National League Roundup : Knepper’s Comeback Continues With 5-3 Win

Bob Knepper, the flop of 1987, is on his way to becoming the comeback of 1988.

The crafty left-hander of the Houston Astros, the biggest loser in the National League last season (8-17), is 6-0 this season.

Billy Hatcher’s fifth single of the game Friday night at St. Louis drove in the tie-breaking run in the ninth, and the Astros beat the Cardinals, 5-3. Knepper lost his bid for a shutout in the eighth inning when Tony Pena hit a two-run home run.

Although only one run was earned, it was the worst outing of the season for Knepper. In eight innings he gave up two runs. He did not give up more than one run in any of his previous six starts.

Knepper, who will be 35 next week, always has been tough for the Cardinals. In ending their four-game winning streak, he beat them for the eighth time in his last 10 decisions.

Knepper, who twice this season has had to skip starting assignments, has tendinitis in his left shoulder. Often he pitches in pain.

“Actually, it has made me a better pitcher,” Knepper said. “With it hurting, I am careful not to overthrow. I have been assured that eventually the soreness will disappear.

“There are times when it doesn’t hurt, at all. And often, I get loose by the third or fourth inning, and the pain becomes less.”

Larry McWilliams turned in another strong game for the Cardinals, but after yielding one run in six innings, he gave way to a pinch-hitter because the Cardinals were trailing, 1-0.

Although Scott Terry was the loser, it was bullpen ace Todd Worrell who gave up the big hits. Worrell took over from Terry with a man on second base and one out. Hatcher’s single broke the 2-2 tie, and a walk, a wild pitch and two singles produced two more runs.

Cincinnati 7, Chicago 2--The way things had been going for the past two years, Mario Soto was wondering if he would ever win 100 games.

Until elbow and shoulder injuries threatened his career two years ago, Soto had a blistering fastball.

Now, minus the fastball, Soto has become a finesse pitcher. In this game at Cincinnati, Soto pitched a five-hitter, improved his record to 3-2 and reached 100 victories.

The Reds, with Paul O’Neill hitting a two-run home run, knocked Rick Sutcliffe out in 2 innings.

The 2 runs gave the Cubs just 17 in the last 10 games.

Pittsburgh 10, Atlanta 3--A five-game losing streak called for desperate measures. So, the Pirates put Mike Diaz into right field in this game at Pittsburgh.

Diaz responded with his first three hits of the season and drove in three runs to lead the Pirates to their one-sided victory.

Mike Dunne, who has battled arm trouble since winning on opening day, was buoyed by a big early lead and won his second game. He gave up 3 runs and 9 hits in 7 innings to even his record at 2-2.

“I wasn’t worried about being 0 for 9, because I was 100% physically and 100% mentally and I knew the hits would come,” said Diaz, who missed the first month of the season with a thumb injury.

San Diego 4, Philadelphia 3--Rookie second baseman Roberto Alomar is rapidly developing into a star for the Padres. In this game at San Diego, Alomar singled in Shane Mack from second base with two out in the ninth inning to end the Padres’ four-game losing streak.

The Phillies’ Mike Schmidt moved into eighth place on the all-time home run list when he hammered out the 535th of his career. Just ahead is Mickey Mantle with 536.

Randy Ready’s third home run of the season, leading off the eighth for the Padres, tied the score, 3-3.

San Francisco 11, Montreal 2--Chris Speier hit a grand slam--one of four San Francisco home runs--as the Giants routed the Expos at San Francisco.

Will Clark, Candy Maldonado, and Bob Melvin also homered in the Giants’ first four-homer game of 1988. The outburst made a winner of Mike LaCoss (3-3), who allowed two runs in seven innings.