Games of Sunday, Sept. 28

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               86     67       .562     ---
Atlanta                 83     70       .542      3
Chicago               79     72       .523      6
New York            77     74       .510      8
Pittsburgh            76     76       .500      9.5
Montreal              74     78       .486    11.5
St. Louis              74     80       .480    12.5
Philadelphia         59     89       .399    24.5

Momday's game
Pittsburgh (L Walker) at Chicago (Reuschel)

St. Louis 6, Houston 5 (14 innings): Luis Melendez led off the bottom of the 14th with his third double of the game, and one out later Bernie Carbo plated him with a sac fly. Rich Folkers got the win with two scoreless innings of relief, and J.R. Richard took the loss. Ted Simmons twice threw out Cesar Cedeno on steal attempts.

Houston 3, St. Louis 1: Bob Watson's two-run pinch-hit homer in the top of the ninth broke a 1-1 tie, and Jim York entered in the bottom of the inning with two on to induced a double play grounder from Joe Torre in the season finale for both teams. Houston sat its seven everyday regulars. Ken Forsch went eight innings for the win, with Cecil Upshaw and York splitting the last three outs. Rich Folkers took the loss in relief of Reggie Cleveland.

Atlanta 5, Montreal 2: Henry Aaron's three-run homer in the seventh off Mike Torrez broke a 2-2 deadlock and lifted the second-place Braves to the win in the final game of the season for both clubs. Carl Morton went eight innings for the win, and Roric Harrison pitched the ninth for the save.

New York 1, Philadelphia 0: Willie Mays homered to lead off the bottom of the first and Tom Seaver struck out 13 in his four-hit shutout. Steve Carlton allowed just the one run in seven innings; he left with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth, but Bill Robinson gunned down Rusty Staub at the plate on George Theodore's short fly, and George Culver completed the Houdini by getting Bud Harrelson to ground out.

Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 2: The Cubs had 11 hits in seven innings off Jim Rooker, all singles, but that came with three walks and was enough to plate five runs. Burt Hooton allowed two runs in seven innings for the win, both runs scoring on a Richie Hebner homer. Larry Gura pitched the final two innings for the save.

Games of Saturday, Sept 27

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               85     66       .562     ---
Atlanta                 82     70       .539      3.5
Chicago               78     72       .520      6.5
New York            76     74       .507      8.5
Pittsburgh            76     75       .503      9
Montreal              74     77       .490    11
St. Louis              72     79       .476    13
Philadelphia         59     88       .401    24.5

Sunday's games
Houston (Reuss and Forsch) at St. Louis (Wise and Cleveland)
Atlanta (Morton) at Montreal (Torrez)
Philadelphia (Carlton) at New York (Seaver)
Pittsburgh (Rooker) at Chicago (Hooton)

Atlanta 7, Montreal 5: Dave Johnson hit a three-run homer off Mike Marshall in the 10th inning to propel the Braves to the win. It was Johnson's second homer of the game. Henry Aaron also homered for the visiting Braves. Ron Fairly hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to narrow the final margin. Pat Dobson got the win and Marshall was the loser.

New York 7, Philadelphia 1: George Stone went seven innings for the win, allowing one run on eight hits. John Milner tripled home a pair of runs in the first inning off Jim Lonborg, and Felix Millan had a pair of RBI singles. Mike Anderson homered for the Philadelphia run.

Pittsburgh 9, Chicago 4: Manny Sanguillen, Richie Hebner and Bob Robertson all homered for the Pirates, with Hebner's three-run shot in the fifth being the crucial blow. That homer effectively knocked Fergie Jenkins from the game. Bob Moose worked seven innings for the win, allowing four runs. Ramon Hernandez entered with a three-run lead in the eighth and retired all six men he faced for the save. Ben Oglivie went 2-for-4 and was returned to the taxi squad.

St. Louis 10, Houston 6: The first six Cardinal batters reached, and five of them scored. Tommy Agee and Jose Cruz later hit solo homers. Alan Foster worked eight innings of one-run ball for the win, but Wayne Granger got only one out in the ninth and after Lee May hit a three-run homer, Orlando Pena entered to retire the final two men and end the game.

