National League Roundup : Morrison (.526) Sparks the Pirates to 7-4 Win

The main reason Jim Morrison is with the Pittsburgh Pirates is his low salary. At a time when the Pirates were unloading their high-priced talent, he was stuck into the lineup at third base.

Only two major league teams, according to the New York Times, have a lower payroll than the Pirates.

With a chance last season to be a regular for the first time in seven years, Morrison had his biggest year. At 34, he batted .274 and had career-high totals in home runs (23) and runs batted in (88).

The Pirates, who led the league in defeats last season with 98, have a 2-3 record. Morrison is largely responsible for the two victories.

In their home opener Friday night, Morrison went 4 for 4 and hit two home runs in a 4-3 win. Sunday, Morrison was only a little less effective. He went 3 for 4, including his 100th home run and drove in three runs in a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

After five games, he is hitting .526 and on his way to another big season. Furthermore, he has become a favorite with the fans, the ones he said didn’t deserve a major league team two years ago because they didn’t support the team.

“I don’t know how to explain my start,” said Morrison, who dedicated his two home runs Friday night to the 52,000 fans. “I didn’t have a good spring, but I get great encouragement from my teammates and that helps.

“I’m not worried about improving on last year. I’m making good contact and seeing the ball real well. With all the young players we have, I’m trying to be a steadying influence.”

One of the youngsters, 24-year-old outfielder John Cangelosi, also was a factor in the victory. He went 4 for 4 and scored three runs. The Pirates obtained the second-year speedster from the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Jim Winn.

“Cangelosi played a great game,” St. Louis Manager Whitey Herzog said after his team wasted most of their 13 hits. “He was the guy who beat us. He got everything going for them.”

Houston 1, Montreal 0--Speaking of getting rid of the high-priced players, the Expos are even better than the Pirates. They have the lowest payroll in the National League and have the results to show it.

Bob Knepper and two relief pitchers held the Expos to six hits at Houston and sent the winless Expos down to their fifth consecutive defeat.

The Astros, who scored the only run in the fifth inning when Billy Hatcher singled home Bill Doran, are 6-0, the only unbeaten team in the league.

Dave Smith pitched a scoreless ninth and has saves in four of the victories.

San Diego 5, Cincinnati 2--Steve Garvey snapped a slump with a three-run home run in the first inning at Cincinnati and the Padres gave Manager Larry Bowa his first victory after five defeats.

Garvey, benched Friday night because he wasn’t hitting, was 1 for 15, without an extra base hit or a run batted in, before belting the home run that ended the Reds’ four-game winning streak.

“I knew it would be hard to be successful but I didn’t know it would be that hard just to win a game,” Bowa said.

Garvey, who had his first hit of the season Saturday when he singled in his 15th official at-bat this season, wasn’t taking anything for granted.

“The way things have been going, I wasn’t too sure the ball wasn’t going to explode halfway there,” Garvey said.

The game wasn’t all the Reds lost. Rookie shortstop Barry Larkin suffered a hyperextended left knee in the first inning when he collided with the Padres’ Stan Jefferson at second base. The Reds said he could be out as many as 10 days.

Atlanta 12, New York 4--It was supposed to be a day for birdies at Augusta in the Masters, but the Braves’ Dion James literally got one at Shea Stadium.

With the Braves holding a 2-1 lead to open the third inning, James lofted a routine fly to left that hit a pigeon, killed the bird and fell to the ground for a double.

Two outs later, Dale Murphy, who would not have batted otherwise, hit his first home run of the season and the first off Mets’ pitching.

Murphy hit another later and drove in five runs as the Braves hammered Bob Ojeda and the Mets for 14 hits.

Philadelphia 9, Chicago 8--It wasn’t easy, but the Phillies, after four defeats, finally won their first game of the season.

Glenn Wilson slapped a single off Lee Smith with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th inning at Philadelphia to give the Phillies the win in a game just seven minutes short of four hours.

“He’s a tough pitcher,” Wilson said. “I was pretty relaxed. I just didn’t want him to blow me away with a high fastball.”

The Phillies held an 8-5 lead with two out in the top of the ninth after Steve Bedrosian struck out the first two Cubs. But, the hard-throwing right-hander walked Jody Davis. Jerry Mumphrey hammered a home run to left-center and Leon Durham followed with another into the upper deck in right. Bedrosian missed the save, but got the victory.

“It took us a while, but it feels good,” Phillie Manager John Felske said. “That wasn’t a struggle, it was a heart attack. You never know in this game.”