National League Roundup : Mets’ Gooden Just May Be Getting Better

Only a few pitchers, including Bob Feller and Fernando Valenzuela, have established themselves as competent major league pitchers before they age 21.

Dwight Gooden is a rarity among rarities. The 20-year-old right-hander, in his second season with the New York Mets, isn’t just a competent major leaguer. He may already be the best in the game, although he hasn’t pitched 400 major league innings.

At the very least, Gooden is becoming the most consistent pitcher in the National League.

Gooden improved his record to 12-3 Tuesday night at Cincinnati when he pitched eight strong innings in the Mets’ 11-2 victory over the Reds. Gooden held the Reds to two hits until the eighth when two doubles and a single produced the Reds’ runs.

Except for that strange July 4th game at Atlanta when rains delayed play twice in the first three innings of what turned out to be a marathon, Gooden has been a gem of consistency. In that one, he was removed after 2 innings because of the numerous delays and the poor condition of the field.

Gooden, well on his way to his second consecutive strikeout title, has made 18 starts in addition to the rain-shortened one. He has completed at least six innings in everyone of them and did not give up more than three earned runs in any of them. In his three defeats the Mets scored a total of three runs.

He has not lost since May 25, having won six in a row. He pitched well enough to win two others but left with the issue undecided. In his last nine starts, covering 70 innings, he has yielded only 13 runs, two of them in the rain game at Atlanta.

For Manager Davey Johnson, having Gooden out there every fifth day is like owning IBM stock.

“I always feel I will win with him out there,” Johnson said. “The fans want to see him post double-digit strikeouts. But for my money, I’d rather have less strikeouts. I enjoy the way he’s been pitching lately.”

Gooden was averaging a strikeout per inning until recently. Including striking out five Reds in eight innings, he has posted just 17 in the last 27 innings.

Gooden, who will not be 21 until November, has impressed more than just today’s hitters. One was a pretty impressive pitcher in his day.

“I’d rather have his future than my past,” former Dodger Sandy Koufax said. “He is just the outstanding pitcher of his time. If he stays healthy, I’m sure he’ll probably hold every record in the books, except for most defeats.

“He was incredible at 19 and he keeps getting better. I have never seen him do anything wrong.”

In winning their eighth in a row the Mets hammered Mario Soto. Soto, the Reds’ ace, walked seven and gave up five hits and six runs before being chased in the eighth with his sixth consecutive defeat.

Soto (8-9) gave up a home run to George Foster in the fourth and another to Keith Hernandez in the fifth.

Chicago 7, San Diego 3--Wrigley Field is not one of Eric Show’s favorite places. In the first game of last season’s league playoffs, Show was hammered by the Cubs, and the Padres lost, 13-0.

In this game Ryne Sandberg hit two-run home runs in the first and second innings and the Cubs knocked Show (7-6) out before he retired a batter in the fifth.

“I don’t know whether it’s a psychological thing with him or not,” Padre Manager Dick Williams said. “I know he got a couple of pitches up, and Sandberg creamed them.”

Of course, Sandberg is creaming a lot of pitches these days. He also singled in the fifth and scored a run. He has driven in 14 runs in the last 21 games to equal his production in the first 60.

Steve Trout (8-4) had everything under control until the sixth when a walk and an infield hit preceded Steve Garvey’s long home run to left, his 13th home run of the season.

During regular-season play, Show was 7-1 against the Cubs before taking this beating.

The defeat cut the struggling Padres’ lead over the Dodgers to just 2 1/2 games. The Dodgers have lost only one more game than the Padres.

St. Louis 3, San Francisco 1--While the Mets are making their best move of the season, the Cardinals are showing no signs they intend to fold under the pressure.

With Danny Cox throwing a five-hitter at St. Louis to become a 10-game winner after failing to make it in his previous three starts, the Cardinals retained their 2 1/2-game lead in the East.

Tommy Herr drove in two runs for the Cardinals to increase his major league-leading RBI total to 65. Vince Coleman opened the Cardinal first with a single, stole his 57th base and scored on Herr’s double.

Cox had a two-hitter until the ninth, when the Giants put together three singles to spoil his shutout.

Montreal 5, Atlanta 1--Bryn Smith pitched a five-hitter and struck out a career-high 10 at Atlanta to gain his fifth victory in his last six decisions. Smith struck out six straight batters, in the third and fourth.

Although he struck out eight and gave up only two runs in six innings, Pascual Perez fell to 0-7. One of the seven hits he allowed was Mike Fitzgerald’s fourth home run.

Philadelphia 5, Houston 3--Rick Schu ignited a five-run fourth inning with his second double of the game at Houston and Kevin Gross held on well enough to win his third in a row.

Juan Samuel singled in two of the runs in the big inning that contributed to Bob Knepper’s downfall. Knepper (8-5) went seven innings.