Games of Monday, Aug. 4

                               W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               61     43       .587     ---
Atlanta                 51     49       .510     8
New York            50     50       .500     9
St. Louis              49     51       .490   10
Chicago               49     51       .490   10
Montreal              49     52       .485   10.5
Pittsburgh            47     51       .480   11
Philadelphia         44     53       .453  13.5

Tuesday's games
Chicago (Pappas) at New York (Stone)
Pittsburgh (Kison) at Montreal (Torrez) 
Houston (Reuss) at Philadelphia (Twitchell)
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Atlanta (Dobson)

Chicago 4, New York 2: Jose Cardenal scored two runs and drove in another to back Rick Rueschel's eight innings of five-hit, two-run ball. Jon Matlack took a 2-2 tie into the eighth but didn't retire a batter in that frame, and Buzz Capra could not escape the bases-loaded situation he inherited. Bob Locker earned the save.

Chicago 4, New York 3: Billy Williams and Rick Monday each hit two-run homers off Tom Seaver to power the Cubs to the doubleheader sweep. Larry Gura pitched into the seventh inning, allowing two runs on nine hits for the win. Dave LaRoche finshed for the save. Willie Mays and Felix Millan homered for the Mets, who lost their fourth straight.

Montreal 10, Pittsburgh 3: The Expos got two-run homers from Ken Singleton and Bob Bailey, and Ron Hunt went 5-for-5 to rout the Pirates. Steve Renko went 6.1 innings for the win, with a solo homer to Willie Stargell the sole tally charged to him. Tom Walker gave up another homer to Stargell in the eighth, and Gene Alley plated a run wth a pinch-hit triple in the ninth off Bill Stoneman. Hunt tripled, scored twice and drove in a pair. Mike Jorgensen stole a pair of bases, doubled and drove in two runs. Nelson Briles was the losing pitcher.

Houston 6, Philadelphia 4: Lee May and Bob Watson hit consecutive homers in the sixth to complete the Astros' comeback from a 4-1 deficit, and Houston got five scoreless innings from its bullpen. Cecil Upshaw, the first of the parade of relievers, was credited with the win, and Jim Crawford got the save. Jim Lonborg took the loss.  Tom Hutton homered twice for the short-handed Phillies, who are now down three regulars (Del Unser, Willie Montanez and Greg Luzinski).

Atlanta 2, St. Louis 1: Phil Niekro held the Cardinals to five hits and three walks in his complete game win. Ralph Garr had two hits and a stolen base for Braves, and scored from first base on a Henry Aaron double for the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Losing pitcher Rick Wise allowed two runs on eight hits in six innings.

Games of Sunday, Aug. 3

                               W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               60     43       .583     ---
New York            50     48       .510     7.5
Atlanta                 50     49       .505     8
St. Louis              49     50       .495     9
Pittsburgh            47     50       .485   10
Montreal              48     52       .480   10.5
Chicago               47     51       .480   10.5
Philadelphia         44     52       .458  12.5

Monday's games
Chicago (Reuschel and Gura) at New York (Matlack and Seaver)
Pittsburgh (Briles) at Montreal (Renko) 
Houston (Forsch) at Philadelphia (Lonborg)
St. Louis (Wise) at Atlanta (Niekro)

Pittsburgh 4, Montreal 2: Dock Ellis threw a complete game, allowing one earned run on 10 hits, while Richie Hebner doubled, singled and scored twice. The Pirates scored three runs in the fourth inning off losing pitcher Steve Rogers. 

Chicago 4, New York 0: Burt Hooton scattered five singles and one walk while inducing three double-play grounders. The Cubs scored three runs, two unearned, in the second inning off Jim McAndrew, and Rick Monday homered in the ninth off Tug McGraw.

Games of Saturday, Aug. 2

                               W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               60     43       .583     ---
New York            50     47       .515     7
Atlanta                 50     49       .505     8
St. Louis              49     50       .495     9
Montreal              48     51       .485   10
Pittsburgh            46     50       .470   10.5
Chicago               46     51       .475   11
Philadelphia         44     52       .458  12.5

Sunday's games
Chicago (Hooton) at New York (McAndrew)
Pittsburgh (Ellis) at Montreal (Rogers) 

Atlanta 5, Houston 4: The Braves scored three runs in the seventh to overtake the Astros. Roric Harrison got the win; he allowed four runs on nine hits in seven innings. Tom House, Danny Frisella and Ron Reed combined to keep the Astros off the board in the eighth and ninth innings despite three hits and a walk. Ralph Garr had the only home run of the game. Jim Crawford took the loss in relief.

