National League Roundup : Schmidt Hits 2 Homers as Phillies Beat Astros

Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia’s All-Star third baseman, has a special appreciation for home runs in the Houston Astrodome.

“Home runs are hard to come by here, but I shot straight today,” Schmidt said Sunday after he hit two homers, including a game-winner with one out in the 11th inning that gave the Phillies a 5-4 victory over the Astros.

“I got that last home run off a good pitcher, too,” Schmidt said, referring to reliever Dave Smith (1-6). “He had good motion on his fastball and I’m not sure I can drive his fastball when I’m looking for him to throw the forkball.”

Schmidt’s two homers gave him 19 for the season, one behind Houston’s Glenn Davis for the National League lead. Davis homered in the fourth inning. Schmidt has a league-leading 66 RBIs, one ahead of New York’s Gary Carter.

He hit a three-run homer off Astro starter Bob Knepper in the sixth to put the Phillies up, 4-1.

The Astros tied the game, 4-4, with three runs in the bottom of the seventh after Bruce Ruffin, making his third major league start, walked Tony Walker and John Mizerock.

Tom Hume relieved and walked pinch-hitter Denny Walling to load the bases. Walker scored when Bill Doran forced Walling at second and Mizerock scored on Billy Hatcher’s grounder. Doran scored the tying run when third baseman Rich Schu mishandled Phil Garner’s grounder for an error.

In the game, Phillie pitcher Kent Tekulve broke the National League record with his 820th relief appearance. An 11-year veteran, Tekulve, 39, passed former Pittsburgh Pirate and Montreal Expo reliever Elroy Face.

New York 2, Atlanta 0--Ron Darling scattered nine hits for his first shutout of the season while Len Dykstra tripled, homered and threw out a runner at the plate to help the Mets complete a four-game sweep of the Braves at New York.

Atlanta, which has lost nine of its last 10 games, was blanked twice and outscored 28-2 during the series. One of the Braves’ two runs was unearned.

Darling (9-2), after three straight no-decisions, struck out seven and walked three. He allowed at least one hit in each of the first seven innings, four to Ken Oberkfell.

Doyle Alexander (1-1), who retired 14 batters in a row before Dykstra’s one-out homer in the sixth inning, was the loser although he allowed just four hits. The Mets go into the All-Star break with a 13-game lead over Montreal, their largest of the season and the biggest since divisional play began in 1969.

San Francisco 11, Pittsburgh 4--Harry Spilman drove in four runs with a homer and a double, and Mike LaCoss picked up his ninth victory of the season at San Francisco.

The victory, San Francisco’s third in four games, gave the Giants a 48-40 record and moved them into sole possession of first place in the National League West, one game ahead of the Houston Astros. The last time the Giants were in first place at the All-Star break was in 1978.

Spilman, getting a rare start, doubled to score a run in the first inning, when the Giants scored three times off loser Rick Reuschel (4-11). He hit a three-run homer off Reuschel when the Giants scored four more runs in the third to take a 7-0 lead.

San Diego 13, St. Louis 6--Marvell Wynne had three hits, including two doubles, and three RBIs while Steve Garvey had two hits in a seven-run fourth inning at San Diego.

Behind 2-1, San Diego broke the game open in the fourth with its biggest inning this season. Garvey led it off with a single and capped the inning with another single, driving in two runs.

The Padres added five more runs in the fifth on a two-run double by Wynne, a two-run triple by Tony Gwynn and a sacrifice fly by Kevin McReynolds.

Cincinnati 3, Montreal 2 (suspended)--The game at Montreal was suspended in the top of the sixth inning because of rain, and will be continued July 24 in Cincinnati before the regularly scheduled game.

The umpires waited 1 hour 15 minutes before suspending the game.

Cincinnati scored two runs against former Red Jay Tibbs to tie the score 2-2 in the fifth, but Kurt Stillwell’s RBI single in the sixth gave Montreal the lead.