National League Roundup : Road Show Keeps Getting Better as Cardinals Sweep Braves

When the St. Louis Cardinals were dominating the National League two years ago, it was said that Whitey Herzog had built the perfect club for his home park.

He had assembled a bunch of speedsters who ran wild on the artificial turf of Busch Stadium. Playing in a spacious park, it didn’t matter that they didn’t hit many home runs.

Although he has many of the same players he had in 1985, it appears that Herzog has a tailor-made club for the road this season. As the Cardinals drive resolutely toward the pennant in the East, they are proving almost unbeatable on the road.

Ozzie Smith, a key to the Cardinal success, had four hits, including a two-run single in the seventh at Atlanta to lead them to a 4-1 victory, a sweep of the three-game series, a 7 1/2-game lead and an amazing 28-13 record away from home.

Smith’s game-winning hit enabled Greg Mathews, who held the Braves to three hits in 8 innings, to improve his record to 6-6. Todd Worrell came to the rescue in the ninth. He got Ken Griffey to line to third for the final out with two runners on base. It was the right-hander’s 18th save.

The real strength of the Cardinals is their defense, especially on the left side of the infield where third baseman Terry Pendleton and shortstop Smith may be the best ever paired. On artificial surfaces, the ball sometimes darts through the infield so fast, nobody can stop it. But on natural turf, a ball almost never gets past Smith or Pendleton.

It is no coincidence that the Cardinal pitching, sixth in the league in efficiency, improves considerably in Atlanta and Los Angeles, which have real grass.

In the sweep of the Braves, a staff that has been giving up more than four runs per game, gave up just two runs. The only Cardinal error in the three games was one Sunday by Mathews.

Smith keys the strong defense, but he no longer carries the tag: “Good field, no hit.”

Ever since he won a playoff game against the Dodgers in 1985 with a home run off Tom Niedenfuer, he has become a confident hitter.

He hit a career-high .280 last season and is doing even better after a slow start this year. His 4 for 5 lifted his average to .302 and he has 45 runs batted in while batting in the No. 2 spot.

“I’ve worked hard to make myself a good hitter,” Smith said. “When I came up, I had two goals--to win a Gold Glove and bat .300.”

He’s won seven Gold Gloves, and the other goal may be in sight.

Cincinnati 7, New York 5--After winning two of three from the Cardinals last week, the Mets said they were back and ready to repeat in the East.

But they seem to be more intent on finding fault with each other than in playing baseball, so, instead of moving into contention, they are dropping back rapidly.

Even Dwight Gooden couldn’t straighten them out in this game at Cincinnati. After striking out two of the first three Reds, Gooden (5-2) was shelled for five runs and six hits in the second inning and was gone after three, giving up six runs and nine hits. It was his shortest stint in two years.

It was the Mets’ third loss in a row to the Reds and dropped them eight games behind the Cardinals. The third win in a row kept the Reds 3 1/2 games in front in the West.

Tom Browning, sent to the minors after starting the season 4-6 with an ERA of 7.76, celebrated his return with a victory. In seven innings, he gave up seven hits, including two solo home runs to Tim Teufel.

San Francisco 7, Chicago 5--Newly acquired Kevin Mitchell hit a pair of two-run home runs, and Chris Speier hit a tie-breaking double in the eighth at Chicago.

Mitchell, obtained Saturday in a trade with San Diego, played third base and homered in the second and sixth innings.

San Diego 3, Montreal 2--Left-handed hitting John Kruk, allowed to swing on a 3-0 pitch, hit an opposite-field home run in the ninth inning at Montreal to give the Padres the victory.

Rich Gossage, celebrating his 36th birthday, pitched two scoreless innings to gain his first victory.

Houston 8, Philadelphia 2--Billy Hatcher singled four times, scored twice and drove in a run to lead the Astros at Philadelphia.

Although he walked seven batters and gave up six hits in six innings, Mike Scott struggled to his 10th victory.