               25     27       .481     8
St. Louis              25     28       .471     8.5
Pittsburgh            23     26       .469     8.5
Philadelphia         17     29       .370   13

Tuesday's games
Pittsburgh (Ellis and L Walker) at Atlanta (Harrison and Morton), 2
Houston (Reuss) at Montreal (Renko)
St. Louis (Wise) at New York (Stone)
Chicago (Hooton) at Philadelphia (Twitchell)

Houston 6, Montreal 1: Cesar Cedeno hit two homers, drove in four runs and scored three times as the first-place Astros ended the Expos' winning streak. Ken Forsch went the distance, allowing one run on five hits. He walked five and struck out nine. Steve Rogers allowed four runs, three unearned, in seven innings for the loss. Cedeno and Jim Wynn hit back-to-back homers in the eighth off Bill Stoneman.

New York 3, St. Louis 2: Rusty Staub tied the game with a two-run homer in the sixth, and Jerry Grote singled home Don Hahn in the seventh with the decisive run. Jon Matlack worked seven innings for the win. He struck out seven and allowed two runs on four hits, one a homer by Ted Simmons. Tug McGraw worked two scoreless innings for the save. Alan Foster pitched all eight innings for the loss.

Philadelphia 7, Chicago 1: The Phillies crushed three homers off Fergie Jenkins in the first three innings. Ken Brett cruised from there, scatters seven hits and five walks in his complete game. Greg Luzinski, Bill Robinson and Mike Schmidt all homered. The Cubs committed three errors, but all the Philadelphia runs were earned. 

Atlanta 8, Pittsburgh 5: Dave Johnson tripled and homered twice, Darrell Evans hit a solo shot and Ralph Garr a three-run homer as the Braves long-balled their way to the win. Phil Niekro got the win with 6.1 innings of six hit ball, leaving after Gene Alley hit a three-run homer in the seventh. Ron Reed pitched two scoreless innings for the save. Nelson Briles took the loss.

Games of Sunday, June 15

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               32     19       .627     ---
New York            28     24       .538     4.5
Montreal              25     24       .510     6
Atlanta                 23     23       .500     6.5
Chicago               25     26       .490     7
St. Louis              25     27       .481     7.5
Pittsburgh            23     25       .479     7.5
Philadelphia         16     29       .355   13

Monday's games
Houston (Forsch) at Montreal (Rogers)
St. Louis (Foster) at New York (Matlack)
Chicago (Jenkins) at Philadelphis (Brett)
Pittsburgh (Briles) at Atlanta (Niekro)

Montreal 4, St. Louis 3 (12 innings): St. Louis shortstop Mike Tyson threw a ball away with two outs in the bottom of the 12th to allow the winning run to score. It was Tyson's second error of the game, and both resulted in Expos runs. The Cardinals tied the game in the eighth inning against Mike Marshall. Pat Jarvis was credited with the win and Al Hrbrosky was charged with the loss. The Expos have won six straight games.

Houston 4, New York 3: Lee May clubbed a two-run homer in the first inning and Cesar Cedeno added a solo shot in the fifth to power the front-running Astros to a series win over the second-place Mets. The Mets had men on second and third with no outs in the eighth but did not score and left the bases loaded in the ninth. Dave Roberts was the winner, Jerry Koosman the loser and Jim York got the save.

Games of Saturday, June 14

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               31     19       .620     ---
New York            28     23       .549     3.5
Atlanta                 23     23       .500     6
Montreal              24     24       .500     6
St. Louis              25     26       .490     6.5
Chicago               25     26       .490     6.5
Pittsburgh            23     25       .479     7
Philadelphia         16     29       .355   12.5

Sunday's games
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Montreal (Moore)
Houston (Roberts) at New York (Koosman)

Montreal 12, St. Louis 3: The Expos won their fifth straight to reach the .500 mark for the first time. Mike Jorgensen hit a bases-loaded triple in the first inning off Bob Gibson, and Boots Day clubbed a grand slam off Ed Sprague in the second. Mike Torrez worked all nine innings, giving up a three-run homer to Bernie Carbo in the sixth but overall holding the Cardinals to six hits. Clyde Mashore was injured and replaced on the Expos roster by Pepe Mangual.

Houston 3, New York 2 (11 innings): Bob Watson homered in the top of the 11 off Buzz Capra to break a tie that had stood for six innings. The Mets scored two runs in the first, but Don Wilson shut them out for the next eight innings. Th Astros tied it in the fourth off Jim McAndrew. Jim Crawford was credited with the win and Jim Ray got the save.

