National League Roundup : Mets Win on Homer in the 11th

Hot streaks continued Monday night for Keith Hernandez, Roger McDowell and the New York Mets.

Hernandez extended his hitting string to 12 games with a two-out, 11th-inning home run off Kent Tekulve that gave the Mets a 3-2 victory, their sixth win in seven games, moving them into second place in the National League East before a Shea Stadium crowd of 50,297.

McDowell (6-3) came out of the bullpen to pitch two innings for the victory, giving him two wins and five saves in his last seven relief appearances.

“I’m in a groove for the first time all season,” Hernandez said. “I took a peak at the scoreboard and saw that the Cards had already won, so we can’t let them get 7 1/2 in front. It’s tough as it is, but we will catch them.”

Sid Fernandez, who was scheduled to start for the Mets, never threw a pitch beyond the warm-ups because of a sore left shoulder.

Don Schulze, the last-minute replacement, worked five innings and allowed two runs before being hit on the right biceps by a Mike Schmidt line drive. Schulze’s arm stiffened, and he was relieved by Doug Sisk.

Darryl Strawberry hit a two-run homer in the first inning, with Hernandez aboard on a walk, to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. It was the 24th of the season for Strawberry and the 24th allowed by Philadelphia’s Don Carman.

Houston 5, San Francisco 3--Kevin Bass hit his second home run of the game with two out in the bottom of the 13th inning at Houston to move the Astros a half-game behind the Giants for second place in the West.

Bass, who hit one home run batting left-handed and one batting right, drove in Alan Ashby, who had walked against reliever Joe Price (1-2) earlier in the 13th.

Houston starter Nolan Ryan struck out 12 and walked only one in seven innings, giving him 165 strikeouts in 130 innings this season.

Pittsburgh 6, Chicago 4--Doug Drabek allowed four hits over eight innings at Pittsburgh for his second win since April 19, and Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke hit home runs as the Pirates ended a seven-game losing streak.

Drabek (3-10) had not allowed a hit through 5 innings when Ryne Sandberg singled to right. Drabek lasted until the ninth inning, with Leon Durham’s two-run homer finishing him off.

Brett Gideon relieved and yielded a home run to Rafael Palmeiro. Jim Gott, despite giving up an RBI single to Brian Dayett, got the final out for his first save.

Greg Maddux (6-10) took the loss and is 0-3 against the Pirates this season.

St. Louis 5, Montreal 2--Jim Lindeman, playing in place of Jack Clark, who is still slightly sore from a shoulder and arm injury, hit his fifth home run to lead the Cardinals at Montreal.

In winning its fourth straight, St. Louis got a solid seven-inning performance from Ricky Horton, a reliever thrust into the starting role because of an injury to Danny Cox. Horton (6-1) scattered seven hits, and Todd Worrell finished for his 22nd save.

The Cardinals broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning as Willie McGee reached base on an error by second baseman Vance Law and, two outs later, Lindeman homered over the left-field wall for a 4-2 lead. They made it 5-2 in the seventh, when Horton singled and Tom Herr doubled him home.

The Expos’ third straight loss put them in third place in the East, seven games behind the Cardinals.