National League Roundup : Tudor, Cedeno Key Cardinals in a 7-1 Clincher

John Tudor and Cesar Cedeno, the leaders of the St. Louis Cardinals’ late-season pennant drive, were in on the kill Saturday at St. Louis.

Tudor pitched a four-hitter, and Cedeno had the key hits in a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs that clinched the Cardinals’ second Eastern Division title in four years.

St. Louis, after losing bullpen star Bruce Sutter in the free-agent market, was picked to finish fourth or worse in the East.

But the Cardinals closed out the New York Mets, the division favorite, with a game to spare and presented Whitey Herzog as a prime candidate for Manager of the Year.

Tudor, masterful except in the fourth inning, won his 11th game in a row and his 20th in the last 21 decisions to finish with a 21-8 record.

Cedeno, acquired from Cincinnati in late August after the Cardinals’ only power hitter, Jack Clark, went out with a rib injury, was a clutch hitter for the team until he hurt his knee in mid-September. Before Saturday, he had started only two games since Sept. 22 and was 0 for 9.

He was a big part of the offense in the clincher. In the second inning, after Clark opened with a walk, Cedeno’s bad-hop single sent Clark to third. Ozzie Smith’s fly drove in the first run.

In the sixth, Cedeno hit a long fly to left to score Tommy Herr from third with the tiebreaking run, and in the seventh, Cedeno hit his ninth home run, his fifth since joining the Cardinals.

As a Cardinal, Cedeno is batting .434 (33-76) and has driven in 19 runs.

Tudor, another Herzog bargain, was in complete command against the Cubs except for the fourth, when the Cardinals’ superb defense saved him from disaster. Gary Matthews singled with one out, and left fielder Vince Coleman made a running catch to rob Ryne Sandberg of an extra-base hit. A wild pitch and Keith Moreland’s single accounted for the run.

That was the last gasp for the Cubs, who are improving against Tudor. The 31-year-old left-hander had shut them out on one hit and then on two hits before the four-hitter.

The Cardinals obtained Tudor from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal that sent George Hendrick, now with the Angels, to the Pirates.

Tudor started slowly, and after losing on May 29, was 1-7. He has been impressive ever since. His only loss was a 3-0 defeat by Fernando Valenzuela and the Dodgers on July 20 at Dodger Stadium.

Tudor and Valenzuela are scheduled to pitch Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium in the opener of the best-of-seven championship series.

“John seems to pitch better with just three days’ rest,” Herzog said. “He can pitch three times in the series, if necessary.

“Today, he pitched for the seventh time with just three days rest, and he has won all seven of them.”

Tudor, saying he was “happy to be the guy who won the clincher,” told the Associated Press: “We knew the Cubs weren’t going to lie down. They’re a great club. They had injuries all year long.”

Most years, Tudor’s season, which includes 10 shutouts, would be a cinch for the Cy Young Award. But this is not a normal season. Young Dwight Gooden has an even more imposing record for the New York Mets (24-4, ERA, 1.53), and appears to be a cinch.

The sacrifice fly was Cedeno’s fourth game-winning hit since he joined the Cardinals. He had fully recovered from his knee problem and was eager to play.

“I’ve been swinging the bat well for 3-4 days,” he said. “I was just hoping to get my chance. It was my 199th career home run. I said before I started the day that I hoped I would be able to hit one.”

Cub Manager Jim Frey labeled Cedeno the ingredient the Cardinals needed to carry them through the stretch.

“Without him, I think they might have taken a psychological fall. He picked them up,” Frey said.

Montreal 8, New York 3--The Mets’ 1985 title hopes ended one day before the final regular-season game, but General Manager Frank Cashen assured them that they would be drinking the champagne next season.

While the Cardinals were clinching the division title, the Mets were beaten by rookie Floyd Youmans, one of the players sent by Cashen to the Expos in the trade for catcher Gary Carter.

Andre Dawson hit a two-run home run and drove in two other runs at New York to back Youmans. The rookie went six innings, giving up five hits and only one run.

He also stopped the hitting streak of Keith Hernandez. When Hernandez struck out in the first inning, it ended a string of eight consecutive hits by the first baseman.

“We gave it 100% all year,” Hernandez said, “and that’s all you can do. The sun’s going to rise tomorrow. It’s not the end of the world. Life goes on.”

Houston 9, San Diego 4--Alan Ashby hit a grand slam at San Diego to help Nolan Ryan win only his 10th game in 22 decisions. It is the lowest win total for the strikeout king since 1970. Ryan went seven innings, striking out eight. His career strikeout total is now 4,082.