Games of Saturday, May 24

                              W      L        Pct.     GB
New York            20     13       .606    ---
St. Louis              16     13       .551    2
Chicago               19     16       .543    2
Atlanta                 14     13       .519    3
Houston               16     15       .516    3
Montreal              14     17       .452    5
Philadelphia         11     16       .407    6
Pittsburgh            13     19       .406    6.5

Sunday's games
Pittsburgh (Briles) at Montreal (Torrez)
Atlanta (Niekro) at Chicago (Jenkins)
Philadelphia (Ruthven) at St. Louis (Wise)
New York (Seaver) at Houston (Reuss)

Chicago 7, Atlanta 6: Randy Hundley's grand slam highlighted the Cubs' seven run sixth inning. Hundley's blast was immediately followed by a homer by Paul Popovich. Both homers came off reliever Tom House, who took the loss. Roric Harrison, in his first start since his no-hitter against the Astros, took a one-hit shutout into the sixth but was unable to retire a batter. Henry Aaron homered twice off winner Burt Hooton, who gave up six runs (one unearned) in 6.2 innings. Dave LaRoche and Jack Aker got the final eight outs, with Aker earning the save.

St. Louis 8, Philadelphia 5: The Cardinals shelled Steve Carlton for eight runs on seven hits and three walks in the first two innings. Joe Torre hit a two-run homer. St. Louis didn't score again, but eight was enough. Bob Gibson went six innings for the win, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits; the Cardinals committed three errors behind him.The Phillies got five scoreless innings from Mike Wallace and got the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but pinch-hitter Bill Robinson grounded into a double play off Al Hrbrosky to end it.

New York 6, Houston 4: The Mets took the lead in the sixth on a suicide squeeze but by Bud Harrelson and picked up three necessary insurance runs in the top of the ninth. George Stone allowed two runs in seven inning for the win; the lefty scattered seven hits. Tug McGraw staggered through the ninth, allowing two runs, including a leadoff homer from Doug Rader, but finished the game.

Games of Friday, May 23

                              W      L        Pct.     GB
New York            19     13        594    ---
Atlanta                 14     12       .538    2
St. Louis              15     13       .536    2
Houston               16     14       .533    2
Chicago               18     16       .529    2
Montreal              14     17       .452    4.5
Philadelphia         11     15       .423    5
Pittsburgh            13     19       .406    6

Saturday's games
Atlanta (Harrison) at Chicago (Hooton)
Philadelphia (Carlton) at St. Louis (Gibson)
New York (Stone) at Houston (Forsch)

Montreal 14, Pittsburgh 6:  The Expos knocked Bob Moose out of the box with a six-run first, then tacked on two more in the second and five in the third as they ran through the Pittsburgh pitching staff. Boots Day, fresh off the injured list, scored three times for Montreal. Bob Bailey, Mike Jorgensen and Bob Stinson each had three RBIs. Richie Zisk hit a grand slam in the seventh. Balor Moore got the win; he allowed one earned runs and five unearned in seven innings as the Expos committed four errors, three of them by second baseman Larry Lintz. Al Oliver homered twice for Pittsburgh, and Ron Fairly homered for Montreal.

New York 4, Houston 0: Jim McAndrew combined with three relievers on a four-hit shutout. McAndrew allowed all four singles in five innings and was credited with the win. Harry Parker pitched a perfect sixth, Tug McGraw retired all six Astros he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, and Buzz Capra walked one man but struck out two in the ninth.Dave Roberts took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, in eight innings.