 

Games of Wednesday, Sept. 24

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               85     65       .567     ---
Atlanta                 81     70       .536      4.5
Chicago               78     69       .531      4.5
New York            74     74       .500    10
Pittsburgh            73     74       .497    10.5
Montreal              74     76       .493    11
St. Louis              70     79       .469    14.5
Philadelphia         59     86       .407    24.5

Thursday's games
Pittsburgh (Ellis) at New York (Matlack)
St. Louis (Gibson) at Philadelphia (Twitchell) 

Houston 19. Atlanta 5: Bob Watson drove in six runs with a grand slam, a single and a sac fly in the first three innings as the Astros pummeled Roric Harrison for six runs in the first two innings and Gary Gentry for five more in the third. The Astros scored in seven innings. Ken Forsch allowed two runs in the first on a Darrell Evans homer, then shut out the Braves until the eighth.

Houston 6, Atlanta 4: Lee May drove in four runs with a single in the third and a homer in the fifth to help the Astros sweep the doubleheader and eliminate the Braves. The Astros could not immediately celebrate, however, as the third-place Cubs, playing later in Montreal, still had a chance to tie. Don Wilson went eight innings for the win, and Jim Crawford pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save despite allowing a pair of deep fly balls. Carl Morton took the loss.

Chicago 4, Montreal 1: Rick Reuschel held the Expos to one run on five hits in his complete game, while Don Kessinger drove in three runs out of the leadoff spot to keep the Cubs mathematically in the race. Losing pitcher Balor Moore went five innings, allowing all four runs on five hits and six walks.

Pttsburgh 2, New York 1: Jim Rooker threw a six-hit complete game and Willie Stargell drove in both Pirates runs with a first-inning single and a third-inning home run. Jerry Koosman allowed eight hits in seven innings. 

St. Louis 10, Philadelphia 2: Joe Torre hit a two-run homer and Reggie Cleveland allowed six hits in seven innings. Torre had three hits and three RBIs while scoring twice. Steve Carlton allowed five runs in seven innings for the loss.

Games of Tuesday, Sept. 23

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               83     65       .560     ---
Atlanta                 81     68       .551      2.5
Chicago               77     69       .527      4
New York            74     73       .503      8.5
Montreal              74     75       .497      9.5
Pittsburgh            72     74       .493    10
St. Louis              69     79       .466    14
Philadelphia         59     85       .409    23

Wednesday's games
Houston (Forsch and D Wilson) at Atlanta (Harrison and Morton), 2
Chicago (Reuschel) at Montreal (Moore)
Pittsburgh (Rooker) at New York (Koosman)
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Philadelphia (Carlton)

Chicago 9, Montreal 5:  Randy Hundley capped a five-run top of the eighth with a three-run homer off losing pitcher Tom Walker. Bernie Allen hit a three-run homer for the Expos in the third after Bob Bailey left with a season-ending injury. Ray Burris got the win with a scoreless inning of relief.

New York 2, Pittsburgh 1 (12 innings): Felix Millian drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 12th, the third free pass issued by Bob Johnson in the inning, to end the pitchers duel. Tom Seaver struck out 12 in 10 innings. Bob Moose induced five double-play grounders in 8.2 innings. Tug McGraw worked two scoreless frames for the win.

Philadelphia 5, St. Louis 4: Pinch-hitter Jose Pagan led off the bottom of the ninth with a base hit. One out later, the Phillies put the hit-and-on on with Denny Doyle at the plate, and Doyle found a gap, with Pagan scoring from first base with the winning run.  Ken Brett, who struck out 11 in his complete game, got the win. Al Hrbrosky took the loss. The Cardinals got back-to-back homers in the first inning from Joe Torre and Ted Simmons.

Atlanta 4, Houston 2: Phil Niekro held the Astros to two runs on six hits in his complete game win, while Dusty Baker and Mike Lum hit solo homers in the first two innings off Jerry Reuss as the second-place Braves won the opener of a three-game series against the league-leading Astros. Baker went 4-for-4 with two singles and a double. He scored twice and drove in two. Niekro struck out 10 Astros.

Games of Saturday, Sept. 20

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               83     64       .564     ---
Atlanta                 80     68       .540      3.5
Chicago               74     69       .517      6
Montreal              74     72       .506      8.5
New York            73     72       .503      9
Pittsburgh            71     73       .493    10.5
St. Louis              69     78       .469    14
Philadelphia         58    85       .406    24

Sunday's games
Pittsburgh (Briles) at Montreal (Renko)
Chicago (Pappas) at New York (McAndrew)

St. Louis 21, Atlanta 6: Joe Torre hit for the cycle and the Cardinals batted around in both the eighth and ninth innings of the rout. Torre doubled in the first inning, tripled in the third, singled in the sixth and homered in the eighth before adding another single in the ninth. He scored twice and drove in four runs. Ken Reitz hit a grand slam off the overworked Jimmy Freeman, who wore it late in this one. Tom Murphy went six innings, allowing four runs, for the win. Pat Dobson took the loss.

