National League Roundup : Youmans Tosses 1-Hit, 1-0 Victory

No matter how hard the Montreal Expos tried not to make Floyd Youmans nervous about a possible no-hitter, there was one fan in the Astrodome who wouldn’t cooperate.

“In the dugout, people wouldn’t talk to me and were staying away from me to keep my mind off it,” said Youmans, who held Houston hitless until Kevin Bass’ leadoff single in the eighth inning Wednesday night. “But there was some guy behind the dugout who kept yelling, ‘Think about it, Youmans, you’re pitching a no-hitter. Think about it.’ ”

Youmans wound up with the second one-hitter of his career as he outdueled Nolan Ryan in Montreal’s 1-0 victory over the Astros in Houston.

Youmans retired the first 15 batters before Alan Ashby drew a leadoff walk in the sixth. Youmans continued his no-hit bid until Bass opened the eighth with a line drive off the top of the right-field wall, a ball hit so hard that he was held to a single.

“He hit a fastball. I was trying to keep it away from him, but I was tired and I got the ball up and over the plate,” Youmans said.

Youmans (6-3) struck out three, walked two and won his fifth straight decision. It was his second start since returning from the disabled list June 30 after suffering a strained back muscle.

Youmans, usually a fastball pitchers, said he relied more on his off-speed pitches because of his recent stint on the disabled list.

“I was a different pitcher tonight. I haven’t got back in shape yet after being on the DL and I didn’t have the overpowering fastball,” he said. “The key for me tonight was that I was able to change speeds and keep them off balance. I wasn’t throwing hard with consistency, so it made me concentrate more.”

Ryan (4-10) lost his fifth straight decision despite allowing just four hits in seven innings. He struck out nine, raising his all-time leading total to 4,420, and walked three.

After Ashby walked on a 3-1 pitch to lead off the sixth, Ryan’s one-out sacrifice moved him to second. Youmans then retired rookie Gerald Young on a fly ball.

Bass singled in the eighth and took second when Jose Cruz followed with a sacrifice. Youmans set down Ashby on a fly ball and Craig Reynolds on a popup.

The Expos scored the game’s only run in the first. With two outs, Tim Raines beat out an infield tapper for a single. Raines stole second and came home on Tim Wallach’s single.

Atlanta 5, New York 3--Gary Roenicke and Graig Nettles each drove in two runs at Atlanta and Charlie Puleo (3-2) pitched a six-hitter for his first complete game this season.

The Braves ended a string of East victories over the West. On Tuesday the East dominated the West, 8-0, with both the Braves and Dodgers losing doubleheaders.

The way Eastern Division clubs have dominated the West, it is not surprising that only one Western Division player, Eric Davis of Cincinnati, made the starting lineup for the All-Star game.

Darryl Strawberry hit his 21st home run for the Mets to celebrate being voted to the starting lineup for the All-Star game. But, it wasn’t enough to keep the Braves from ending a five-game losing streak.