Philadelphia 8, Pittsburgh 6: The Phillies erupted for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to overtake the Pirates. Mike Schmidt homered and doubled twice, scoring three runs and driving in three. Willie Stargell homered twice for the Pirates, who also got  a solo homer from Al Oliver. Steve Carlton got the win despite allowing six runs, all earned, in seven innings; relievers Bucky Brandon and Dick Ruthven pitched hitless innings in the eighth and ninth respectively. Bob Johnson took the loss in relief,

Games of Friday, June 13

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               30     19       .612     ---
New York            28     22       .560     2.5
Atlanta                 23     23       .500     5.5
St. Louis              25     25       .500     5.5
Chicago               25     26       .490     6
Pittsburgh            23     24       .489     6
Montreal              23     24       .489     6
Philadelphia         15     29       .341   12.5

Saturday's games
St. Louis (Gibson) at Montreal (Torrez)
Houston (Wilson) at New York (McAndrew)
Pittsburgh (Rooker) at Philadelphia (Carlton)

Montreal 9, St. Louis 4: Mike Jorgensen homered in a three-run first and Ron Fairly homered in a three-run second as the Expos crushed Rick Wise early. Ken Singleton scored two runs and drove in two. Steve Renko went seven innings for the win, allowing four runs on seven hits. Lou Brock will sit out Saturday's game, and Tim McCarver is out until the June 21 doubleheader. 

New York 3, Houston 2: Tom Seaver outdueled Jerry Reuss in the opener of a series between the top two teams in the standings. Seaver scattered 10 hits in the complete game; he walked three, struck out seven and hit a batter. Reuss allowed 12 hits in eight innings, four of them in the Mets' two-run third. 

Atlanta 5, Chicago 4 (10 innings): Dave Johnson tied the game with an eighth-inning homer, and Ralph Garr drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th. Mike Lum, who scored the winning run, reached on an error by Don Kessinger. The Cubs scored the first four runs of the game in the first four innings, but Atlanta starter Ron Schueler then shut them out for three frames. Tom House threw two scoreless innings for the win. Bob Locker took the loss.

Game of Thursday, June 12

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               30     18       .625     ---
New York            27     22       .551     3.5
St. Louis              25     24       .510     5.5
Chicago               25     25       .500     6
Pittsburgh            23     24       .489     6.5
Atlanta                 22     23       .489     6.5
Montreal              22     24       .478     7
Philadelphia         15     29       .341   13

Friday's games
St. Louis (Wise) at Montreal (Renko)
Houston (Reuss) at New York (Seaver)
Chicago (Bonham) at Atlanta (Schueler)

Chicago 12, Atlanta 1: The Cubs scored in six of their nine innings and Rick Reuschel scattered five hits in his complete game. Billy Williams went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs, and Jose Cardenal scored three runs and drove in three, two on a homer. Roric Harrison took the loss for the Braves; he allowed seven runs on nine hits, six walks and three Braves errors.

Games of Wednesday, June 11

                            W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               30     18       .625     ---
New York            27     22       .551     3.5
St. Louis              25     24       .510     5.5
Atlanta                 22     22       .500     6
Chicago               24     25       .490     6.5
Pittsburgh            23     24       .489     6.5
Montreal              22     24       .478     7
Philadelphia         15     29       .341   13

Thursday's game
Chicago (Reuschel) at Atlanta (Harrison)

Montreal 9, Chicago 8: The Expos hit three homers in the bottom of the ninth, the final two consecutively, to overtake the Cubs with a six-run inning. Ken Singleton hit a three-run homer off Larry Gura after a single and walk opened the inning. One out later, Clyde Mashore singled, and Bob Locker entered. He faced two batters: John Boccabella homered to tie the game and Tim Foli, his at-bat preserved when Randy Hundley muffed his foul pop-up, homered to end it. The power display made a winner of Joe Gilbert, who allowed a run in his one inning of work. Hundley homered, singled, walked twice and scored three runs for the visitors.

New York 5, Pittsburgh 1: Felix Millan went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and Jon Matlack allowed one unearned rum in seven innings. Ed Kranepool and Rusty Staub each drove in a pair of runs. Bob Moose allowed all five Mets runs in four innings. John Milner was injured and will be out until June 21; he has been replaced on the roster by Jim Fregosi.who had just been deactivated to bring back Bud Harrelson.

Houston 9, Philadelphia 8 (14 innings): The Astros scored three runs in the ninth inning to tie the game at six and then survived a extra-innings seesaw. The Phillies scored five runs in the first three innings off Dave Roberts and chased the lefty after four. Jim Lonborg turned a 5-2 lead over to the bullpen after five innings, and it was 6-3 Phillies going into the ninth. But Mac Scarce couldn't hold that lead. Each team scored a run in the 13th. Mike Schmidt's two-base error was key to a two-run top of the 14th for the Astros.but the Phillies rallied in their half of the inning against Jim York. With a run in and the tying run on third. JR Richard relieved to retire Greg Luzinksi on a grounder to second and Willie Montanez on strikes. Jim York, who allowed two runs on six hits in 1.3 innings, got the win. Barry Lersch was the loser.

