National League Roundup : With Help From the Wind, Giants Return to 1987 Form Against Mets

Most of the experts predicted that the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants would meet in the National League championship series in October.

From the start, the Mets have made the experts look good, but the Giants, defending champions of the West, have struggled.

The Mets, the hottest team in baseball when they went into San Francisco’s Candlestick Park for a weekend series, have helped get the Giants straightened out.

A windblown triple, not an unusual happening at Candlestick, was the key hit Saturday in a 3-2 victory that put the Giants at the .500 mark. It was their second win in a row over the Mets.

Robby Thompson’s fly ball, with two men on in the third, blew away from center fielder Len Dykstra for the three-base hit. An infield out allowed Thompson to score the third run of the inning.

Mike Krukow (2-2), a long time Met nemesis, made the runs stand up with the help of Atlee Hammaker, who got the last four outs.

“It’s no secret how to beat the Mets,” Krukow said after improving his record against them to 18-7. “You’ve got to execute. They’re tough and you can’t make mistakes.

“Last year they tore me apart (1-0 and a 10.22 earned-run average), because I wasn’t healthy and didn’t have good stuff. If you don’t have your best stuff, they’ll kill you.”

Manager Davey Johnson credited the Giants’ pitching with being decisive, but without the celebrated Candlestick wind it might not have prevailed.

It appeared that Dykstra got a poor jump on Thompson’s triple.

“I never had a chance, it was hit too well,” Dykstra said. “We have been scoring a lot of runs and winning close games, and you can’t do that every game. They threw strikes and they didn’t walk anyone.”

The Giants had only two other hits off Ron Darling (3-3) in seven innings. He didn’t allow any walks.

Houston 3, Chicago 1--Bob Knepper believes in the theory advanced by St. Louis Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog.

“Whitey said last season and yesterday don’t count in baseball,” Knepper said after improving his record to 5-0 in this game at Houston.

Knepper, who struggled to an 8-17 record a year ago, gave up a run and eight hits in 7 innings. He leads the league with an earned-run average of 0.85.

“After last year, and getting a lot of heat in spring training, I have found peace of mind,” Knepper said. “Things that people have said about me that would have bothered me in the past, don’t bother me anymore.”

The Cubs had beaten Knepper six straight times, but after Andre Dawson’s fly ball scored Shawon Dunston in the first inning, the Cubs didn’t score again. It was Dawson’s 1,000th run batted in.

Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 3--Mario Soto settled down after a rocky first inning at Pittsburgh to improve his career record against the Pirates to 14-5.

After the Reds scored four times against Mike Dunne in the top of the first, the Pirates scored three against Soto (4-2). But Soto gave up only one hit after the first until John Franco took over with one out in the eighth and earned his fifth save.

The only run not scored in the first was Eric Davis’s sixth home run in the ninth.

Despite the end of their four-game winning streak, the Pirates remained one game behind the Mets in the East.

San Diego 3, Montreal 2--Rookie Roberto Alomar singled home the winning run in the seventh inning at San Diego to give the Padres their second win in a row over the Expos.

Ed Whitson and Lance McCullers teamed up for a four-hitter.