National League Roundup : Eric Davis Keys Win for Reds

The Cincinnati Reds figured that cleanup hitter Eric Davis would see a lot of good pitches if Kal Daniels, their No. 3 batter, hit the way he did last season.

Daniels, after hitting into double plays his first two times at bat this season, has been a torrid hitter. Trouble was, if Davis was seeing good pitches, he wasn’t hitting them.

Davis changed things Saturday. He had three hits, doubled in the go-ahead run in the eighth and scored twice in the Reds’ 8-2 victory at Houston.

With Davis hitting just .189 and Daniels over .400 with five home runs, the Astros elected to walk Daniels with a runner on second with one out in the eighth and the score tied, 2-2. Davis lashed a run-scoring double and the Reds, with the help of two balks, scored seven runs in the last two innings.

“Offensively, except for Kal, our players hadn’t been producing, “ Manager Pete Rose said. “But it was just a matter of time before they started hitting. Of course, I’m talking about Eric. He gets three hits today, and now maybe we’ve got both barrels of the shotgun going.”

The Reds also got their second straight impressive performance from Mario Soto. Until experiencing arm problems in 1986, Soto was one of the hardest throwers and best pitchers in baseball. Last season, trying to come back from surgery, he was only 3-3 with an earned-run average of 5.12.

The blazing fastball is gone, but Soto’s knowledge of the hitters is still there. In his previous start last Monday, Soto shut out the San Francisco Giants on four singles.

Through six innings, Soto’s assortment of off-speed pitches baffled the Astros. He gave up just three singles. But in the seventh, three singles and a double by Glenn Davis produced two runs and a 2-1 Astro lead.

Jose Rijo came in and threw one pitch, which Rafael Ramirez hit it into an inning-ending double play as Rijo (3-1) earned his second win in two days.

New York 6, St. Louis 4--Troubles continue to mount for the Cardinals. Joe Magrane suffered a side injury while pitching in the third inning at New York to join fellow left-handers John Tudor and Ken Dayley on the injured list.

Then, reliever Todd Worrell gave up two home runs in the eighth inning, and the Cardinals fell to 3-7.

A rare home run by Vince Coleman and sharp relief pitching by Larry McWilliams enabled the Cardinals to bring a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

Worrell, who staggered to saves in all three Cardinal victories this season, gave up an infield single, Gary Carter hit a two-run home run, and Howard Johnson followed with a solo homer.

In July and August of last year, Worrell had an ERA of 1.00. But his lifetime ERA in April is 5.40.

Pittsburgh 4, Chicago 0--Doug Drabek had his sinkerball working, and R.J. Reynolds took advantage of the wind at Chicago to hit a three-run home run.

Drabek pitched a five-hitter for his second win in a row. Reynolds followed a run-scoring double by Sid Bream in the fourth with his first homer of the season. It was a flyball helped by a 10-m.p.h. wind that carried into the left-center-field bleachers.

The Pirates, who have opened the season 7-3, are tied with the Mets for first place in the East.

Montreal 2, Philadelphia 1--Graig Nettles’ first official at-bat for the Expos was a pinch home run in the eighth inning at Montreal to tie the game, and Tom Foley singled home the winning run in the 10th.

The Phillies, who have lost six in a row, went into the eighth behind Kevin Gross with a 1-0 lead, the result of Lance Parrish’s home run in the second inning.

Andres Galarraga opened the 10th with a double and stopped at third on Jeff Reed’s single. One out later, Foley singled to center.

San Diego 2, San Francisco 1--John Kruk’s leg was hurting and he was out of the lineup at San Diego on Steve Garvey Night.

But the young successor to Garvey at first base didn’t have to run. He came up as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and hit a home run to win the game. All he had to do was trot around the bases.