Atlanta 6, St. Louis 1: Darrell Evans hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Mike Nagy (who was filling in for the injured Bob Gibson) and Carl Morton allowed one run in seven innings as the Braves recovered for a split of the doubleheader. The Cardinals had the tying runs on base in the seventh and the go-ahead runs on in the eighth, but could get no closer, and Al Hrbrosky imploded in the eighth for three runs. Danny Frisella worked two scoreless inhings for the save.

Montreal 6, Pittsburgh 3: Bob Bailey drove in two runs with a triple and a double, and Tim Foli had a two-run double. Ernie McAnally shut out the Pirates until Bob Robertson hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Mike Marshall got the final five outs for the save. Dock Ellis took the loss.

New York 8, Chicago 1: John Milner homered twice off loser Rich Reuschel and Rusty Staub added a two-run homer in the eighth off Jack Aker. Jon Matlack went the distance for the Mets, allowing three hits and five walks with nine strikeouts. 

Houston 9, Philadelphia 1: Lee May and Doug Rader each hit two-run homers in the first inning off Steve Carlton, and Jim Wynn added a solo shot in the second. Dave Roberts went the distance for the Astros, scattering seven hits. Montreal, New York and Pittsburgh were all eliminated. The Astros trimmed their magic number to four.

Games of Friday, Sept. 19

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               82     64       .561     ---
Atlanta                 79     67       .541      3
Chicago               74     68       .521      5
Montreal              73     72       .503      8.5
New York            72     72       .500      9
Pittsburgh            71     72       .497      9.5
St. Louis              68     77       .469    13.5
Philadelphia         58    85       .406    23

Saturday's games
St. Louis (Murphy and Nagy) at Atlanta (Dobson and Morton), 2
Pittsburgh (Ellis) at Montreal (McAnally)
Chicago (Reuschel) at New York (Matlack)
Houston (Roberts) at Philadelphia (Carlton)

Pittsburgh 7, Montreal 4: The Pirates won their fifth in a row, getting home runs from Willie Stargell, Richie Hebner and Bob Robertson. Richie Zisk doubled twice and scored both times. Bruce Kison pitched into the sixth inning for the win, with Ramon Hernandez, Steve Blass and Dave Giusti splitting the rest of the work and Giusti earning the save. Steve Rogers was the losing pitcher. 

Chicago 2, New York 0: Burt Hooton spun a four-hit shutout to out-duel Jerry Koosman. Don Kessinger tripled to plate Rick Monday in the second inning, and Glenn Beckert drove in Ken Rudolph in the fifth for the other run. Hooton struck out seven and walked two. 

Houston 4, Philadelphia 2: Bob Watson hit a two-run homer and Jim Wynn blasted a pair of triples to back Don Wilson, who held the Phillies to two singles through the first seven innings. Del Unser hit a two-run homer in the eighth to chase Wilson, but Jim Crawford finished the eighth and Jim Ray worked a scoreless ninth for the save. Dick Ruthven was the loser.

St. Louis 8, Atlanta 6: The Cardinals scored five runs in the fifth to overtake the Braves, then hung on as the Braves scored three in the bottom of the ninth. Ted Sizemore drove in three runs with a double, a single and a sac fly. Reggie Cleveland gave up three runs, only one earned, in the first, then held the Braves scoreless until the ninth. Al Hrbrosky finished but did not get a save. Ron Reed was the loser for Atlanta, which got two RBIs apiece from Henry Aaron and Darrell Evans.

Games of Thursday, Sept. 18

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               81     64       .558     ---
Atlanta                 79     66       .545      2
Chicago               73     68       .518      5
Montreal              73     71       .507      7.5
New York            72     71       .503      8
Pittsburgh            70     72       .492      9.5
St. Louis              67     77       .465    13.5
Philadelphia         58    84       .408    22

Friday's games
Pittsburgh (Kison) at Montreal (Rogers)
Chicago (Hooton) at New York (Koosman)
Houston (D Wilson) at Philadelphia (Ruthven)
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Atlanta (Reed)

Montreal 5, St. Louis 4: Bob Bailey hit a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to walk off Mike Nagy and make a winner of Mike Marshall. The Expos led 4-0 after two innings, but St. Louis starter Alan Foster followed with four scoreless innings while the Cards rallied to even the score against Mike Torrez. 

