National League Roundup : Lowly Giants Play Giant-Killer, 3-2, End Gooden’s Winning Streak at 14

The San Francisco Giants were almost the last team you’d consider a threat to Dwight Gooden’s winning streak. The Pittsburgh Pirates, with the worst record in the National League--and all of baseball--would have been the last.

But it was the Giants, with the second-worst record in the league, who halted Gooden’s 14-game winning streak Saturday with a 3-2 victory over the New York Mets at San Francisco.

“I enjoyed it while it lasted,” Gooden told the Associated Press.

“I really hadn’t been thinking about the streak much,” said Gooden (20-4), who hadn’t been beaten since Fernando Valenzuela and the Dodgers did it May 25. “The Giants got to me early, but I felt good after that. Now, I’ll have to look forward to my next start.”

Gooden was touched for five hits and two runs in the first two innings before settling down. He worked six innings in all, yielding six hits and striking out seven to raise his major league-leading total to 219. He also has the best earned-run average, 1.81.

But the Giants’ Jim Gott (5-10), winless since July 2, worked seven strong innings, and the only run the Mets scored off him was unearned. He allowed five hits and struck out five.

“It probably was my best game of the season,” Gott said. “Going up against someone who’s won 14 straight, you want to be the guy stopping him.”

Gott and Mark Davis combined on a six-hitter. Gott snapped his five-game losing streak, and Davis worked the last two innings for his seventh save.

The Giants opened the scoring against Gooden in the first on Manny Trillo’s one-out double and Ron Roenicke’s run-scoring single.

They made it 2-0 in the second on singles by Bob Brenly, Brad Wellman and Jose Uribe.

Gott blanked the Mets until the seventh. Darryl Strawberry led off with a bunt single, went to second on Danny Heep’s single and scored on first baseman Dan Driessen’s throwing error.

Chili Davis got the run back with a sacrifice fly in the Giants’ eighth off reliever Roger McDowell.

Gary Carter hit his 19th homer in the Mets’ ninth.

Houston 3, St. Louis 1--Jose Cruz doubled home the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning and Bob Knepper pitched a five-hitter as the Astros handed the East leading Cardinals their third straight defeat.

The Cardinals remained two games ahead of the Mets.

Houston broke a 1-1 tie against Danny Cox (14-8) in the eighth when Cruz doubled home one run and another scored on Vince Coleman’s error on the same play.

Knepper (11-10) struck out three and walked none in his third complete game of the season.

Montreal 7, San Diego 1--Bill Gullickson pitched a six-hitter and Terry Francona and Vance Law homered to lift the Expos past the Padres at San Diego.

The defeat kept the Padres from cutting into the Dodgers’ seven-game lead in the West.

Gullickson (13-9) helped the Expos win for the seventh time in their last eight road games. Montreal, in third place in the National League East, moved to within seven games of St. Louis.

Francona put Montreal ahead in the second inning with a solo homer, his second of the season, and Law hit a two-run shot, his eighth, in the third. Both blows came off Eric Show (9-9).

After Terry Kennedy singled home San Diego’s run in the fourth, the Expos scored four times in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Tim Raines and Andre Dawson, and a sacrifice fly by Hubie Brooks. Another run scored on Kennedy’s throwing error.

Pittsburgh 6, Cincinnati 0--Bob Walk pitched a five-hitter and Tony Pena hit a three-run homer as the Pirates beat the Reds at Cincinnati to snap a 19-game road losing streak.

The Pirates had not won on the road since July 22, when they beat the Dodgers, 6-3. The major-league record for conseuctive road losses is 22, shared by the 1963 New York Mets and 1890 Pirates.

Cincinnati player-Manager Pete Rose, who needs eight hits to break Ty Cobb’s career record of 4,191, went 0 for 4.

Walk (1-1) recalled from the minors Aug. 11, struck out seven and walked two.

It was Walk’s first major-league victory since July 16, 1984, and his first shutout since July 27, 1982.

Chicago 5, Atlanta 4--Pinch-hitter Ron Cey hit a bases-loaded single with two out in the 11th inning at Chicago as the Cubs broke the Braves’ five-game win streak.

It was the Braves’s first loss since Bobby Wine was installed as interim manager.

Warren Brusstar (4-3), who came on in the top of the 11th with runners at second and third and one out, worked out of the jam and gained the victory. Gene Garber (5-5) took the loss.

Atlanta tied it, 4-4, in the ninth on a home run by Chris Chambliss.