NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Hot Davis Heats Up Reds in Pittsburgh, 6-2

The rest of the West should be glad that Eric Davis waited to hit until only five weeks remained in the season.

Davis emerged from his slump just in time to keep the Cincinnati Reds from getting into serious trouble in a race they have led from opening day.

A three-game hitting binge has not only kept the Reds in first place by 6 1/2 games, it has prevented the Pittsburgh Pirates from adding to a lead in the East. The Pirates lead the New York Mets by three games.

Davis culminated his big weekend with a two-run double Sunday at Pittsburgh to lead Rick Mahler (6-5) and the Reds to a 6-2 victory.

In the three victories, Davis was eight for 12, either scoring or driving in nine of the 16 runs the Reds scored.

Davis was batting .225 and the Pirates had been beating the Reds unmercifully until this weekend. The Pirate victory, 9-3, Thursday, was their fifth in a row over the Reds, including a four-game sweep last weekend at Cincinnati. In those games Davis was three for 16.

“Davis is like Darryl Strawberry,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said. “If you run into them when they’ve got it going, they can destroy you. Davis may be the most gifted player in the league.”

In his last eight games Davis is batting .400 with seven RBIs and six runs scored. Although he is tinkering with contact lenses, he has not worn them regularly and credits his surge to returning to his old batting style.

“I was standing up at the plate, lunging at the ball,” he said. “Now I’m rocking back and forth before the pitch like I did before. I was hitting from a dead standstill, and I got into a lot of bad habits. Now I’m generating a lot more bat speed.

“It’s funny, but I changed back to take some of the pressure off my aching knees, and I’m hitting better. That’s a bonus and I’m trying not to think about the knees.”

Leyland said he could notice the change in Davis from one weekend to the next.

“He was hitting pitches this week we were getting him out on,” Leyland said. “Doug (Drabek) threw him a pitch the other night I thought was a great pitch, but he fought it off and hit it out of the park. He’s great talent.”

The Reds gave up on Mahler once already this season, but with injuries to Danny Jackson and others brought him back.

This was his second clutch performance in a row. Last Tuesday, after the Reds had lost five in a row, the 37-year-old right-hander held the Cubs to a run and five hits in seven innings to end the skein.

Then, in this one, he avoided a split of the four-game series by lasting 6 2/3 innings before turning it over to Rob Dibble for his ninth save.

Houston 4, St. Louis 2--Danny Darwin (10-1), who has become unbeatable since returning to a starting role July 1, won his ninth consecutive game, an eight-hitter at Houston.

It was the 11th consecutive starting assignment for Darwin, who began as a reliever for Texas in 1978 and has alternated at the two jobs since.

In the 11 starts, he is 8-0 and has gone at least five innings in each. This was only the third time in which he has given up as many as two runs.

“I’m not going to get too excited about this streak,” Darwin said. “I’ve been around a long time. This streak can stop at any time. It can easily change and go the other way.”

Bill Doran’s steal of home in the sixth inning broke a 2-2 tie and put Darwin in command.

Twice the Cardinals put a man on third base with one out and Darwin didn’t let him score.

Philadelphia 5, San Francisco 1--Von Hayes hit a three-run home run in the third inning and John Kruk hit a two-run smash in the sixth as the Phillies ended a four-game losing streak.

Jason Grimsley, a rookie who won a game after being brought up from the minor leagues late last season, held the Giants to six hits in seven innings and dropped them behind the Dodgers into third place in the West. The Giants trail Cincinnati by 7 1/2 games and have 35 games to play.

Grimsley, a 23-year-old right-hander, lost his shutout when rookie shortstop Mike Benjamin hit his first major league home run.

Atlanta 4, Chicago 3--John Smoltz gave up a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning at Atlanta to apparently lose his bid for an 11th victory.

But Ron Gant tied it with his 24th home run leading off the bottom of the ninth. With two out, Gregg Olson blooped a double to right to score Francisco Cabrera from first with the winning run.

Montreal 4, San Diego 2--Even after hitting a three-run home run in the eighth inning at Montreal, rookie Larry Walker said Bruce Hurst is the toughest pitcher he has faced.

“He left the ball up, I saw it and I hit it,” Walker said of the Padres’ left-handed pitcher. “It doesn’t change my opinion. I still don’t want to face him.”