St. Louis 10, Montreal 2: The Cardinals bounced back behind Rick Wise, who held the Expos to two runs in eight innings, and Lou Brock and Ted Sizemore, who each scored three runs and drove in a pair. Wise and Brock each tripled, and Ken Reitz and Joe Torre had two RBIs apiece. 

New York 2, Houston 1 (10 innings): Tom Seaver worked all 10 innings for the Mets, allowing one run on four hits. Wayne Garrett scored the winning run on a wild pitch by JR Richard, who entered after Ken Boswell, pinch hitting for Seaver, tripled to open the bottom of the 10th. With the infield and outfield both in, Richard got Garrett to hit a grounder to first, and Lee May threw out Boswell trying to score. But then Richard walked both Felix Millan and Rusty Staub to load the bases, then uncorked his wild pitch. Jim York was saddled with the loss.

Houston 9, New York 7: Cesar Cedeno homered twice and tripled, scored three times and drove in four. J.R. Richard threw three innings of relief, allowing only an unearned run, and was credited with the win in via scorer's descretion rather than Cecil Upshaw, who was ineffective in his one-third of an inning. Ray Sadecki took the loss for the Mets.

Pittsburgh 7, Philadelphia 5: Richie Hebner hit a pair of solo homers and Al Oliver and Willie Stargell hit back-to-back homers to power the Pirates. Bob Boone hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Steve Blass to make the score close.  Bob Moose, who allowed two runs in 7.1 innings, was the winner, and Wayne Twitchell took the loss.

Pittsburgh 8, Philadelphia 2: Luke Walker went eight innings for the Buccos and Al Oliver homered twice. Gene Alley hit a three-run homer in the seventh to ice the win. Jim Lonborg took the loss. Greg Luzinski hit a two-run home run in the sixth for the Phillies runs.

Atlanta 9, Chicago 8: Darrell Evans hit a two-out three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Jack Aker to win it. It was Evans's second of the game and the fifth for Atlanta. Dave Johnson also homered twice and Phil Niekro, who gave up six runs in six innings, hit the other. Gary Gentry got the win in relief. Billy Williams and Ron Santo homered for the Cubs.

Chicago 7, Atlanta 5: Pat Bourque drove in the first run of the game with a double, but his biggest swing came the next inning when he clubbed a grand slam off Atlanta starter and loser Ron Schueler. The Braves made the game close with a four-run outburst in the seventh against starter and winner Bill Bonham and Jack Aker, but they could not dent home plate in the eighth against Dave LaRoche or in the ninth against Ray Burris, who got the save.

Games of Tuesday, Sept. 16

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               80     63       .559     ---
Atlanta                 78     65       .545      2
Chicago               72     67       .518      5
Montreal              72     70       .507      7.5
New York            71     70       .500      8
Pittsburgh            68     72       .489    10.5
St. Louis              66     76       .468    13.5
Philadelphia         58    82       .417    21

Wednesday's games
None

Thursday's games
St. Louis (Wise and Foster) at Montreal (Torrez and Moore),2
Houston (Reuss and Griffin) at New York (Seaver and Stone), 2
Pittsburgh (Moose and  L Walker) at Philadelphia (Twitchell and Lonborg),2
Chicago (Jenkins and Bonham) at Atlanta (Niekro and Schueler), 2

Houston 11, New York 2: Doug Rader homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs to support Dave Roberts' complete game. Bob Watson and Lee May each had two RBIs. Roberts scattered six hits and walked two with two strikeouts. Jon Matlack took the loss; he yielded six runs in five innings. 

New York 6, Houston 5 (13 innings): The Astros bullpen blew three leads and wasted homers from Lee May, Johnny Edwards and Bob Watson. Rusty Staub singled in the walk-off winner in the bottom of the 13th. Jerry Grote led off the inning with a double off losing pitcher Jim York; Staub got the final hit off Cecil Upshaw. Buzz Capra was credited with the win. Wayne Garrett scored three times and had a game-tying homer in the 10th.

Atlanta 3, Chicago 2 (10 innings): The Braves' pinch-hitters came through in the bottom of the 10th to overtake the Cubs, who had taken the lead in the top in the inning. With two out and a man on, Frank Tepedino pinch-hit for Sonny Jackson and drew a walk of Bob Locker. Marty Perez then pinch-hit for reliever Dan Frisella and singled home the tying run. Ralph Garr singled to plate Tepedino and win the game. 

