Games of Wednesday, July 16

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               51     35       .593     ---
New York             46     35       .568     2.5
Atlanta                 41     40       .506     7.5
Montreal              40     42       .487     9.5
St. Louis              39     42       .481     9.5
Chicago               37     43       .462   11
Pittsburgh            36     43       .456   11.5
Philadelphia         35     45       .438   13

Thursday's games
Philadelphia (Carlton) at Chicago (Pappas)
New York (Stone) at Pittsburgh (Rooker)
Montreal (Torrez) at Houston (Reuss)
Atlanta (Morton) at St. Louis (Folkers)

Montreal 4, Houston 3 (13 innings): Ron Fairly pinch-hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to force the game into extra innings, and Pepe Mangual hit a solo homer in the 13th to put the Expos ahead for the first time. Mike Marshall worked out of two jams in three innings of scoreless relief, with Ken Singleton gunning down Bob Gallagher at the plate, but it was Pat Jarvis who got the win. Jim York was the losing pitcher. Cesar Cedeno had three hits, including a homer and double, stole two bases and scored twice.  

Montreal 2, Houston 1: Ron Fairly tripled and scored in the first and homered in the third to supply Steve Renko with just enough runs. Renko went the distance, granting four hits and four walks while striking out six. The Astros didn't score until the ninth, when Doug Rader walked, went to third on Tommy Helm's single and scored on Johnny Edwards's deep fly. 

St. Louis 2, Atlanta 0: Bob Gibson fired a four-hit shutout and homered off Phil Niekro. The Cardinals' first run came in the opening inning, when Lou Brock walked, stole second and came in on Joe Torre's double. Gibson homered with two out in the seventh. Gibson walked two and struck out six. Niekro also threw a complete game, allowing eight hits and three walks. He struck out four. 

St. Louis 14, Atlanta 5: The Cardinals scored five runs in the first inning off Roric Harrison and three more in the second off Jimmy Freeman and cruised to the win. Tom Murphy went the distance for St. Louis, allowing four earned runs on nine hits, including homers by Dusty Baker and Dave Johnson, Mick Kelleher had a three-run double in the first for St. Louis. Tim McCarver 4-for-5 with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs. Lou Brock had three hits and two RBIs.

Philadelphia 7, Chicago 6: The Phillies scored four runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth, which was enough to hold off the Cubs. Bucky Brandon threw a scoreless seventh and was credited with the win. Mac Scarce got the save despite giving up a two-run homer to Billy Williams in the ninth. Willie Montanez pinch-hit a three-run homer in the seventh for Jim Lonborg, who allowed two earned runs (four runs total) in six innings. Rick Reuschel shut out the Phillies for six innings but couldn't complete the seventh. Dave LaRoche took the loss.

New York 6, Pittsburgh 0: Tom Seaver struck out nine Pirates in his six-hitter. The Mets drew six walks, four of whom scored. Wayne Garrett had two of the walks and runs. Felix Millan had three singles; he scored a run and drove in another. John Milner had a two-run double. Cleon Jones was injured and replaced on the roster by Jim Gosger. Nelson Briles took the loss.