Houston 6, Atlanta 3: Jim Wynn homered twice and Doug Rader and Cesar Cedeno also went deep as the Astros got a split of the doubleheader and became the first team to 60 wins. Dave Roberts allowed one earned run in 7.2 innings; Jim Ray got the final four outs for the save despite allowing a run on three hits. Ron Schueler was the losing pitcher. 

Philadelphia 3, St. Louis 2: Steve Carlton outdueled Bob Gibson in the first of two games, with Bill Robinson's sac fly in the seventh plating the winning run. Tom Hutton hit a two-run double in the first for the Phillies, and Tommy Agee hit a two-run homer in the fourth to even the score. Carlton went the distance, allowing six hits. Gibson hit three batters, including Greg Luzinski twice.

Philadelphia 5, St. Louis 4: The Phillies completed the doubleheader sweep with Bill Robinson driving in three runs on a homer and single. Del Unser went 5-for-5 with three doubles; he scored twice and drove in a run. Jose Cruz hit a two-run homer in the third that gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead, but Robinson's homer tied it in the fifth and his single put the Philles ahead in the seventh. Barry Lersch got the win in relief and Orlando Pena was charged with the loss. Mac Scarce pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth for the save.

Pittsburgh 4, New York 0: Jim Rooker threw a five-hitter and Bob Robertson hit a two-run homer and also doubled and scored. Rooker walked two, struck out six and got two double-play grounders. Jerry Koosman took the loss.

Montreal 9, Chicago 6: Ken Singleton broke a 1-1 tie with a grand slam in the fifth inning and added a two-run homer in the seventh. Balor Moore held the Cubs to one unearned run through six innings but could not retire a man in the seventh, and the Cubs twice got the deficit to a one-run margin but could not complete the comeback. Fergie Jenkins took the loss, and Mike Marshall got the save despite allowing three hits in his one inning of work.

Games of Friday, Aug. 1

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               59     42       .584     ---
New York            50     46       .520     6.5
St. Louis              49     48       .505     8
Atlanta                 49     48       .505     8
Montreal              47     51       .479   10.5
Chicago               46     50       .479   10.5
Pittsburgh            45     50       .474   11
Philadelphia         42     52       .447  13.5

Saturday's games
Houston (Griffin and Roberts) at Atlanta (Harrison and Schueler)
St Louis (Gibson and Foster) at Philadelphia (Carlton and Ruthven)
Pittsburgh (Rooker) at New York (Koosman)
Chicago (Jenkins) at Montreal (Moore) 

Montreal 10, Chicago 1: Mike Jorgensen homered twice and Mike Torrez scattered six hits in his complete game win. Jorgensen drove in three runs and scored three. Bob Bailey and Boots Day each had two RBIs, and Ron Fairly also homered for the Expos. Bill Bonham took the loss, yielding eight runs, four earned, in four innings.

New York 2, Pittsburgh 1 (11 innings): Ed Kranpool's flyball got over the head of Pittsburgh right fielder Richie Zisk to plate Willie Mays with the winning run. George Stone and Bob Moose each worked nine innings of one-run ball for no decisions; Moose allowed five hits and Stone, who took a no-hitter into the eighth, allowed two. Tug McGraw was credited with the win and Luke Walker took the loss.

Atlanta 6, Houston 1: Ralph Garr led off with a home run, Henry Aaron hit a three-run homer and Mike Lum a two-run shot to account for the Braves runs. Cesar Cedeno hit a homer for the only tally off Carl Morton, who finshed with a five-hitter. Don Wilson took the loss.

Games of Thursday, July 31

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               59     41       .590     ---
New York             49    46       .516     7.5
St. Louis              49     48       .505     8.5
Atlanta                 48     48       .500     9
Chicago               46     49       .484   10.5
Pittsburgh            45     49       .478   11
Montreal              46     51       .474   11.5
Philadelphia         42     52       .447  14

Friday's games
Houston (Wilson) at Atlanta (Morton)
Pittsburgh (Moose) at New York (Stone)
Chicago (Bonham) at Montreal (Torrez) 

Chicago 4, Montreal 0: Milt Pappas held the Expos to five hits and Jose Cardenal hit a two-run triple for the Cubs. Losing pitcher Steve Renko allowed one run in seven innings despite walking six Cubs. Mike Marshall allowed three runs in one-plus inning.

New York 4, Pittsburgh 0: Tom Seaver allowed no baserunners until the seventh and finished with a three-hitter. He walked none and struck out eight. Seaver also bunted home a run and scored another after blooping a single in front of Richie Zisk. Bruce Kison took the loss.

St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 3: Joe Torre drove in two runs and scored twice, and Reggie Cleveland allowed one run in 7.1 innings for the win. Torre homered, doubled, singled and walked. Two of the Cardinals' five runs were unearned. Wayne Twichell took the loss; Diego Segui got the last two outs fo the save.

