StL 4, Chi 2

Friday, May 22- The St. Louis Cardinals scored three times in the third inning, and it was enough to hold off the Chicago Cubs, 4-2, in a game pitting two red hot teams at Wrigley Field.

The Cardinals (22-15) have won 14 of 19, while the Cubs (19-20) entered the game on a five-game winning streak.

Pending the outcome of the Giants-Dodgers game, the Cards have a chance to move within one-half game of the first place Giants.

George Crowe (5, in 32 AB) added a solo homer for the Cardinals in the fifth inning, one frame after the Cubs scored twice to pull within 3-2. The big hit in the Cardinals' third inning was Gene Green's two-run single.

Four Cardinals pitchers limited the Cubs to two runs and eight hits. Bob Gibson (3) got the save, pitching the ninth. The winner was Gary Blaylock (4-3), who went 6.2 innings. Marshall Bridges and Dave Ricketts chipped in with 1.1 innings of shutout relief between them.

The loser was Glenn Hobbie (4-5), who went seven innings.

George Altman had three hits and scored a run in a losing cause.

StL 5, Pit 4

Thursday, May 21- Hal Smith singled home Ken Boyer in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie, and the blistering hot St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 5-4 victory at Busch Stadium.

It was the Cardinals' (21-15) 13th win in their past 18 games, moving them within 1.5 games of the first place San Francisco Giants.

The Pirates (16-20) have lost five in a row.

Bill Mazeroski's two-run double gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning, but it was short-lived as the Cardinals bounced back with two runs in their half of the inning, thanks to two Pirates errors.

The Pirates tied the game, 4-4, in the seventh inning when Dick Schofield, making a rare start, singled home Roman Mejias.

Hal Jeffcoat pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the year.

Marshall Bridges (3-0) pitched one inning of relief for the victory, while Pirates starter Harvey Haddix (2-2) took the loss, working all eight innings.

Chi 6, Phi 3

Thursday, May 21- The Chicago Cubs broke open a tie game with three runs in the sixth inning, and went on to their fifth straight victory, a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies to complete a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field.

Dale Long's two-run homer (5) capped the three-run sixth, and the Cubs added two more runs in the eighth for a 6-1 lead. The Phillies (14-20) tried to rally in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs, but could only manage two runs.

Bob Anderson (4-4) went eight-plus innings to earn the win. Ruben Gomez (1-4) pitched six innings in a losing effort for Philadelphia.

The Cubs (19-19) have won seven of eight to get back to .500 for the first time since they were 12-12, when a six-game losing streak ensued.

Long had three hits, lifting his average from under .200 to .217. He homered for the second straight game.

Anderson surrendered a run in the first inning, but then didn't allow another base hit until the eighth inning before tiring in the ninth.

StL 6, Pit 1

Wednesday, May 20- The St. Louis Cardinals blew open a tight game with three runs in the sixth inning and two in the seventh, and Vinegar Bend Mizell pitched a complete game in a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Sportsman's Park.

The Cardinals (20-15) stayed hot with their eighth win in their past 10 games. The Cards also stayed within two games of the first place San Francisco Giants.

Bill White's two-run double turned a 1-0 Cardinals lead into a 3-0 margin in the sixth inning. Don Blasingame later walked in a run. In the seventh, a Joe Cunningham single and a passed ball extended the lead to 6-0.

Mizell's (3-2) shutout was spoiled by an RBI double in the ninth inning off the bat of Hank Foiles.

The Pirates (16-19) lost their fourth straight game and fell into sixth place.

Bob Friend (3-3) took the loss for Pittsburgh after surrendering eight hits and four runs in six innings of work.

White, Ken Boyer and Joe Cunningham each had two hits for the Cardinals. Boyer (2) and White (3) scored five of the Cards' six runs.

SF 2, Mil 1

Wednesday, May 20- Mike McCormick pitched a complete game, five-hitter in his first start since pitching a no-hitter last week, and the San Francisco Giants nipped the Milwaukee Braves, 2-1, at Seals Stadium.

McCormick (2-3), who tossed a no-hitter against Philadelphia on May 14, didn't allow a hit until the first batter of the fifth inning against Milwaukee. Del Crandall singled, and the Seals Stadium crowd gave McCormick a standing ovation---his 13-inning hitless streak ended.

Bob Schmidt hit a solo home run (2) in the third inning to stake the Giants (22-13) to a 1-0 lead. The Braves (16-16) tied the game in the fifth inning, but struggling Willie Mays (.237) managed an RBI ground ball in the sixth inning to put the Giants ahead to stay.

Bob Buhl (2-1) took the tough loss for the Braves. Buhl pitched six innings of two-hit ball and struck out five.

The Giants maintained their strong hold on first place by taking two of three from the Braves, with all three games low scoring.

Hank Aaron (.371) kept up his hot hitting with two hits for the Braves.

LA 8, Cin 4; Cin 5, LA 3

Wednesday, May 20- Charlie Neal kept up his torrid power hitting, as did Frank Robinson, and it all added up to a doubleheader split between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers at the Coliseum. The Dodgers took Game 1, 8-4, and the Reds rebounded in Game 2, 5-3.

In Game 1, second baseman Neal of the Dodgers (20-18) clubbed his ninth home run in the eighth inning, a three-run blast that capped a four-run frame to break a 4-4 tie.

In the nightcap, Robinson also hit his ninth home run. The solo shot gave the Reds (14-21) a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning.

The Reds managed a split of the four-game series, which was quite an accomplishment given that they had lost 15 of 20 going into the series.

Don Newcombe (4-2) pitched a complete game in the nightcap. Art Fowler (3-2) picked up the win in relief in the first game.

In Game 1, the Dodgers led 4-0 before the Reds shocked with a four-run sixth, punctuated by Roy McMillan's three-run homer (5). But in the eighth, after an RBI double by Junior Gilliam snapped a 4-4 tie, Neal drove a Tom Acker pitch deep over the left field screen, scoring Gilliam and Wally Moon in front of him.

Chi 9, Phi 4

Wednesday, May 20- The Chicago Cubs jumped all over Philadelphia starter Don Cardwell for seven runs in less than four innings of work, and cruised to a 9-4 victory at Wrigley Field. It was the Cubs' fourth straight win.

The Phillies (14-19) scored twice in the first inning and twice in the ninth inning off Cubs starter Moe Drabowsky (2-3), who tossed his second complete game of the season.

But the Cubs (18-19) were relentless against Cardwell (0-3), whose ERA soared to 8.59 after the onslaught.

Dale Long (4) hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Alvin Dark (1) added a two-run shot in the fourth, knocking Cardwell out after 3.1 turbulent innings. Walt Moryn's two-run double in the second inning accounted for the other two of the seven runs scored against righty Cardwell.

Bobby Thomson hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot, in the seventh inning. Ernie Banks added an RBI double in the eighth.

Carl Sawatski (3) hit a two-run homer for the Phillies in the ninth.

Drabowsky surrendered just six hits. He walked four and struck out four.