National League Roundup : Sutcliffe Sharp in Return as Cubs Shut Out Cardinals

Rick Sutcliffe, activated Saturday after being on the disabled list since May 21 with a strained rib cage muscle, retired the first nine batters and allowed only two hits in six innings as the Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0, at St. Louis Saturday night.

And he was miffed when Cub Manager Don Zimmer decided he had worked enough.

“Yeah, I was mad when they took me out,” Sutcliffe said. “I don’t believe in guys going five or six innings, then taking a hike because they’ve got the lead.”

Sutcliffe walked one and struck out seven.

Rich (Goose) Gossage, the fourth Cub pitcher, came in with one out in the ninth and earned his eighth save. The Cardinals were held to four hits.

Sutcliffe (4-4) outpitched left-hander Joe Magrane (0-1), who also came off the disabled list Saturday. Magrane, out since April 16 with a torn muscle in his right side, allowed six hits--all in the first three innings--struck out six and walked one in six innings.

Magrane retired the last 16 batters he faced.

“That was a hell of a game for two guys coming off the disabled list,” Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog said. “They pitched well, both of them.”

St. Louis’ only scoring opportunity against Sutcliffe came in the fourth. Vince Coleman opened with a single and advanced to second on a balk. Ozzie Smith walked and the pair pulled off a double steal as Willie McGee struck out. But cleanup hitter Tom Brunansky struck out, and Bob Horner lined out to end the threat.

Pittsburgh 8, Philadelphia 2--Mike Dunne threw 158 pitches and walked 10 but pitched a five-hitter against the Phillies at Pittsburgh. It was his first complete game in 10 starts.

Dunne (4-4) ended his two-game losing streak.

“I can never remember walking so many and yet pitching a complete game,” Dunne said. “I’m sure that’s my career high, even for high school.”

Through four innings, Dunne had walked six and thrown 86 pitches. But while his pitches were missing the strike zone, they weren’t missing by much. “I didn’t knock anybody down,” Dunne said. “It wasn’t like they were up there bailing out. I was down in the strike zone too much if anything and that’s good.”

Manager Jim Leyland had two pitchers warming up in the late innings, but he never visited the mound and he said he never seriously considered pulling Dunne. The Phillies had the bases loaded on two walks and a single when the game ended.

Andy Van Slyke drove in four runs, two on his 10th home run, to tie his career best for runs batted in. Van Slyke’s homer came in the first against David Palmer (1-6).

Philadelphia’s Juan Samuel extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games with a run-scoring single in the second.

Houston 5, Atlanta 4--Kevin Bass threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the 10th inning and then scored from second base on Terry Puhl’s infield single in the 11th as the Astros beat the Braves at Houston.

In the second, Bass had hit his first home run at the Astrodome since Sept. 8.

In the 10th, he fielded Ron Gant’s single to right field and made a strong throw that caught Gary Roenicke trying to score from second base.

Bass drew a leadoff walk in the 11th from Charlie Puleo (0-3). One out later, Bass took second on Rafael Ramirez’s groundout. Puhl followed with a high bouncer that second baseman Gant knocked down but did not field cleanly. Bass was running all the way and slid home just ahead of Gant’s throw.

Montreal 6, New York 4--Tim Wallach, who went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs to help the Expos beat the Mets at Montreal, said his work with hitting coach Ron Hansen is starting to pay off.

Wallach has seven hits in his last eight at-bats.

Floyd Youmans (2-5) pitched six-hit ball over six innings for the victory. Andy McGaffigan, who pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh, got his second save. “Those are the kinds of situations a bullpen lives for,” McGaffigan said.

Losing pitcher Dwight Gooden (9-2) allowed eight hits in six innings.

Cincinnati 7, San Francisco 2--Eric Davis had four hits, and Chris Sabo hit a leadoff homer to spark a six-run eighth inning that led the Reds past the Giants at San Francisco.

The Reds have won only 6 of their last 20 games.

Tom Browning (4-3) struck out six, walked two and scattered five hits over seven innings for the victory.

Reliever Craig Lefferts (1-4) allowed Sabo’s seventh home run, a blast over the left-field fence that tied the score, 2-2.