National League Roundup : Andujar Beats Giants for 15th Win

Joaquin Andujar battled his way to his major league-leading 15th victory Monday night and a possible All-Star starting bid as the St. Louis Cardinals downed the San Francisco Giants, 6-1, at Busch Stadium.

St. Louis Manager Whitey Herzog said he will pitch Andujar Friday night against the Padres at San Diego, where Dick Williams, the NL manager, will be watching.

“He’s 15-3; that’s not a bad start, is it?” Herzog said. “I’m going to throw him Friday. He says he likes to throw best on three days rest. Hell, why not? He’s young and strong. Let him go out there and make some money.”

It was not one of Andujar’s better performances. The right-hander scattered 12 hits and lost a shutout bid in the eighth inning.

“We got some hits off him, but he battled and fought and got the win,” San Francisco Manager Jim Davenport said. “That’s the important thing--getting the win. Andujar is such a competitor. You don’t get 15 wins without being a competitor.

“He wasn’t on tonight, but he got us when he had to. That’s the mark of a winning pitcher.”

Herzog agreed.

“He could have had a 12-hit shutout,” Herzog said. “He was breezing along with 83 pitches until the eighth inning.”

Andujar lost his shutout bid in the eighth when the Giants loaded the bases with two outs on singles by Chris Brown, Scot Thompson and Rick Adams. Pinch-hitter Rob Deer drew a walk to force home a run, but Andujar then struck out Ron Roenicke to end the inning.

Andujar, who pitched his ninth complete game, also chipped in with an RBI single in the sixth.

The Cardinals got 14 hits off starter Dave LaPoint (3-8) and three relievers.

Vince Coleman, Terry Pendleton and Ozzie Smith each had three hits.

New York 7, Cincinnati 5--The Mets won their seventh straight as Keith Hernandez went 4 for 5, including a two-run homer and an RBI single, to spark a 13-hit attack that downed the Reds at Cincinnati.

George Foster hit a two-run homer, and Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson each added solo shots for the Mets to help Ed Lynch (6-5) to the victory. Lynch pitched the first six innings. Jesse Orosco worked the final inning for his eighth save.

Cincinnati player-manager Pete Rose got an RBI double in five at-bats and needs 36 hits to break Ty Cobb’s all-time hit record of 4,191.

Jay Tibbs (4-11) took the loss.

Atlanta 7, Montreal 1--Dale Murphy hit his 21st home run of the season and Rick Mahler scattered seven hits for his 12th victory as the Braves snapped a five-game losing streak with the win at Atlanta.

The Braves, who had not scored in their last 27 innings against the Expos, scored four times in the first inning. Two of the runs came on Murphy’s homer over the right-field fence that gave him the National League lead with 21, one more than the Dodgers’ Pedro Guerrero.

Bill Gullickson, who was making his first appearance since coming off the disabled list, took the loss to fall to 7-6.

Mahler (12-7) did not allow a runner past second base until the eighth, when the Expos got their only run on a double by Steve Nicosia and a triple by Vance Law. Mahler struck out three and walked none.

Chicago 6-4, San Diego 3-8--Kevin McReynolds, who drove in four runs, hit a home run, a triple and a double to lead the NL West division-leading Padres past the Cubs at Chicago. But the day was not a total loss for the Cubs, who earlier held on for a victory in the completion of a game suspended because of darkness after six innings on May 5.

McReynolds hit a two-run homer in the second inning, tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Garry Templeton in the sixth and doubled in two more runs in the seventh.

Reliever Tim Stoddard (1-3) was the winner, while Cub starter Lary Sorensen (1-2) took the loss.

In the suspended game, the Cubs held a 4-2 lead provided by a tie-breaking, two-run homer by Keith Moreland.

Play was resumed in the seventh, and Leon Durham clinched the victory with a two-run homer in the eighth, his 11th of the season.

George Frazier (4-2) was the winner, while Luis DeLeon (0-3) took the loss. Both pitchers picked up from where they left off when the game was suspended.

Philadelphia 7, Houston 4--Glenn Wilson drove in three runs with three singles, keying a 20-hit attack that powered the Phillies over the Astros at Houston.

Von Hayes, Ozzie Virgil and Rick Schu also contributed three hits apiece as the Phillies roughed up Mark Knudson (0-1) and reliever Mike Madden. Knudson, who was making his major league debut, gave up all seven runs on 14 hits in seven innings as Philadelphia took a 7-0 lead.

Charles Hudson (4-7) gave up seven hits in 7 innings for the victory. The Astros scored three times in the ninth before Kent Tekulve got the final three outs for his seventh save.