Though he's big, left-handed and became successful after being traded, no one ever confused Denny Neagle with Steve Carlton.
This season, though, Neagle seems to have something in common with Carlton - he's pitching on a team that only wins regularly when he pitches.Neagle hit a grand slam that helped him become the NL's first nine-game winner as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 Tuesday night.
In 1972, his first season since being traded from St. Louis to Philadelphia, Carlton went 27-10 for a Phillies club that was 59-97.
"I believe in myself and I knew I could do some good things this year," Neagle said. "A lot of it has to do with my manager showing confidence in me. He looks at me and says, `This is your game.' "
Neagle (9-3) became the first Pirates pitcher to hit a slam since Don Robinson on Sept. 12, 1985. He last homered last July 25.
"If I ever do that again, it'll be something freaky," he said. "Something must have been in the coffee."
Neagle won his fourth straight decision. He homered off Jim Bullinger (4-1), putting the Pirates ahead 6-2 in the sixth inning.
Reds 12, Phillies 3
John Smiley, playing in front of a large hometown contigent from Phoenixville, Pa., starred on the mound and at the plate.
Smiley (7-1) hit a two-run homer, the second time he's connected this season. He also won for the sixth time in seven starts.
Reggie Sanders, Bret Boone and Craig Worthington also homered for Cincinnati.
Expos 3, Braves 0
Butch Henry and Mel Rojas handed Atlanta its first shutout of the season, leaving Boston as the only team in the majors that hasn't been blanked.
Henry (3-5) gave up four hits before Rojas entered in the ninth to earn his 12th save.
Wil Cordero and Moises Alou hit solo home runs in the first inning off Steve Avery (2-5). Avery pitched a complete game, striking out nine and retiring the last 18 batters.
Montreal won for the third time in 13 games.
Mets 2, Marlins 0
Bill Pulsipher, hit hard by Houston and Philadelphia in his first two starts, earned his first major league victory at Florida.
Pulsipher (1-2) limited the Marlins to three hits in 7 1-3 innings and struck out nine. The 21-year-old left-hander led the International League in strikeouts when he was called up this month.
John Franco got Andre Dawson to ground into a double play that ended the eighth, and got his seventh save. Bobby Witt shut out New York on four singles for seven innings, but the Mets scored twice in the eighth off Rob Murphy (0-2).
Padres 14, Dodgers 3
Ken Caminiti hit a grand slam and Andujar Cedeno hit a three-run shot in San Diego's romp at Los Angeles.
The Dodgers, who won their previous six, also lost right fielder Raul Mondesi, who left the game after bruising his left knee when he banged into the wall chasing Caminiti's slam.
Glenn Dishman (1-1) won for the first time in the majors, making him the first rookie left-handed starter to win for the Padres since Eric Nolte on Aug. 29, 1987. Ramon Martinez (7-5) gave up nine runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Astros 6, Cardinals 2
Doug Drabek struck out 11 and won for the first time in six decisions at the Astrodome, while Danny Jackson dropped to 0-8 for St. Louis.
A pair of throwing errors helped the Astros take a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Jackson lost in his first appearance since going on the disabled list because of a lack of stamina.
Rockies 5, Giants 1
Bill Swift won in his first appearance against his former club, pitching seven shutout innings in San Francisco.
Swift (3-2), who signed with Colorado in the offseason, did not allow a runner past second base.
Dante Bichette hit a pair of RBI singles. Jose Bautista (2-4) was the loser in San Francisco's fifth straight defeat.
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