National League Roundup : Cubs Drop Cardinals Into Tie With Mets for Lead in the East

Keith Moreland and Shawon Dunston singled home runs Monday night and the Chicago Cubs dropped the St. Louis Cardinals into a tie for the East lead with a 3-1 victory at St. Louis.

The Cardinals lost their third in a row and flew to New York after the game to start a three-game series with the Mets, who were idle and moved into a tie with St. Louis.

Left-hander Ray Fontenot (6-8) pitched 6 innings to help the Cubs record their first victory in six games at Busch Stadium this season. He allowed six hits and one walk while striking out three. Relievers Jay Baller and Ron Meredith finished up.

Kurt Kepshire (10-9) continued his inconsistent pitching for the Cardinals, lasting just three batters into the second inning.

“Baller was just outstanding,” Chicago Manager Jim Frey said. “He did a good job the other day (Sunday), too. It’s hard to tell what happened to him in the ninth. Sometimes, the other guy just gets a hit.”

Baller said he got too pumped up in the ninth.

“I got little too excited,” he said. “I got behind 3-0 (to pinch-hitter Steve Braun) and I didn’t want to walk him in that situation. I figured if he got it hit, it had to be a good pitch.”

“The relievers all did a helluva job,” Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog said. “But Kepshire is a mystery. I know he’s trying like hell.”

The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Bob Dernier drew a leadoff walk, stole second, advanced to third on a single by Gary Matthews and scored as Ryne Sandberg grounded out. Moreland singled to drive in Matthews.

Chicago made it 3-1 in the second and knocked out Kepshire. Leon Durham singled, stole second and scored on Dunston’s single.

The Cardinals scored in the first when Vince Coleman singled, went to second on a balk, stole his 92nd base of the season and scored on Tom Herr’s ground out.

Cincinnati 2, San Diego 1--Dave Concepcion’s ninth-inning single off Goose Gossage scored Dave Parker from second base to beat the Padres at Cincinnati and keep the Reds eight games behind the Dodgers. San Diego fell to 10 games off the pace.

Cincinnati player-manager Pete Rose, who singled twice Sunday to equal Ty Cobb’s all-time hit record of 4,191, didn’t play because the Padres started left-hander Dave Dravecky. Rose plans to play tonight against right-hander LaMarr Hoyt.

“Everybody on our team is pumped up because of Pete,” Concepcion said. “It’s exciting. It’s like the old times, when we were playing in the World Series in the 1970s.

“I think all the interest in Pete helps our entire team. Every player has a better attitude because we’re playing in front of big crowds that make a lot of noise. When you get that kind of crowd behind you, you get that old feeling.”

John Franco (12-2) pitched one perfect inning for the victory in relief of Andy McGaffigan, who allowed four hits in eight innings.

Kevin McReynolds doubled home the Padres’ run in the fifth, and the Reds tied it on the sixth on a run-scoring single by Buddy Bell.

Houston 4, San Francisco 2--Mike Scott picked up his 16th victory and doubled home a run as the Astros beat the Giants at Houston.

Scott gave up five hits in seven innings and won for the fifth time in six games. Frank DiPino and Dave Smith finished, Smith getting his 22nd save.

Scott, whose 16-7 record is the best of his career by six wins, was 5-11 last season. Scott added a forkball in the off-season and credits it with his success.

“I had a bad year last year but that one pitch made all the difference,” Scott said. “I threw good two years ago, but this is by far the most consistent I’ve ever been. Plus I’ve been healthy all year and it’s been a lot more fun.”

Giant rookie Matt Nokes hit his first major league homer with a man aboard in the seventh.