National League Roundup : Browning’s Five-Hitter Keeps Mets Quiet, 4-0

In two games over the weekend, the New York Mets banged out 34 hits and scored 31 runs. They felt sure it was the signal that a year-long batting slump had ended. They were a confident team closing in on first place in the East.

Just two nights later, the Mets are 2 1/2 games back--right where they were three weeks ago--and their hitters, so confident Sunday, are the picture of frustration.

Tom Browning pitched a five-hitter Tuesday night at New York, and Dave Parker hit the 200th home run of his career to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-0 victory over the Mets.

In two games the Mets scored just one run against two pitchers who had been struggling for more than a month. On Monday night, Mario Soto, loser of eight in a row, snapped his slump with a six-hitter.

Browning, a rookie left-hander, had gone a month without a victory. The Mets had beaten him in two previous games, but this time they managed only five singles.

Soto said that he thought the Mets were worn out from running the bases so much in the two previous games. But they should have been rested for Browning.

“Getting past the fourth and seventh inning had become a psychological problem,” Browning told the Associated Press. “The last few outings I really had a problem trying to get through four.

“Tonight I gave up singles to (Gary) Carter and (Darryl) Strawberry, and then George Foster hits one deep to right, and it’s caught. When Howard Johnson bounced out, it was the biggest moment of the night.

“It also helped that I didn’t walk anyone. I’d rather give up 10 hits than walk anybody.”

Browning retired the last 16 batters he faced.

Player-Manager Pete Rose doubled in the Reds’ final run in the seventh and needs 33 more hits to break Ty Cobb’s record.

Chicago 8, San Diego 1--Rick Sutcliffe, just off the disabled list, pitched seven strong innings at San Diego as the Cubs handed the struggling Padres their third defeat in a row. The Padres have lost eight of their last 12 games. Two of those four wins were over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sutcliffe, who made a change in his pitching motion while spending 15 days on the disabled list, gave up six hits, one of them a home run by Kevin McReynolds in the seventh.

The Cubs had 15 hits, 10 of them off Andy Hawkins (12-3) who lasted 5 innings. Leon Durham went 3 for 3. He singled in a run in the first and doubled to start a four-run sixth.

Even Ron Cey broke out of a slump for the Cubs. The former Dodger was 2 for 5 and drove in his first run in 35 games.

St. Louis 6, San Francisco 3--Darrell Porter has lost his No.1 catching job with the Cardinals and has been hitting below .150, but he was the key hitter in this game at San Francisco.

Porter, who recently returned after suffering a broken finger, hit his third home run of the season in the fifth inning. Then, in the sixth inning, he walked with the bases loaded to force in the winning run.

The Cardinals, who have been having trouble scoring runs recently, also had three hits from the league’s leading hitter, Willie McGee (.341) and two from his closest pursuer, Tommy Herr (.330).

Although he gave up 10 hits to the top five hitters in the Giants’ batting order, Danny Cox improved his record to 12-5 and pitched his eighth complete game.

Philadelphia 12, Houston 6--Mike Schmidt has always been a fellow who hit his home runs in clusters. After a dismal first half of this season, the Phillies’ slugger may be on one of his sprees.

Schmidt, who homered in the ninth inning Monday to pull out a victory, came right back with one in the first inning of this one. He also had a double and a single and scored four runs.

Bo Diaz, another Phillie who has not produced much with the bat this season, contributed his first two home runs of the season and drove in four runs to make it an easy victory. Diaz, hurt most of the season, was playing in only his 23rd game.

Schmidt said he hopes he has killed the rumor that he had lost his strength.

“I wasn’t concerned to the point where I believed that,” he said. “I think I’ve proved myself. The slump was a mechanical problem, and I was swinging at bad pitches.

“I’ve had two pretty good games back-to-back. Maybe that means I am ready for a late-season spurt. I certainly hope so.”

Montreal 4, Atlanta 2--Tim Wallach hit a three-run double in the first inning at Montreal, and Jeff Reardon retired all five batters he faced to register his major league-leading 24th save.

Joe Hesketh improved his record to 7-4, but he departed in the sixth inning after Dale Murphy hit his 25th home run. Reardon came along in the eighth and turned back the Braves’ final threat.

Bob Horner doubled in the Braves’ first run in the first inning.