St. Louis 6, Atlanta 3: Ted Simmons drove in three runs on a double that eluded Atlanta right fielder Ralph Garr in the fifth inning. The Cardinals scored five runs in the frame on three walks, three singles and the double. Alan Foster went seven innings for the win, allowing three runs on 10 hits. Diego Segui threw two hitless innings for the save. Carl Morton took the loss

Games of Tuesday, June 10

                            W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               29     18       .617     ---
New York            26     22       .541     3.5
Atlanta                 22     21       .512     5
St. Louis              24     24       .500     5.5
Chicago               24     24       .500     5.5
Pittsburgh            23     23       .500     5.5
Montreal              21     24       .467     7
Philadelphia         15     28       .349   12

Wednesday's games
Chicago (Hooton) at Montreal (McAnally)
Pittsburgh (Moose) at New York (Matlack)
Houston (Roberts) at Philadelphia (Lonborg)
St. Louis (Foster) at Atlanta (Morton)

Montreal 4, Chicago 2: Steve Rogers allowed one earned run in his complete game three-hitter. He walked two and struck out three. Boots Day homered in the second off loser Fergie Jenkins. Mike Jorgensen singled, doubled, stole a base and drove in a run. Jose Cardenal scored two runs for the Cubs; he reached base on two of the Expos' three errors. Don Kessinger was injured for the Cubs and will sit through June 13.

Pittsburgh 4, New York 2 (10 innings): The Pirates put together three singles and a Wayne Garrett error to stick a loss on Tug McGraw and the Mets. Nelson Briles al1owed two runs, both unearned, on nine hits in nine innings for the win. Jerry Koosman struck out 11 in his nine innings for a no-decision. Willie Stargell hit a two-run homer in the sixth. 

Houston 1, Philadelphia 0: Lee May tripled in a run in the first inning and Don Wilson did the rest for the Astros. He limited the Phillies to four singles and three walks while striking out nine. Wayne Twitchell allowed just two hits in eight innings -- the other a single by Bob Watson in the sixth--  and three walks, but one of those walks preceded May's three-bagger. 

Atlanta 7, St. Louis 4: Ralph Garr and Dusty Baker hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the eighth inning off Rich Folkers to break a 4-all tie. Darrell Evans hit a three-run homer in the first off Reggie Cleveland. Phil Niekro got the win; he allowed four runs on six hits in eight innings. Tom House worked a scoreless ninth for the save. Garr, Baker and Evans each scored two runs for Atlanta. Lou Brock stole a pair of bases for the visiting Cardinals.

Games of Monday, June 9

                            W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               28     18       .609     ---
New York            26     21       .553     2.5
St. Louis              24     23       .511     4.5
Chicago               24     23       .511     4.5
Atlanta                 21     21       .500     5
Pittsburgh            22     23       .488     5.5
Montreal              20     24       .455     7
Philadelphia         15     27       .357   11

Tuesday's games
Chicago (Jenkins) at Montreal (Rogers)
Pittsburgh (Briles) at New York (Koosman)
Houston (Wilson) at Philadelphia (Twitchell)
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Atlanta (Niekro)

Montreal 2, Chicago 1 (12 innings): Pepe Frias singled home Mike Jorgensen with two outs in the 12th. Pat Jarvis got the win for two scoreless innings of relief. Bill Bonham took the loss. Milt Pappas allowed one run in eight inning and Balor Moore one run in seven innings for no-decisions.

New York 4, Pittsburgh 3: George Stone scattered 10 hits in his complete game win and drove in the final two runs for the Mets with a sixth-inning bases-loaded single. Loser Bruce Kison allowed five hits in 5.1 innings but also walked five.

Houston 7, Philadelphia 3: Doug Rader hit a three-run homer as the Astros lit up Steve Carlton for four runs in the first inning. Jerry Reuss threw a nine-hit complete game, backed by three double plays. Carlton also went the distance. Jim Wynn and Greg Luzinski each hit solo homers in the eighth.

Atlanta 7, St. Louis 1: Pat Dobson allowed one run on five hits in eight innings, and Dusty Baker and Frank Tepedino each drove in a pair of runs for the Braves. Bob Gibson retired the first 10 men he faced, but then he hit Mike Lum in the fourth and ignited a three-run inning in which Tepedino tripled. Lum will sit out Tuesday's game.