Games of Wednesday, July 30

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               59     41       .590     ---
New York             48    46       .510     8
Atlanta                 48     48       .500     9
St. Louis              48     48       .500     9
Pittsburgh            45     48       .484   10.5
Montreal              46     50       .479   11
Chicago               45     49       .478   11
Philadelphia         42     51       .451  13.5

Thursday's games
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Philadelphia (Twitchell)
Pittsburgh (Kison) at New York (Seaver)
Chicago (Pappas) at Montreal (Renko)

Atlanta 7, Houston 4: The Braves knocked Jerry Reuss out early, plating five runs in the first and another in the second. Phil Niekro allowed just one unearned run in the first eight innings but left after three straight hits to open the ninth. All three scored. Paul Casanova hit a two-run homer in the first, and Darrell Evans collected three RBIs. Jim Wynn homered in the ninth for the Astros.

Houston 11, Atlanta 2: Lee May hit a grand slam and Doug Rader a three-run homer. J.R. Richard allowed two runs, one earned, in 5.1 innings for the win. He allowed seven hits, one a homer by Henry Aaron. The Astros totaled 12 hits and six walks and benefited from three Atlanta errors. Pat Dobson took the loss.

Chicago 8, Montreal 6: Billy Williams hit one of three homers for the Cubs and drove in three runs as Chicago overtook the Expos. Williams homered in the first, had a sac fly in the third and drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth. Ron Santo and Rick Monday had the other Chicago homers. Mike Jorgensen had a two-run homer for the Expos. Dave LaRoche was credited with the win, with Larry Gura working two scoreless innings for the save. Ernie McAnally took the loss.

Philadelphia 11, St. Louis 9: The Phillies drove Rick Wise from the box early with five runs in the first, then tagged Wayne Granger for four runs in the third and hung on for the win. The Cafdinals made it close with two runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth, with George Culver coming in with two on to get Ken Reitz to end it. Jim Lonborg went seven-plus innings for the win; he allowed six runs on 11 hits, including homers by Ted Sizemore and Joe Torre. Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone each homered for Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh 7, New York 5: The Pirates scored four runs in the first inning off Jon Matlack and added two more in the second, then hung on despite three Mets home runs. Nelson Briles worked into the seventh for the win, allowing homers to Felix Milan, Ed Kranepool and John Milner. Ramon Hernandez pitched two scoreless innings, and Bob Johnson threw a perfect ninth for the save. Dave Cash and Rennie Stennett each scored two runs, and Richie Zisk drove in three.

Games of Tuesday, July 29

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               58     40       .591     ---
New York             48    45       .517     8
St. Louis              48     47       .505     8.5
Atlanta                 47     47       .500     9
Montreal              46     49       .484   10.5
Chicago               44     49       .473   11.5
Pittsburgh            43     48       .473   11.5
Philadelphia         41     51       .446  14

Wednesday's games
Houston (Reuss and Richard) at Atlanta (Niekro and Dobson)
St. Louis (Wise) at Philadelphia (Lonborg)
Pittsburgh (Briles) at New York (Matlack)
Chicago (Reuschel) at Montreal (McAnally)

Montreal 3, Houston 0: Steve Rogers threw a five-hit shutout, and Bob Bailey hit a two-run triple past left fielder Jimmy Stewart, whose errant throw then allowed Bailey to score in the bottom of the eighth. Rogers walked two and struck out three. Ken Forsch threw seven scoreless innings before leaving for a pinch-hitter. Jim York took the loss.

St. Louis 5, New York 1: Tom Murphy pitched the Cardinals' third straight complete game, allowing one unearned run on four hits. He retired the final 13 hitters he faced/ The Mets lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Felix Milan broke a 12-inning hitless streak with a single in the third inning. Joe Torre hit a two-run homer in in first off Ray Sadeki, and he and Ted Sizemore each scored two runs.

Pittsburgh 4, Atlanta 1: Willie Stargell hit a three-run homer in the sixth and doubled in a fourth run in the eighth to power the Pirates. Dock Ellis yielded a solo homer to Henry Aaron in the fourth inning but held the Braves to just three other hits in eight innings. Dave Giusti got through the ninth for the save despite a pair of singles. Ron Schueler went the distance for the loss.

Chicago 4, Philadelphia 3: The Cubs scored three runs in the top of the ninth to overtake the Phillies. Billy Williams and Ron Santo opened the frame with singles off Steve Carlton, the fifth and sixth hits the lefty allowed. Carlton struck out Rick Monday, then was relieved by George Culver, who promptly yielded singles to Jim Hickman and Randy Hundley to tie the game. After Paul Popovich popped out, pinch-hitter Pat Boroque doubled to put the Cubs ahead. Bob Locker got three infield outs for the save. Larry Gura threw a scoreless eighth for the win. Williams and Bob Boone homered.