National League Roundup : Player-Manager Rose Gains on Both Fronts: 3 Hits and 8-0 Victory

The long-range plan called for Pete Rose to become the all-time hit leader this month. But you will have to pardon the player-manager of the Cincinnati Reds if he’s a little behind schedule.

You see, Rose the manager has concentrated so much on improving the Reds as a team that he has neglected on occasion to put Rose the player into the lineup.

After sitting out two of the last three games, Rose returned to action Saturday night at Houston and banged out three hits to lead the Reds to an 8-0 victory over the Astros.

Rose drove in two runs and scored one, and Dave Concepcion hit a grand slam to back the six-hit pitching of Tom Browning.

Rose needs 17 hits to pass Ty Cobb and become the all-time leader with 4,192 hits. But Tony Perez, another old-timer, has had such a good year that Rose has played Perez at first whenever a left-hander opposes the Reds. While it has slowed Rose’s drive to the record, it has helped the Reds show a big improvement over last season.

There are many who believe that Rose should be voted Manager of the Year. After 114 games, the Reds, a half-game out of second place in the West, are 60-54. Last season at this stage, they were a staggering fifth at 49-65.

The player on the Reds who most appreciates Rose the manager may be Dave Parker. After several dismal seasons, Parker is playing back to his form of the late 1970s, when he won consecutive league batting titles with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“I am really impressed with Pete as a manager,” Parker told UPI recently. “He leads by example. He works harder than any player on the team and makes everyone feel like working harder.

“He’s the boss, though. But when he corrects a mistake, he does it quietly and firmly. He has been a tremendous influence on the many young players we have. I think he’s the Manager of the Year.”

Rose knows he’ll catch Cobb. He seems more concerned with keeping his team in position in case the Dodgers falter.

“I’m gonna get the 4,192 hits,” he said. “I go to bed every night worrying about whether we won, not about Ty Cobb’s record.

“When I do break the record, it doesn’t mean I will be ready to retire. As long as I’m helping the club, I will continue to play. I don’t find that playing interferes with managing, either.”

Browning, a rookie left-hander, is one of the reasons for the Reds’ improvement. His third shutout and fifth complete game improved his record to 11-9.

New York 4, Pittsburgh 3--The race in the West may be a bit one-sided, but in the East, the Mets and St. Louis Cardinals are playing as if they intend to go to the wire.

The Mets, held to three hits by Lee Tunnell and trailing, 2-0, exploded for all of their runs in the seventh inning at Pittsburgh and pulled into a tie for first place. Darryl Strawberry hammered a two-run homer over the center-field fence to tie the game, and a little later, Tom Paciorek had a pinch triple to drive in two more runs.

Sid Fernandez (5-6) came within two outs of a complete game and won his second in a row. Fernandez struck out 11 Pirates and has now struck out 49 batters in his last 34 innings.

Fernandez held the Pirates to four hits, just one more than he had himself. He singled in the seventh and scored what proved to be the winning run. One of his other hits was a triple.

Bill Madlock hit his eighth home run, in the first inning, to get Tunnell (1-8) off in front.

The Mets have won 11 of their last 13 games; the last-place Pirates have won only one of their last 11.

Montreal 5, St. Louis 4--Jim Wohlford got a pinch triple with two out in the ninth inning at St. Louis to score Vance Law and drop the Cardinals back into a tie for first.

The Cardinals, battling from behind all night, missed a chance to break open the game after tying it in the eighth. With one out, Expo bullpen ace Jeff Reardon walked Mike Jorgensen with the bases loaded to force in the tying run.

That was all for Reardon, and Tim Burke was brought in. With Ozzie Smith at the plate, Burke picked Darrell Porter off third base. Third baseman Tim Wallach then made a diving catch of Smith’s line drive to end the inning. When the Expos scored in the ninth, the unbeaten Burke (8-0) was a winner again.

The Cardinals were again without the major league batting leader, Willie McGee, who has a sprained ankle.

The Cardinals’ speedy rookie, Vince Coleman, stole his 82nd base, tops in the majors.

John Tudor, who has won 14 of his last 15 decisions for the Cardinals, went seven innings, giving up three runs. The loser was Bill Campbell, but Wohlford’s triple was off Ken Dayley.

Philadelphia 10, Chicago 4--The wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field, and the Phillies took advantage of it.

The Phillies had 15 hits, including a club record-tying six home runs. Three of them--by Juan Samuel, Glenn Wilson and Mike Schmidt--came in succession in the seventh inning. Schmidt’s was his 21st this season and the 63rd of his career against the Cubs.

Darren Daulton had four of the Phillie hits, including two home runs.

John Denny improved his record to 8-9. He gave up eight hits, including home runs to Bob Dernier and Leon Durham. Dernier’s home run was his first since last Aug. 29.