National League Roundup : Mets Get a Split With Expos to Keep East Lead

Larry Bowa hit a two-run double, and George Foster and Gary Carter added home runs Friday night, leading the New York Mets to a 7-2 victory over the Montreal Expos for a split of their doubleheader at Montreal.

In the opener, Tim Wallach went 3 for 3 and drove in two runs, lifting the Expos to a 5-1 win. The game was a makeup of a missed date in last month’s strike.

The split, coupled with St. Louis’ 9-3 victory over Chicago, left New York a half-game ahead of the Cardinals in the East.

Terry Leach, making his third start of the season and only the fifth of his career in the second game, gave up four hits in 5 innings to even his record at 3-3. Roger McDowell relieved Leach and gained his 14th save.

The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Carter and Foster singled before Tom Paciorek forced Carter at third. Bowa then doubled home Foster and Paciorek.

Foster homered off loser Dan Schatzeder (2-5) in the sixth to make it 3-0.

Montreal cut the lead to 3-1 in the sixth. Tim Raines singled, stole second and scored on Hubie Brooks’ double.

The Mets took a 5-1 lead in the seventh on RBI singles by Keith Hernandez and Carter.

After the Expos added a run in the eighth on Terry Francona’s RBI single, Carter hit a two-run homer in the ninth. It was his 1,500th career hit.

New York center fielder Mookie Wilson left the game with muscle spasms in his back, and his playing status was listed as day-to-day.

In the first game, Bryn Smith (16-5) pitched seven innings and allowed three hits. Gary Lucas pitched the final two innings to record his second save.

The Expos took a 3-0 lead in the second inning off rookie Rick Aguilera (7-6). Brooks led off with a single, and Terry Francona followed with a double to put runners at second and third. Wallach doubled down the left-field line, scoring both.

Wallach stole third and scored on the same play when third baseman Howard Johnson failed to hold on to catcher Clint Hurdle’s throw.

St. Louis 9, Chicago 3--Cesar Cedeno had a pair of RBI singles, including one in a three-run first inning, and Willie McGee scored three runs at Chicago as the Cardinals beat the Cubs for the 10th time in 13 games this season. It was the Cubs’ 20th loss in their last 25 games.

Cedeno, who has driven in eight runs since being acquired from Cincinnati Aug. 29, lined an RBI single in the first off Steve Trout (8-5). He added a run-scoring single in the second.

St. Louis, which equaled its season-high of eight stolen bases, was issued 10 walks.

Bob Forsch (7-6) won his first game since Aug. 24, scattering six singles over 6 innings. Rookie Todd Worrell pitched 2 innings for his first major league save.

Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 3-- Glenn Wilson drove in two runs, and Ozzie Virgil singled home the winning run in a seventh-inning rally at Pittsburgh as John Denny (11-11) won his third straight decision. Denny gave up nine hits in 8 innings.

San Francisco 9, Atlanta 3--Vida Blue pitched his 197th career victory, and Ron Roenicke hit a two-run homer to lead the Giants at Atlanta. Blue (6-6) allowed four hits in six innings while striking out nine. But he walked four batters, hit one and twice balked runners to second base. Frank Williams surrendered one hit in two innings, and Scott Garrelts finished. Len Barker (2-8) took the loss.

“It was a sweet one to me because it got me back on the victory path,” Blue said. “I believe my last win came on July 5.

“I’m just glad we were leading going into the sixth inning (4-1). I believe he (Manager Jim Davenport) took me out of the game because I had thrown an awful lot of pitches. Sure, I had struck out a lot but I had thrown more pitches than I should have.

“One of my motives for coming back into baseball was the chance to get 200 victories. So now I need to win my next, my next and my next. My incentive to come back was to win 200 and get 2,000 strikeouts. I got the strikeouts; now I need the wins. The wins are tougher to get. I’ll get maybe four more starts. I’m going out and go as hard as I can for as long as I can. That’s what I did tonight.”

Houston 3, San Diego 2--Mike Scott pitched a five-hitter and drove in two runs at Houston to win for the eighth time in his last 10 decisions. Scott (17-7) struck out six and walked four.