National League Roundup : Cardinals Pull Off Another Escape Act to Win

The Mets were ready to celebrate Friday night in New York. They held a 4-1 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, there were two out in the ninth and bullpen ace Roger McDowell was ready to close out another game.

The Cardinals, who had been in a slump since shortly after the All-Star game, had only one hit. One more out and their lead in the National League East, which had been 10 1/2 games on the Mets July 23, would be a mere half-game.

But the Mets didn’t get that last out until after Willie McGee’s single had scored one run and Terry Pendleton’s two-run home run had tied the score. And then, the Cardinals went on to win, 6-4, when Tommy Herr singled in a run in the 10th.

The Cardinals, coming from behind to win for the 45th time this season, increased their lead over the Mets to 2 1/2 games and made certain they would leave New York Sunday in first place. They won it against Jesse Orosco in the first extra inning. With one out, Vince Coleman single and raced to third on Ozzie Smith’s single. Herr hit a line drive single over second, and Coleman walked home.

To the delight of a huge crowd of 51,795, the Mets wasted no time clobbering John Tudor in the first inning. With one out, Tim Teufel singled. He scored when Coleman misplayed Keith Hernandez’s hit to left into a double. Darryl Strawberry followed with his 35th home run, and the Mets had a quick three-run lead.

It may have been more than just another defeat for the Mets. Although he had a one-hitter going into the seventh, Ron Darling, a key figure in the Mets’ drive into contention, injured himself twice in the first inning. He fell on his right thumb trying to field Coleman’s bunt single, the only hit until McGee’s two-out single in the ninth. Then, Smith’s liner through the middle struck Darling on the right wrist and caromed on the fly to shortstop Rafael Santana, who doubled Coleman off first.

The Mets said Darling’s thumb will be X-rayed. Manager Davey Johnson said, “It doesn’t look good. I think it’s serious.”

Afterward, there was shouting and backslapping in the clubhouse, but McGee, who kept the ninth-inning rally alive with only one strike left, put it in perspective.

“We needed a game like this,” he said, “but it’s not going to win a pennant. It would be nice to win the series, but it still wouldn’t mean the pennant.”

After his bunt single, Coleman stole second, marking his 98th steal and his 27th in 27 tries in his career against the Mets.

Howard Johnson stole his 30th base in the fourth inning for the Mets. Johnson, who has 34 home runs, became the eighth player to steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs in a season. He is the first fulltime infielder to do it.

The Cardinals were playing without their leading power hitter, Jack Clark, who has a sprained ankle and will miss the three-game series.

Cincinnati 4, San Francisco 3--Dave Concepcion and Dave Parker, each of whom has been through many stretch drives before, came through in this one at Cincinnati to keep the Reds’ hopes alive in the West.

The Reds, missing because of injuries their big gun, Eric Davis, and bullpen ace, John Franco, went into the opener of five games with the division-leading Giants in the next 10 days, knowing they needed four wins to make it a race.

Parker hit a two-run double in the first and Concepcion doubled in two more in the second and the Reds, using three relievers in the absence of Franco, barely lasted to cut the Giants’ lead to four games.

Chicago 8, Montreal 4--The Expos may have suffered a letdown after sweeping a three-game series with the Cardinals.

They missed a chance to tighten the East even more when they fell before the Cubs’ home-run barrage at Chicago. Keith Moreland hit a two-run homer and Leon Durham and Ryne Sandberg hit solo shots.

Rookie Les Lancaster (7-1) pitched eight innings to win his fifth in a row.

San Diego 11, Houston 0--Eric Show pitched a four-hitter, and Stan Jefferson went 4 for 5 and drove in four runs at San Diego in the Padres’ rout of the Astros.

The loss dropped the Astros into third place in the West. They trail the Giants by five games.

Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2--R.J. Reynolds hit a home run and drove in two runs at Philadelphia as Doug Drabek (8-11) held the Phillies to one hit through seven innings. He gave up three hits in the eighth and had to come out.