National League Roundup : Mets Top Cardinals Again, 6-4 in 10, Adding Injury to Clark to the Insult

The New York Mets may not repeat as Eastern Division champions, but they may be knocking the St. Louis Cardinals out of the race--literally.

Howard Johnson hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning Wednesday night at St. Louis to give the Mets a 6-4 victory, their second in a row over the division leaders. But that’s only part of the story.

For the third time this season and for the second night in a row, the Mets put a Cardinal star out of action.

Early in the season, in a freak accident, rookie Met catcher Barry Lyons crashed into the Cardinal dugout while chasing a foul and broke the leg of ace pitcher John Tudor. The left-hander is still out of action.

Tuesday night, when the Cardinals blew a lead and also lost, 6-4, All-Star shortstop Ozzie Smith suffered a sprained ankle when he was tagged out at the plate.

But the worst blow may have been delivered in the fourth inning Wednesday night. The Cardinals lost first baseman Jack Clark, the key to their offense, with elbow and shoulder injuries.

Clark was hurt while trying to catch pitcher Rick Horton’s wild throw, when he was knocked over by Mookie Wilson of the Mets. Although X-rays revealed no broken bones, it was not determined when the major leagues’ runs batted in leader with 89 would return to action.

The Cardinal losing streak was extended to six games by Johnson’s 24th home run, and they lead Montreal by only five games and the Mets by 6 1/2.

All the news for the Cardinals, though, was not bad. Smith, although he didn’t start Wednesday night, did play in the late innings.

Saturday, Tudor is scheduled to make a start against Pittsburgh, and next week, Danny Cox, the Cardinals’ No. 2 pitcher, is scheduled to come off the disabled list.

The Mets built a 4-0 lead, but the Cardinals rallied to get within a run in the seventh, then tied it in the ninth.

Vince Coleman singled and stole second, his third steal of the game and 64th of the season. Tommy Herr, emerging from a prolonged slump, got his fourth hit of the game to score Coleman and send the game into extra innings.

Cincinnati 15, San Diego 5--Apparently General Manager Bill Bergesch has gotten his message across to the Reds. Bergesch sharply criticized his players for their uninspired play.

But with Dave Parker shaking a slump and driving in six runs with a home run and a single, the Reds pounded out 19 hits to overwhelm the club with the worst record in the league.

Parker atoned for an error that had helped the Padres score four runs in the fourth inning to cut the Reds’ lead to 6-4.

Parker hit a three-run home run in the sixth and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth. Both benches cleared after Parker was hit, but no punches were thrown.

The Reds gave Ted Power a 6-0 lead, but he didn’t make it through the fourth and Rob Murphy won it in relief.

Montreal 11, Chicago 3--The Expos displayed all the ingredients that have enabled them to climb into the race in the East in this game at Chicago.

They overwhelmed the Cubs with home run power and superb pitching by Bryn Smith (7-4).

Mitch Webster hit a two-run home run and Tim Wallach and Vance Law hit solo shots. Smith shut the Cubs out until the seventh on four hits.

“We have been steadily improving since the season started,” Montreal Manager Bob Rodgers said. “We might very well challenge somebody before this thing is over.”

Atlanta 5, Houston 3--Undoubtedly, Nolan Ryan is the best 13-game loser in the majors. The strikeout king lost his eighth in a row in this game at Atlanta.

The Astros committed four errors, and the Braves scored four runs, three of them unearned, off Ryan in 5 innings. After the fourth error enabled the Braves to tie the score, 2-2, in the sixth, Ryan reverted to old habits, walking two in a row to force in what proved to be the winning run.

Dale Murphy hit his 27th home run of the season in the seventh off reliever Larry Andersen.

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 3--The Phillies are winning the Battle of Pennsylvania. In this game at Pittsburgh, Milt Thompson hit a two-run home run and Von Hayes also homered to give the Phillies their 10th win in 11 games with the Pirates this season.

Don Carman, although he needed help after staggering through six innings, won his third in a row. Mike Jackson protected the one-run lead for two innings and Steve Bedrosian pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save.