Chicago 10, Atlanta 4: Paul Popovich drove in three runs in the first three innings as the Cubs drove Roric Harrison from the mound early. Jose Cardenal, Ron Santo and Rick Monday each had a pair of RBIs, and Cardenal, Santo, Billy Williams and Pat Bourque each scored two runs. Milt Pappas allowed one run in six innings for the win.

Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 3: Rennie Stennett's two-run homer in the eighth inning off Steve Carlton put the Pirates ahead, and Dave Giusti navagated the final two innings to save the game for Jim Rooker. Rooker allowed three runs on six hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts. He gave up homers to Bill Robinson and Mike Schmidt. 

Pittsburgh 2, Philadelphia 0: Nelson Briles outdueled Ken Brett, shutting out the Phillies on four hits. Rennie Stennett had his second game-winning RBI of the day, doubling home Bob Robertson in the eighth inning off Brett. Willie Stargell homered in the ninth off Mike Wallace. 

St. Louis 7, Montreal 5: Ted Sizemore hit triples in the eighth and ninth innings as the Cardinals score five runs in the two frames to overtake the Expos. Losing pitcher Tom Walker gave a third three-bagger, to Mike Tyson, in his disastrous outing. Rich Folkers was credited with the win despite allowing two runs in his two innings of relief. Diego Segui got the save. Scipio Spinks allowed three runs, two earned, in six innings despite issuing nine walks.

Game of Monday, Sept. 15

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               79     62       .560     ---
Atlanta                 77     64       .546      2
Chicago               71     66       .518      6
Montreal              72     69       .511      7
New York            70     70       .500      8.5
Pittsburgh            66     72       .478    11.5
St. Louis              65     75       .464    14
Philadelphia         58    79       .423    19

Tuesday's games
Houston (Roberts and Forsch) at New York (Matlack and McAndrew), 2
Pittsburgh (Rooker and Briles) at Philadelphia (Carlton and Brett),2
Chicago (Reuschel and Pappas) at Atlanta (Morton and Harrison), 2
St. Louis (Spinks) at Montreal (Renko)

Atlanta 6, Pittsburgh 4: Dusty Baker's grand slam capped a five-run bottom of the eighth and propelled the Braves to the win. Dock Ellis worked around eight hits and two walks in seven innings, allowing one run on a homer by Darrell Evans, but the Pirates hit for him in the top of the eighth without success, and Ramon Hernandez was shelled in the bottom of the frame. Danny Frisella got the win, and Tom House worked the ninth for the save.

Games of Saturday, Sept. 13

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               78     62       .557     ---
Atlanta                 76     64       .543      2
Chicago               71     66       .518      5.5
Montreal              72     68       .514      6
New York            70     69       .504      7.5
Pittsburgh            66     71       .482    10.5
St. Louis              64     75       .460    13.5
Philadelphia         58    79       .423    18.5

Sunday's games
Houston (D. Wilson) at Montreal (McAnally)
St. Louis (Gibson) at New York (Koosman)

Montreal 11, Houston 8: The first six Expos batters reached base against Astros starter and loser Jerry Reuss, who was chased after three innings and five runs. Cecil Upshaw, the first Houston reliever, allowed five straight Expos to reach after getting the first batter, all of whom scored. Mike Torrez staggered through seven innings for the win; he allowed eight runs on 12 hits, six walks and a hit batter, with Jim Wynn clubbing a grand slam to make the score 11-8 in the seventh. Mike Marshall pitched two scoreless innings for the save. Ken Singleton homered a nd had three RBIs for Montreal.

Chicago 8, Philadelphia 3: Billy Williams hit a three-run homer in the third inning, Don Kessinger scored three times and Randy Hundley doubled, tripled and walked while driving in two runs. Burt Hooton went seven innings for the win, allowing three runs on eight hits. Dick Ruthven took the loss. 

Chicago 4, Philadelphia 0: Bill Bonham retired the last 16 Phillies batters to complete his six-hit shutout. Ron Santo doubled twice, driving in one run and scoring another.Losing pitcher Jim Lonborg held the Cubs to two runs on five hits in seven innings, but Chicago plated a pair of insurance runs off reliever George Culver. 

New York 8, St. Louis 2: Tom Seaver struck out nine Cardinals in his five-hit complete game. Both runs he allowed were unearned. Rusty Staub homered in the first off Reggie Cleveland, who allowed three runs in six innings for the loss. John Milner doubled twice and scored both times, and both Jim Gosger and Jerry Grote had two RBIs.

