National League Roundup : Ryan Wicked, but Wild, in Defeat

Nolan Ryan was on the track of another no-hitter Wednesday night at Montreal, but he lost his bid for No. 6 in the sixth inning. He had lost the game even earlier.

Although he struck out 10 batters in seven innings, Ryan and the Houston Astros were beaten, 1-0, by Expos’ rookie Joe Hesketh.

Wildness, a long-time Ryan bugaboo that had largely disappeared in recent years, beat him again. In the second inning, Ryan walked Dan Driessen, hit Hubie Brooks with a pitch and walked Tim Wallach to load the bases. He then walked rookie Herm Winningham to force in a run with still nobody out. Also, in a typical Ryan performance, the hard-throwing 38-year-old right-hander then struck out the next three batters.

Ryan lost his no-hitter when Driessen singled in the sixth inning. Hubie Brooks followed with a single, but Ryan worked out of the jam.

Ryan was not happy with his performance, even if it was the 157th game in which he struck out 10 or more, and he had run his career strikeout total to 3,922.

“That’s no way to lose a game,” he said. “I was too wild. We lose only 1-0 and I walk in the only run. Don’t blame it on the cold, either.”

Hesketh, a 26-year-old left-hander who has worked his way into the Expos’ starting rotation with some outstanding pitching, struck out 12 batters. He gave way to Jeff Reardon after giving up his fourth hit, a two-out double by Bill Doran in the eighth. Reardon retired four batters in a row to earn his eighth save, tops in the majors.

Hesketh, a second-round draft choice by the Expos in June, 1980, is a left-hander who missed two seasons early in his pro career with arm trouble. He blossomed into a prospect last season at Indianapolis of the American Assn., where he was 12-3 before joining the Expos.

He showed promise in 11 late-season appearances. When the Expos lost Charlie Lea with an injury and gave up on Steve Rogers, Hesketh got his first start this season April 17, giving up a run and three hits in seven innings to beat the Cardinals. He’s been in the rotation ever since.

“The 40-degree weather didn’t bother me,” Hesketh said. “I grew up in Buffalo, and learned to pitch in weather like this.

“In this weather you don’t work up a sweat so you can keep carrying on. I don’t try for strikeouts, they just come up as an added bonus. I try to use the other eight guys and keep saying I’m not a strikeout pitcher.”

The not-a-strikeout-pitcher has 21 in his last 16 innings.

Cincinnati 8, Philadelphia 2--Former USC catcher Dave Van Gorder was hitting only .196 entering this game at Philadelphia. But he finished off John Denny and the Phillies when he hit his first major league home run, a three-run smash to climax a four-run sixth inning.

The home run made a winner out of Jay Tibbs (2-4). Tibbs gave up two runs in the first and worked out of a bases-loaded no-out jam in the fourth. Joe Price came on in the seventh to retire the last seven batters, the final six of them on strikeouts.

Player-Manager Pete Rose had another big game. Rose doubled, walked twice and scored three runs. He has scored 2,100 runs and needs only eight more to break Henry Aaron’s league record. The hit left him needing only 74 for the basehit record.

New York 4, Atlanta 0--Keith Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the first inning at New York to get Ed Lynch off to a good start. Lynch responded by pitching a five-hitter for his first career shutout.

Hernandez hit his home run off Len Barker (0-3) after a walk to Wally Backman. Barker, who is trying to comeback from elbow surgery, went four innings, giving up three hits.

Mookie Wilson, back in center field for the first time since injuring his shoulder April 24, showed his speed in the fifth for the Mets. He beat out an infield hit, stole second and scored on a single by Gary Carter.

It was the second consecutive complete game for Lynch, who went the distance only once in four previous seasons.

San Diego 12, Pittsburgh 2--Steve Garvey had three hits, including a home run, and slump-ridden Terry Kennedy hit a three-run double as the Padres made a triumphant return to San Diego.

The Padres made it easy for Andy Hawkins to improve his record to 6-0. Hawkins gave up nine hits in eight innings.

Garvey is hot. He has seven hits in his last eight at-bats and his 38 hits leads the league. He has raised his average to .355.

Kennedy was hitting .191, so they walked Carmelo Martinez in the fourth to fill the bases and pitch to Kennedy. The double highlighted a five-run outburst.

Chicago 1, San Francisco 0--The Cubs had only two hits off Mike Krukow at San Francisco, but one of them was a first-inning home run by Ryne Sandberg.

Rick Sutcliffe gave up six hits but struck out 12 to improve his record 4-3.