Games of Thursday, May 22

                              W      L        Pct.     GB
New York            18     13        580    ---
Houston               16     13       .551    1
Atlanta                 14     12       .538    1.5
St. Louis              15     13       .536    1.5
Chicago               18     16       .529    1.5
Montreal              13     17       .433    4.5
Philadelphia         11     15       .423    4.5
Pittsburgh            13     18       .419    5

Friday's games
Montreal (Moore) at Pittsburgh (Moose)
New York (McAndrew) at Houston (Roberts)

Chicago 9, Atlanta 8: The Cubs scored eight runs in the bottom of the ninth to overtake the Braves. The rally started with four consecutive singles off Adrian Devine, who then gave way to Ron Schuler. He retired Jose Cardenal but then allowed singles to Don Kessinger and Billy Williams, then a double to Ron Santo. That made the score 8-6 Atlanta. Tom House relieved and struck out Billy Williams, but then Mike Lum erred on Jim Hickman's fly ball, with Williams and Santo scoring to tie the game. Randy Hundley singled to plate Hickman, and the Cubs had the win. House was charged with the loss. Jim Aker, who allowed a run in the top of the ninth, was credited with the win. Wasted was eight innings of one-run, six hit ball by Carl Morton. Dusty Baker, Darrell Evans and Johnny Oates all homered for Atlanta.

Montreal 9, Pittsburgh 3: John Boccabella drove in five runs and Steve Renko went the distance for the Expos. Boccabella had two sac flies, drew a bases-loaded walk and tripled in two runs on a fly ball that Richie Zisk got a bad read on. Mike Jorgensen scored three times. Renko scattered eight hits, one a homer by Zisk. Jim Lyttle will miss the next three days for Montreal.

St. Louis 2, Philadelphia 1 (12 innings): Mike Tyson punched a singled through the drawn-in infield to plate Ken Reitz from third in the bottom of the 12th. Wayne Granger, the fourth St. Louis pitcher, was credited with the win, but the Cardinals' mound hero was Rich Folkers, who threw five innings of one-run ball after Reggie Cleveland left with an injury sustained while hitting in the third inning. Wayne Twitchell took a no-hitter into the seventh and allowed one run in nine innings for the no-decision. Diego Segui worked three scoreless innings, and with their bullpen depleted and three double-headers looming, the Cardinals deactivated Bake McBride after the game and promoted Mike Nagy.

New York 4, Houston 3: Don Wilson retired the first 19 Mets, but he couldn't get an out in the eighth inning. The Mets opened that inning with five straight hits off Wilson and loser Jim Ray and scored all four runs. Jon Matlack (seven innings, eight hits, three runs) got the win; Harry Parker worked two perfect innings for the save. Cesar Cedeno went 4-for-4 with two steals, a solo homer and two runs scored. Doug Rader also homered for Houston.

Games of Wednesday, May 21

                              W      L        Pct.     GB
Houston               16     12       .571    ---
New York            17     13        567    ---
Atlanta                 14     11       .560    0.5
St. Louis              14     13       .519    1.5
Chicago               17     16       .515    1.5
Philadelphia         11     14       .444    3.5
Pittsburgh            13     17       .433    4
Montreal              12     17       .414    4.5

Thursday's games
Atlanta (Morton) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Montreal (Renko) at Pittsburgh (Ellis)
Philadelphia (Twichell) at St. Louis (Cleveland)
New York (Matlack) at Houston (Wilson)

Philadelphia 3, Chicago 1: Ken Brett not only threw a complete-game six-hitter, he homered, a solo shot in the fifth inning that completed the scoring. Greg Luzinski also homered for the Phillies. Fergie Jenkins took the loss for the Cubs. Glenn Beckert was injured and deactivated after the game, with Rico Carty activated. 

New York 5, Pittsburgh 0: Jerry Koosman threw a four-hit shutout for the Mets and retired 18 of the final 19 Pirates he faced. Cleon Jones went 3-for3 with two walks, a run and a double, Bud Harrelson scored a pair of runs and Duffy Dyer drove in two with a double and a sac fly. Pirates starter Jim Rooker took the loss. He was injured after pitching two innings and is out until June 6.  Steve Blass has been activated in his place.

Houston 3, Montreal 2: The Astros scored three runs in the third inning off Mike Torrez, and Jerry Reuss and the bullpen made them stand up. Reuss had a two-hit shutout going though seven innngs, but with one out in the eighth allowed three straight singles. Ken Forsch finished the eighth but got into his own jam in the ninth, and Jim Ray got all three men he faced for the save. 

