National League Roundup : Gooden Gets Rain-Shortened Win

The New York Mets expect to clinch the pennant in the Eastern Division by early September.

A big reason they are so confident is Dwight Gooden.

Gooden, beginning his fifth season with the Mets, appears ready for the great year everyone has been expecting from him since he won 24 games in 1985.

He won 15 last season, but because of a drug problem, he didn’t make his first appearance until June 5. The Mets never did catch the St. Louis Cardinals.

In a game called after six innings Friday night at New York because of rain, Gooden held the Cardinals to two hits, and the Mets’ 3-0 victory was Gooden’s third win of the season.

Gooden singled in the only run he needed, and Gary Carter hit his fourth home run. Ozzie Smith and Tommy Herr had the only Cardinal hits. Gooden struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter.

“This is the best I’ve thrown so far this season,” Gooden said. “My first game, I had my curve but no fastball. The next time, it was the fastball and no curve. Tonight, I had both.

“The breaking ball kept getting my strikeouts. But I’m not concentrating on striking everybody out. That will come later. Last year, I got caught up in all that strikeout talk.”

In this game, Gooden’s fastball was clocked at 95 m.p.h.

The third consecutive shutout by the Mets (Ron Darling and Bob Ojeda had the others) enabled the Mets to move into a tie for first place in the East with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cincinnati 4, Houston 2--Paul O’Neill hit a two-run double with two out in the 10th inning at Houston to end the Astros’ four-game winning streak.

Mike Scott took a 2-0 lead into the eighth, but the Reds loaded the bases on a double, a hit batsman and a single. A sacrifice fly scored one run, and after a walk, Scott hit O’Neill to force in the tying run.

Until the eighth, Scott had given up four hits and fanned seven, and his control had been perfect.

Chicago 6, Pittsburgh 0--In his first two starts this season, Rick Sutcliffe was hammered for 13 runs in 12 innings.

In an about-face, the big right-hander held the Pirates to six hits in the Cubs’ home opener.

Andre Dawson hit a two-run home run, and Shawon Dunston and Dave Martinez homered for the Cubs.

The Pirates had beaten Sutcliffe (1-0) six times in a row.

Montreal 6, Philadelphia 4--Rookie shortstop Luis Rivera led off the bottom of the sixth inning at Montreal with his first home run to break a tie, and the Expos went on to end their three-game losing streak. The Phillies have lost five in a row.

San Francisco 8, San Diego 3--Rick Reuschel held the Padres to one run in six innings at San Diego, and Candy Maldonado hit a two-run home run to enable the veteran right-hander to win his second game in a row.

Atlee Hammaker pitched the last three innings for the Giants and gave up two runs in the ninth. The Padres are 3-7 in the early going.