Porter Helps Cox Win His 12th Game, 6-3

Darrell Porter no longer is the St. Louis Cardinals’ regular catcher, but right-hander Danny Cox doesn’t mind having him behind the plate.

Cox (12-5) lifted his record to 6-0 with Porter as his batterymate and Porter contributed to a 6-3 victory Tuesday over the San Francisco Giants with a double, a home run and a bases-loaded walk.

Cox scattered 10 hits and struck out three while walking two in pitching his eighth complete game.

The walk to Porter came in a four-run, sixth-inning rally and broke a tie. Porter, however, wouldn’t take any credit for the success of Cox, who yielded 10 hits in his eighth complete game of the season.

“It really doesn’t matter who catches Danny,” Porter noted, “because he more or less calls his own game.”

But Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog said there’s a difference when Porter catches Cox. “The big thing,” Herzog explained, “is that Darrell lets Danny throw the change-up anytime he wants.”

Cox, who is 19-9 since the 1984 All-Star break, trailed 3-2 entering the sixth, but the Cardinals erupted off loser Mike Krukow (6-8) and relievers Mark Davis and Greg Minton.

Willie McGee and Tom Herr opened the inning with singles and Jack Clark hit a run-scoring double for the tie, chasing Krukow.

Davis struck out pinch-hitter Tito Landrum and Terry Pendleton was walked intentionally to load the bases. Porter then walked on four pitches for the go-ahead run.

Minton replaced Davis and Ivan DeJesus hit a run-scoring force grounder. Cox capped the rally with a run-scoring bunt single.

The Giants took a 2-0 lead in the third on successive two-out singles by Manny Trillo, Chili Davis, Jeff Leonard, and Chris Brown.

After the Cardinals score in the fourth with the help of a double by McGee, the Giants made it 3-1 in the bottom of the inning on Rob Deer’s walk, Krukow’s sacrifice, and Dan Gladden’s single.

Porter, who entered the game with only six RBIs, led off the fifth with his third homer, a towering shot to right.

McGee, the league’s leading hitter, was 3 for 5 and raised his average to .341. Teammate Herr, his closest pursuer, was 2 for 4 and is hitting .330.

The top five batters in the lineup had all 10 of the Giants hits. Brown, batting in the fifth spot, had three of them.

The Cardinals raised their record to 55-36 and lead the National League East by two games. The Giants are now 35-59 and a distant last in the NL West. The teams meet again this afternoon with John Tudor (10-8) of the Cardinals facing Jim Gott (4-7).