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 Sunday, Aug. 31

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               75     54       .581     ---
Atlanta                 67     59       .531      6.5
New York            62     61       .504    10
Montreal              63     62       .504   10
Chicago               62     63       .496    11
Pittsburgh            60     65       .480    13
St. Louis              59     69       .453   15.5
Philadelphia         54     69      .439    18

Monday's games
New York (Stone and McAndrew) at Atlanta (Dobson and Reed), 2
Chicago (Gura and Jenkins) at Pittsburgh (Kison and Rooker), 2
Montreal (McAnally and Rogers) at Philadelphia (Twitchell and Brett), 2
St. Louis (Wise and Spinks) at Houston (Ruess and Richard),2

New York 3, Montreal 2: Jon Matlack held Montreal to five hits, all singles, and Rusty Staub drove in a pair of runs with a double in the fifth inning off losing pitcher Balor Moore. Felix Millan worked three walks and singled; he scored two runs for the Mets. Ron Hunt singled and was twice hit by pitches; he stole two bases and  scored a run for the Mets. 

Pittsburgh 8, Chicago 5: The Pirates scored seven runs in the top of the ninth inning, getting five singles, three walks, a two-run double from Willie Stargell and a costly error by Don Kessinger on a potential game-ending double play. Jose Cardenal had four hits for the Cubs, including a pair of doubles, and scored two runs. Bob Johnson was credited with the win, Dave LaRoche got the loss and Dave Giusti the save.

Houston 1, St. Louis 0 (14 innings): Roger Metzger reached on an error by Mike Tyson leading off the 14th inning and scored from first base on Cesar Cedeno's double to center. Bob Gibson and Ken Forsch each threw nine scoreless innings for no decisions. Gibson struck out 13 men, twice fanning four hitters consecutively. He allowed just two hits and one walk. Forsch held the Cardinals to five hits and five walks with five strikeouts. Jim Crawford got the win and Wayne Granger took the loss.

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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.

Games of Thursday, Aug. 28

                              W      L        Pct.     GB

Houston               73     53       .579     ---
Atlanta                 65     58       .529      6.5
Montreal              63     60       .512      8.5
Chicago               61     61       .500    10
New York            60     61       .496    10.5
Pittsburgh            58     64       .475    13
St. Louis              58     67       .464   14.5
Philadelphia         53     67      .442    17

Friday's games
St. Louis (Cleveland) at Chicago (Hooton)
New York (Seaver) at Montreal (Renko)
Atlanta (Niekro) at Philadelphia (Carlton)
Houston (Wilson) at Pittsburgh (Briles)

Atlanta 12, Philadelphia 5: The Braves sent 12 men to the plate in their eight-run third inning against Larry Christenson. He allowed 10 runs in three innings, but five of them were unearned as the Phillies infield committed three errors behind him. Ron Schueler allowed four runs in seven innings for the win. Bill Robinson homered for the Phillies, and Ralph Garr homered for the Braves. Dusty Baker had a bases-loaded triple.

Atlanta 11, Philadelphia 8: Paul Casanova homered twice and drove in five runs for the Braves. Roric Harrison allowed three runs, one unearned, through eight innings but wearied in the ninth, when the Phillies scored five runs on three singles and five walks before Jimmy Freeman finally got the final out. Darrell Evans also homered off losing pitcher Jim Lonborg, and Mike Lum scored three runs.

Chicago 5, St. Louis 1: Jose Cardenal homered, singled twice, walked and drove in three runs, and Ferguson Jenkins held St. Louis to six hits. Tommy Agee homered for the sole Cardinal run. Billy Williams had three singles for the Cubs. Alan Foster took the loss.

St. Louis 6,  Chicago 4: Joe Torre hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth to put the Cards ahead and salvage a split of the doubleheader. Rick Wise went eight innings for the win; he gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits. Bob Locker took the loss, and Diego Segui worked a perfect ninth for the save. Ted Simmons drove in two runs with a double.

Pittsburgh 5, Houston 4: The Pirates got three straight pinch-hit singles in the bottom of the ninth -- from Jackie Hernandez, Dave Cash and Vic Davalillo -- followed by another single by Al Oliver that plated Cash with the winning run. The outburst followed a three-straight-single rally in the top of the inning that put the Astros in the lead. Bob Johnson, who got the last two men in the top of the ninth, got the win. Jerry Reuss, who allowed the first two pinch-hits, took the loss. Jim York allowed the other two. Jim Wynn homered, doubled and singled, stole a base and scored three times while driving in a pair for the Astros. Willie Stargell homered and drove in two.