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.