National League Roundup : Fernandez Sharp Again; Mets Win, 4-3

The Dodgers have been known for their patience with hard-throwing young pitchers. The prime example, of course, was Sandy Koufax. The Dodgers stayed with him for six seasons before he finally found the groove that made him possibly the greatest pitcher of all time.

Several years earlier, the Dodgers went a long way with Rex Barney, though not with similar results. Barney had a 95-m.p.h. fastball, but neither he nor anyone else knew where it was going. The Dodgers spent six seasons waiting for him to reach his potential. He never did.

Recently, the Dodgers did not show the same patience with another hard-thrower, Sid Fernandez. They drooled over the youngster’s feats in the minors. But he pitched in only two games for the Dodgers late in the 1983 season when he was only 20. Before the next season, he was traded to the New York Mets for relief pitcher Carlos Diaz and utility infielder Bob Bailor.

The reason given for the trade was that the Dodgers, because of Steve Howe’s drug problem, had to get a left-handed relief pitcher. The Dodgers may regret that trade for the next decade.

Fernandez, in improving his record to 2-0 this season, pitched a superb game Saturday at St. Louis to lead the Mets to a 4-3 victory and extend their winning streak to eight.

Once a candidate for the fat farm, Fernandez has trimmed down. He gave up a single to Tommy Herr in the first inning, then nothing more through eight innings. The Cardinals didn’t get anything resembling another hit until Willie McGee singled to open the ninth.

Met Manager Davey Johnson went to his bullpen, which almost cost him the game.

Jack Clark just missed a two-run home run off Roger McDowell, and Jesse Orosco was lucky to get the save. The Cardinals had the tying and winning runs on base when Terry Pendleton hit a smash up the middle off Orosco. The ball hit the pitching rubber and slowed enough for second baseman Wally Backman to make a diving stop and turn it into a game-ending double play.

In his last two starts, Fernandez, 23, has given up 4 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 16 and walking 5 in 16 innings. He had 10 strikeouts Saturday.

San Francisco 3, San Diego 2--Rookie Will Clark hit a two-out, solo homer in the top of the 10th inning at San Diego to give the Giants the victory and spoil a 13-strikeout performance by the Padres’ Eric Show.

Clark, held hitless with two strikeouts in four previous appearances against Show, lined a 1-2 pitch over the right-field wall to break a 2-2 tie. The home run made a winner of reliever Jeff Robinson (2-0), who pitched the final two innings.

Show fell to 0-2. His 13 strikeouts is a National League season high and a personal career high. Roger Mason, Mark Davis and Robinson combined to fan 12 San Diego batters.

The game was the eighth home game for San Diego, all of which have been one-run decisions. The Padres have won six of the eight games.

Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 5--After a surprisingly fast start, the Pirates have hit the skids.

Rick Schu hit two home runs, and Chris James broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run home run in the seventh at Pittsburgh to hand the Pirates their fifth loss in a row and give them a 5-7 record.

Montreal 4, Chicago 2--Mitch Webster is hitting only .225, but his eighth-inning single at Chicago that broke a 2-2 tie was his third game-winning RBI of the season.

Once the Expos took the lead, the bullpen did the rest. Tim Burke went 1 innings to win it, and Jeff Reardon went 1 to save it. The Expos’ bullpen has not given up a run in the last 17 innings.

Houston 1, Cincinnati 0--It was a strange way to end a pitcher’s duel. With two out and a runner on third in the bottom of the ninth at Houston, a passed ball by Red catcher Bo Diaz allowed the only run of the game to score.

Pinch-runner Billy Hatcher was on third and Bill Gullickson had a 2-and-1 count on Alan Ashby. The next pitch was high and the ball tipped off Diaz’s glove, letting Hatcher score.

Through eight innings, neither Gullickson nor the winner, Mike Scott, permitted a runner to advance past second base. Both gave up just four hits.