National League Roundup : Bruce Who? Cardinals Win Seventh Straight as Lahti Gets the Save

When Manager Whitey Herzog of the St. Louis Cardinals went in search of a successor to Bruce Sutter as ace of his bullpen, it took him a long time to find Jeff Lahti.

But as the Cardinals drive toward the pennant in the East, the 28-year-old right-hander has emerged as the best of a solid group of relievers.

After Willie McGee’s two-run triple put the Cardinals ahead in the eighth inning Tuesday night at Cincinnati, Lahti came on to save a 6-4 victory, the Cardinals’ seventh in a row. With the Mets losing to the Dodgers, the Cardinals increased their lead to three games.

It was the 16th save for Lahti, who had only one save in 149 appearances before this season. The Cardinals kept intact their record of not losing a game in which they led after eight innings and are 65-0 in those games.

Cesar Cedeno’s pinch single drove in two runs against John Tudor in the seventh to give the Reds a 4-3 lead and prevent Tudor from winning his 15th in his last 16 decisions.

Ted Power came in to pitch the eighth for the Reds. Steve Braun opened the inning with a pinch double. Vince Coleman beat out a bunt. McGee lashed the ball into the gap in right-center and went into third standing up for his league-leading 16th triple. Tito Landrum singled home McGee with the final run of the game. McGee singled and scored a run in the three-run fourth. He raised his average to .363.

Lahti took over in the eighth and gave up two hits but no runs. It was the 16th save in 19 chances. The season was well along before he had many chances for saves.

Before Herzog developed faith in Lahti, who was 12-9 and had an earned-run average of 3.55 in three seasons as a long reliever, he tried five others.

First there was Neil Allen, who had been a bullpen ace with the Mets a few years ago. The pressure of filling Sutter’s shoes proved to be too much for Allen, who was traded to the New York Yankees. Herzog also tried Andy Hassler, Rick Horton, Bill Campbell and Ken Dayley before he finally brought Lahti out of the bullpen late in April.

When Lahti demonstrated he was ready to lend a hand, he began to share the key relief spots with Campbell and Dayley. It was not until the middle of June that Herzog developed faith in Lahti.

Beginning with a hitless inning in a 6-2 win at Philadelphia June 18, Lahti has become the Cardinals’ most dependable relief pitcher. Lahti has given up runs in only two of his last 25 appearances. During that time he has registered 12 saves and won two games. He has also finished in four games in which the Cardinals were well in front.

“Really, though, there isn’t an ace in the bullpen,” Lahti told the Associated Press. “It has been a real team effort. Bill (Campbell), Ken (Dayley) and I are out there pulling for each other. If one guy doesn’t do the job, one of the other two does.

“It’s a nice challenge. It’s exciting. I like coming to the ballpark every day, because now I know that when I come into the ballgame, it is very likely the game will be on the line.”

Although he pitched to only one batter to get the Cardinals out of the seventh, Campbell (4-3) was the winner.

The defeat dropped the Reds 10 games behind the Dodgers in the West.

San Diego 4, Philadelphia 1--Mark Thurmond began the season in the Padres’ starting rotation, but when he pitched poorly, he was sent to the bullpen.

Last month Manager Dick Williams brought the 28-year-old left-hander back into his rotation. It has turned out to be a good move.

Thurmond pitched a strong 7 innings at Philadelphia to gain his sixth win in his last seven decisions after an 0-6 start. He gave up seven hits but no runs and struck out a career-high eight.

“July, August and September are my best months,” Thurmond said, “but I have no idea why.”

Despite the victory, the Padres remained 7 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the West.

Atlanta 7, Pittsburgh 6--It appeared that Rick Rhoden was about to end the Pirates’ 15-game losing streak on the road. He was pitching a six-hitter and had a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth at Atlanta.

Rhoden got two out in the ninth, but he also gave up three hits and departed in favor of Don Robinson. Dale Murphy singled, representing the tying run. Bob Horner then his a three-run home run to cap a five-run rally that gave Bobby Wine a 2-0 record as manager.

Houston 11, Chicago 4--Bill Doran had two hits in an eight-run seventh inning at Houston that brought the Astros from behind. Doran, who had three hits in the game, drove in a career-high five runs. The Astros, trailing, 4-3, sent 13 men to the plate in the seventh.

San Francisco 6, Montreal 1--Jeff Reardon, who has been a brilliant relief pitcher most of the season for the Expos, hit David Green with a pitched ball with the bases loaded in the ninth at Montreal to break a 1-1 tie. Then Brad Wellman, who missed a squeeze sign, tripled to clear the bases and the Expos had lost again to fall 9 1/2 games behind the Cardinals in the East.