National League Roundup : Herr, Raising His Average to .385, Helps to Boost Cardinals Over .500

Tommy Herr has always thought he could be a high average hitter, but even he didn’t expect to have such a lofty batting average.

The major league’s leading hitter went 2 for 3 and drove in two more runs Sunday at Cincinnati to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Reds and raise his average to an impressive .385.

Herr’s hitting, along with a pair of triples and a single by Willie McGee, helped Danny Cox improve his record to 5-1 and put the Cardinals above .500 for the first time this season.

Always considered a good second baseman, the switch-hitting Herr, fully recovered from knee problems that threatened to end his career prematurely, is off to his best start in his fifth season.

In addition to his high average, Herr, who had a career-high 49 runs batted in last season, is tied with teammate Jack Clark for the league RBI lead with 35. He leads in hits (57) and has scored 28 runs, only two behind the leader, Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs.

Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog doesn’t believe anybody should be surprised at Herr’s early season performance.

“He’s always been a good ballplayer, but I’m the only one who ever knew it,” Herzog said. “He’s finally healthy and he’s playing well, defensively as well as offensively.”

Until this season it seemed that every time Herr would start to get hot, he would have a problem with one knee or another. He has had surgery on both knees, two operations on the right. In 1983, following two operations, he was batting .323 after 89 games, but he had so much pain in his left knee he had to have more surgery and missed the rest of the season.

“I never really thought of retiring but it was discouraging,” Herr said. “I always thought I could hit for average and now I’m doing it.”

Herr is the No. 3 batter in a lineup that produces more runs than any other in the league. While he acknowledges that having the dangerous Clark batting behind him, gives him an advantage, he feels the speedsters ahead of him help even more.

“If Vince (Coleman) or Willie (McGee) gets on ahead of me, I know I’m going to get fastballs,” Herr said. “If they don’t throw fastballs, they know Vince will steal second and third and Willie may do the same.

“Some of the success is due to maturity, too. At 29, I should be at the top of my game. I’ve had enough experience. I’ve experienced enough ups and downs and I’m mentally ready.”

Cox, in winning his fourth in a row, gave up six hits and struck out six. One of the hits was a home run in the seventh inning by Dave Parker, which extended his hitting streak to 17 games, longest in the majors. The loser was former Cardinal John Stuper (5-3).

Chicago 10, Houston 8--Most of his career, Ron Cey has been a fast starter. One season he set a record by driving in 28 runs in April. This season has been an exception.

The 37-year-old former Dodger third baseman keeps hearing that he’s too old. He went into the weekend series with the Astros at Chicago batting only .200 and with only five home runs and 12 runs batted in.

Cey hit two home runs and a double and drove in three runs in this game to climax a big weekend. In the last three games, he is 6 for 11, has hit 3 home runs, driven in 4 runs, and raised his average 27 points.

Davey Lopes, another former Dodger, hit a two-run home run in the 20-hit slugfest, and Cey defended them both.

“I don’t think we’re that old,” said Cey, who is two years younger than Lopes. “I’m sick and tired of that ‘old’ business. Call us veteran players and remember we’re doing our job. Calling us old doesn’t fit what we’re doing.”

San Diego 7, Philadelphia 2--Kevin McReynolds hit a home run and drove in four runs at Philadelphia as the Padres won their seventh in a row and continued to pull away in the West.

With Rich Gossage coming to the rescue of LaMarr Hoyt in the eighth to pick up his major league-leading 13th save, the Padres moved 4 1/2 in front in the division.

Montreal 3, San Francisco 1--Bill Gullickson continues to thrive on home cooking. Although he needed help from Jeff Reardon in the ninth, Gullickson improved his record at Montreal to 5-1. On the road he is 1-3. Reardon’s save was his 12th.

Tim Wallach drove in two runs and scored the other.

Atlanta 5, Pittsburgh 4--It was tough going but the Braves ended a five-game losing streak in this game at Atlanta. First, Rafael Ramirez had to hit a three-run double in the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

Then, after the Pirates scored in the top of the 10th, the Braves had to score twice to win it. Chris Chambliss singled with the bases loaded and nobody out to drive in the decisive run.