Four days in second place was enough for the Dodgers.
"We hope this is a good sign for the month of September," said Los Angeles manager Tom Lasorda following Sunday's 12-3 win over the Cubs that boosted LA back into first in the NL West.Technically, they're sharing it with the Braves, but that's no big deal as far as Lasorda and the Dodgers are concerned. They held first for 105 days before they were usurped by upstart Atlanta last Wednesday.
"It's good to be even again," Lasorda said. "We dropped two games behind them real quick, and then we picked them back up in these two days. That just goes to show you what can happen if you worry about what your team is doing, and not worry about what anybody else is doing."
The Braves had something to do about the circumstances, of course. On Sunday, they lost to Philadelphia 5-4 in 10 innings, their second straight loss.
The pitching of Ramon Martinez and the hitting of Eddie Murray and Kal Daniels led the Dodgers.
Martinez (16-9) allowed six hits over seven innings with five strikeouts and three walks. Murray and Daniels each had a solo homer, three hits and three RBIs in the game at Dodger Stadium.
Loser Frank Castillo (5-3), who beat Martinez 2-1 with a three-hitter last Tuesday at Wrigley Field, failed to complete the first inning as the Dodgers sent 10 men to the plate and scored five runs on five hits.
"This is what we've been waiting for for a long time," Lasorda said as the Dodgers enjoyed their most productive day in 12 weeks.
Phillies 5, Braves 4
John Morris' first home run of the season leading off the 10th inning boosted the Phillies over the visiting Braves.
Morris' homer off Mark Wohlers (1-1), the fourth Atlanta pitcher, was his first hit since the All-Star break after going 0-for-17.
It was the Phillies' 18th victory in their last 20 games at home.
Padres 7, Pirates 4
Benito Santiago turned boos to cheers with a three-run homer in the third inning as the Padres beat the Pirates and ended Pittsburgh's five-game winning streak.
Tim Teufel added a two-run homer and an RBI single, and Fred McGriff went 3-for-4 with one RBI. The loss cut Pittsburgh's lead in the NL East to seven games over the Cardinals.
Expos 6, Astros 1
Chris Nabholz pitched a four-hitter and struck out a career-high 11 to win his first game in more than three months as the Expos defeated the visiting Astros, completing a season sweep at home of Houston.
Mets 9, Reds 4
Howard Johnson continued his demolition of the Reds, hitting his 29th homer to take the NL lead as the Mets beat Cincinnati.
Johnson, who had homered twice Saturday in the New York's 10-inning victory, drove in three runs with a home run, double and an infield out and scored thrice.
Cardinals 14, Giants 1
Felix Jose hit two home runs and drove in five runs and Ray Lankford also homered twice as the Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak behind Bob Tewksbury's seven-hitter.
American League
White Sox 6, Indians 1
At Comiskey Park on Sunday, the day before Bo Jackson's return with the White Sox, Frank Thomas starred again. His 29th home run sent rookie Wilson Alvarez and Chicago to a 6-1 victory over the Indians.
Thomas is batting .325 with 102 RBIs, and he leads the majors with 113 walks. Last season, he played 60 games for the White Sox and batted .330 with seven home runs and 44 RBIs.
Twins 14, Orioles 3
Jack Morris won his 16th game and Minnesota backed him with 16 hits at the Metrodome. Morris (16-10) gave up three unearned runs in seven innings and beat Baltimore for the third time this season.
Chili Davis hit a three-run homer, his 27th of the year.
Tigers 5, Athletics 2
Cecil Fielder singled home a run in the first inning and Mark Leiter went on to outpitch Bob Welch in Oakland.
Leiter (8-2) won his sixth straight decision.
Rangers 6, Royals 4
Bret Saberhagen lost his bid for another no-hitter on Kevin Reimer's home run in the second inning, then lost the game later.
Yankees 4, Blue Jays 2
Matt Nokes tied the score with a two-out RBI single and Kevin Maas followed with a two-run double, rallying New York in the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium.
Brewers 3, Angels 1
Jaime Navarro pitched a four-hitter, coming within one out of a shutout, and Milwaukee sent California to its seventh straight road loss.
Navarro (13-10) walked none, struck out six and did not let a runner get past first base until Wally Joyner hit his 21st home run with two outs in the ninth inning.
Red Sox 13, Mariners 2
Wade Boggs had four hits to move into the lead in the AL batting race for the first time this season as the Red Sox beat the Mariners. He raised his average to .338 to move past Julio Franco of Texas, who's hitting .335.