The first shock was Brett Butler having cancer. Then Tommy Lasorda had a heart attack, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have to find a way to keep themselves in first place.
With their manager recovering in a hospital after undergoing an angioplasty to repair an artery in his heart, the Dodgers lost 6-4 to Chicago on Wednesday night, their second straight defeat under interim manager Bill Russell.Eric Karros hit his 14th home run and Todd Hollandsworth had two RBI singles for the Dodgers, who learned of Lasorda's condition a few hours before the game during a closed-door meeting with general manager Fred Claire and team doctor Michael Mellman. Also briefing them were two doctors from Centinela Hospital.
"You could hear a few gasps," Russell said. "Some of them shook their heads in disbelief. The last thing on yor mind is that Tommy would have a heart attack. It was the same thing with Brett Butler. We thought it was something minor, and then we find out he had cancer."
The 68-year-old Lasorda is expected to be hospitalized for several days. It is uncertain how long he will be away from the Dodgers.
Scott Servais had a pair of RBI singles and Ryne Sandberg doubled twice and scored twice to help Cubs starter Jaime Navarro (6-7) earn his fourth consecutive road victory.
Astros 4, Padres 3
Houston won at San Diego as Donne Wall improved to 6-0 and Sean Berry hit a two-run homer.
Wall won his fifth straight start since being recalled from Tucson of the Pacific Coast League on May 14. The rookie right-hander matched the best start by an Astros pitcher since Mike Scott went 6-0 in 1988.
Cardinals 11, Braves 7
Ron Gant led a 17-hit St. Louis attack at Atlanta by hitting a homer and a bases-loaded triple against his former Braves teammates.
The Cardinals had seven singles during a five-run first inning against Steve Avery (6-7). The left-hander left after 31/3 innings, giving up 11 hits and trailing 7-3.
Reds 4, Phillies 2
Cincinnati completed its first first four-game sweep of Philadelphia in 27 years, scoring all of its runs on Willie Greene's first-inning grand slam, his first in the major leagues.
Pirates 3, Expos 1
Danny Darwin shut out Montreal on five hits for seven innings, and Pittsburgh cut down two runners at the plate as the Pirates avoided a three-game sweep.
Mets 9, Rockies 5
Butch Huskey doubled home rookie Alex Ochoa with the go-ahead run as New York scored five times in the eighth inning to complete a three-game sweep at Shea Stadium.
Marlins 3, Giants 2
Florida handed San Francisco its sixth straight defeat behind Kevin Brown's strong pitching and homers by Quilvio Veras and Greg Colbrunn.