Pittsburgh 9. Atlanta 6: Al Oliver's grand slam in the sixth inning put the Pirates ahead for good. John Morlan allowed three runs in five innings for the win, with Bob Johnson allowing two runs in three innings and Dave Giusti another in the ninth. Henry Aaron hit a pair of solo homers, one off Morlan and the other off Johnson, but left the bases loaded in the eighth. Darrell Evans also homered for Atlanta. Ron Schueler took the loss.

Games of Friday, Sept. 12

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               78     61       .561     ---
Atlanta                 76     63       .546      2
Montreal              71     68       .511      7
Chicago               69     66       .511      7
New York            69     69       .500      8.5
Pittsburgh            65     71       .478    11.5
St. Louis              64     74       .464    13.5
Philadelphia         58    78       .426    18.5

Saturday's games
Chicago (Hooton and Bonham) at Philadelphia (Ruthven and Lonborg), 2
Houston (Reuss) at Montreal (Torrez)
St. Louis (Cleveland) at New York (Seaver)
Pittsburgh (Morlan) at Atlanta (Schueler)

New York 7, St.Louis 0: George Stone spun a six-hit shutout and had two hits himself, scoring twice and driving in a run. Wayne Garrett hit a two-run homer off losing pitcher Rick Wise, and Rusty Staub drove in two runs with a double.

Chicago 2, Philadelphia : Billy Williams hit a tie-breaking triple in the sixth inning and Cub relievers Dave LaRoche, Jack Aker and Larry Gura combined to get the last seven outs despite allowing five baserunners. Fergie Jenkins got the win, Wayne Twitchell took the loss and Gura got a one-batter save.

Atlanta 20, Pittsburgh 3: Dave Johnson hit three homers, Darrel Evans a pair, and the Braves also got homers from Henry Aaron, Joe Pepitone and Mike Lum. Atlanta added seven doubles and a triple to those eight homers. In the fifth inning, the Braves slugged four straight long balls  -- Pepitone (subbing for Aaron at that point) Evans, Johnson and Lum. Phil Niekro went the distance for the win despite allowing back-to-back homers in the first to Al Oliver and Willie Stargell. He finished with a six-hitter.

Games of Wednesday, Sept. 10

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               78     61       .561     ---
Atlanta                 75     63       .543      2.5
Montreal              70     68       .507      7.5
Chicago               68     66       .507      7.5
New York            68     69       .496      9
Pittsburgh            65     70       .481    11
St. Louis              64     73       .467    13
Philadelphia         58    76       .433    17.5

Thursday's game
Philadelphia (Brett) at Montreal (Renko) 

New York 3, Atlanta 0: The Braves had baserunners aplenty but could not push any across the plate, while the Mets scored three runs in the first inning. Winning pitcher Ray Sadecki allowed seven hits and five walks in six innings while striking out six. Buzz Capra granted two hits and a walk in two innings, and Tug McGraw a single and a walk in the ninth. All told, Atlanta left 15 men on base. Carl Morton took the loss.

Atlanta 5, New York 4: Darrell Evans homered and the Atlanta bullpen worked four innings of one-run ball to salvage a split of the doubleheader. Roric Harrison allowed three runs in five innings, which was good enough to get the win. Jimmy Freeman allowed one run in two innings, and Adrian Devine and Tom House each worked a scoreless frame, with House getting the save. Jon Matlack was the losing pitcher.

Chicago 13, Houston 6: Randy Hundley cracked a three-run homer and Jose Cardenal scored four runs as the Cubs outslugged the slumping Astros. Houston relievers issued three bases-loaded walks. Ken Forsch started and took the loss; he allowed nine runs, seven earned, in 3.2 innings. Cardenal homered, doubled and singled and drove in three runs. Milt Pappas went seven innings for the win.

Philadelphia 5, Montreal 3: Bob Boone tripled home a pair of runs and Mike Anderson scored twice. Steve Carlton had a one-hit shutout through eight innings, but gave up three straight hits to open the ninth, all of whom scored. George Culver had a one-batter save. Balor Moore, who allowed two runs in seven innings, was charged with the loss.

Pittsburgh 10, St. Louis 3: Willie Stargell hit a grand slam in the second inning. He hit a two-run homer in the sixth, the first of a back-to-back pair with Richie Zisk. Richie Hebner also hit a two-run homer. Luke Walker went seven innings for the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits. Mike Nagy left after the second inning and took the loss.

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 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.