National League Roundup : Mets Beat Expos With Six Homers

Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds each hit two home runs Monday at Montreal and the New York Mets set a record for opening day with six homers, beating the Expos, 10-6, for their 13th victory in the last 14 openers.

Len Dykstra and Kevin Elster also homered for the Mets, who broke the record of five homers set by the New York Yankees against the Philadelphia Athletics on April 12, 1932. The record had been tied four times since.

Hubie Brooks homered for Montreal as the clubs tied the record for opening-day homers, last set by Milwaukee and Boston in 1980. It was the first seven-home run opener in National League history.

Dwight Gooden allowed 11 hits in 5 innings for the victory. He walked one and struck out one. Loser Dennis Martinez gave up nine hits in six innings.

Dykstra’s three-run homer in the sixth broke a 4-4 tie, and Strawberry hit a solo homer in the seventh off Randy St. Claire that hit the rim of Olympic Stadium where the roof attaches to the building. The homer went between 450 and 500 feet.

McReynolds followed with his home run to make the score 9-4. Brooks homered in the eighth and McReynolds again in the ninth.

Cincinnati 5, St. Louis 4--Kal Daniels singled home Jeff Treadway with two out in the bottom of the 12th and the Reds edged the defending National League champion Cardinals at Cincinnati in the traditional N.L. opener.

Daniels also had a solo homer in the sixth inning to help the Reds overcome a 4-1 deficit en route to their fifth consecutive opening-day victory.

Treadway, a rookie, led off the 12th with a walk off reliever Bob Forsch and moved to third on Barry Larkin’s sacrifice and a wild pitch by Larry McWilliams, the seventh St. Louis pitcher. Daniels then hit a soft single to center.

Pat Perry pitched the 12th for the victory. Forsch was the loser.

The game was played in front of 55,438 fans, the largest regular-season crowd in Riverfront Stadium’s 18-year history.