Atlanta 10, St. Louis 3: Mike Lum hit a grand slam in the first inning and Henry Aaron hit a three-run homer in the ninth as Braves never trailed. Ralph Garr hit a solo homer off loser Rick Wise, who surrendered seven runs in seven innings. Phil Niekro allowed three runs, two earned, in seven-plus innings for the win.

Games of Tuesday, May 20

                             W      L        Pct.     GB
Houston               15     12       .556    ---
New York            16     13        551    ---
Atlanta                 13     11       .542   0.5
St. Louis              14     12       .538    0.5
Chicago               17     15       .531    0.5
Pittsburgh            13     16       .448    3
Montreal              12     16       .429    3.5
Philadelphia         10     14       .416    3.5

Wednesday's games
Philadelphia (Brett) at Chicago (Jenkins)
New York (Koosman) at Pittsburgh (Rooker)
Atlanta (Niekro) at St. Louis (Wise)
Montreal (Torrez) at Houston (Reuss)

Chicago 4, Philadelphia 1: Burt Hooton went the distance, allowing five hits, and Randy Hundley hammered a three-run homer off Steve Carlton in the sixth. The Phillies did not score until Bill Robinson's RBI single with two out in the ninth. Rick Monday hit a solo homer for Chicago.

New York 5, Pittsburgh 4: John Milner hit a three-run homer in the Mets' five-run eighth inning to overcome the Pirates. Tom Seaver allowed two runs in seven innings for the win. Tug McGraw allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth but still managed to collect the save. Nelson Briles, who had a shutout through seven innings, was charged with the loss. After the game, Jim Fregosi was deactivated and Willie Mays returned to the active roster.

Game of Monday, May 19

                             W      L        Pct.     GB
Houston               15     12       .556    ---
Atlanta                 13     11       .542   0.5
St. Louis              14     12       .538    0.5
New York            15     13        535    0.5
Chicago               16     15       .516    1
Pittsburgh            13     15       .464    2.5
Philadelphia         10     13       .435    3
Montreal              12     16       .429    3.5

Tuesday's games
Philadelphia (Carlton) at Chicago (Hooton)
New York (Seaver) at Pittsburgh (Briles)

Pittsburgh 5, New York 1: Rennie Stennett hit a two-run homer in the third and Bob Robertson doubled home two runners in the fourth as the Pirates knocked the Mets out of first place. Bruce Kison allowed one run in six innings for the win, and Ramon Hernandez retired nine of the 10 men he faced for the save. George Stone allowed five earned runs in six innings for the loss.

Games of Sunday, May 18

                             W      L        Pct.     GB
New York            15     12        556    ---
Houston               15     12       .556    ---
Atlanta                 13     11       .542   0.5
St. Louis              14     12       .538    0.5
Chicago               16     15       .516    1
Pittsburgh            12     15       .444    3
Philadelphia         10     13       .435    3
Montreal              12     16       .429    3.5

Monday's game
New York (Stone) at Pittsburgh (Kison)

Philadelphia 17, Chicago 2: The wind was blowing out at Wrigley, but only the Phillies seemed to notice. Mike Schmidt and Bill Robinson each hit two homers for the visitors, with both of Robinson's coming in a nine-run top of the ninth. Jim Lonborg allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings for the win; one of the hits was a solo homer by Ron Santo. Schmidt had three hits, three runs and two RBIs. Robinson drove in four runs, and Larry Bowa went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three runs. Del Unser also scored three times.

Houston 7, Montreal 3: Jim Wynn hit a three-run homer and Jim York threw 3.2 scoreless innings of relief for Houston. Wynn went 3-for-5 with two runs, four RBIs and a steal. Tom Griffin held the Expos scoreless for five innings but was knocked out in the sixth; York relieved and finished the game for the save. Ernie McAnally gave up five runs, four earned, in five innings for the loss as the Expos moved into the cellar..

St. Louis 6, Atlanta 3: Alan Foster allowed one run in seven innings, scattering six hits and striking out five. Ken Reitz hit a three-run homer and drove in a fourth run with a single, and Lou Brock had a two-run single in the third that put the Cardinals ahead to stay. Rick Folkers got the last out with two on for the save. Carl Morton (three runs in seven innings) was saddled with the loss.