National League Roundup : Howell Sharp as Phillies Win, 7-0

While some of the pitchers the Philadelphia Phillies were counting on to help turn the team around have faltered, former Dodger Ken Howell is emerging as a dependable starter.

Howell, settling into the rotation, held the Reds to five singles in eight innings Friday night at Cincinnati, and the Phillies romped, 7-0. After his fourth consecutive solid performance, Howell has a 3-1 record.

Although he didn’t know it at the time, Howell got all the support he needed on Tom Browning’s first pitch of the game. Juan Samuel tagged it for his third home run, and the Phillies were on their way to ending a four-game losing streak.

It was only five years ago that Howell, now 28, was a prize prospect with the Dodgers. He came up in 1984, and in 51 innings of relief he struck out 55 and walked only nine.

But Howell developed control trouble and then arm problems. After surgery, he was 10-1 while recuperating at Albuquerque last season, but the Dodgers had no place for him.

Last December, he went to Baltimore in the Eddie Murray deal and was sent on to the Phillies in the Phil Bradley trade.

Howell thought he’d won a job in the spring, but the Phillies opted to go with Floyd Youmans, Bruce Ruffin and Don Carman. All three have faltered, and Howell has improved with each outing.

“I wanted to stay and pitch my first shutout,” Howell said, “but I’m really happy with just winning.”

St. Louis 3, San Francisco 1--Pedro Guerrero and Tom Brunansky hit sacrifice flies as the Cardinals scored twice without benefit of a hit in the top of the eighth inning and beat the Giants in San Francisco.

Reliever Mike LaCoss (1-3) walked Vince Coleman to start the inning. Ozzie Smith bunted, and when LaCoss threw wildly trying for a forceout at second, the Cardinals had runners at first and third.

Terry Pendleton walked to load the bases, and Guerrero’s sacrifice fly gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead. After Milt Thompson walked to load the bases again, Brunansky delivered another sacrifice fly.

Cardinal reliever Frank DiPino (1-0) got the win by retiring the only two batters he faced to put down a bases-loaded threat in the seventh.

Todd Worrell pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three and giving up one hit to earn his fourth save. He struck out Robby Thompson with two runners on base to end the eighth.

St. Louis tied the game, 1-1, in the sixth inning on Pendleton’s two-out homer off Giant starter Scott Garrelts, who had retired eight straight batters before Pendleton hit his first home run of the season.

Garrelts pitched seven innings and allowed four hits. St. Louis starter Joe Magrane went 6 1/3 innings, allowing six hits.

Atlanta 6, Montreal 1--Darrell Evans will be 42 later this month. Even as a youth, he was not in the majors because of his speed.

So it was not surprising that he had not hit a triple for four years. In the first inning at Atlanta, Evans delivered a two-run triple to put the Braves in front in a hurry.

Rookie Derek Lilliquist staggered in and out of trouble through six innings to improve his record to 2-2. He wasn’t assured of the victory until the Braves scored three runs in the eighth, two on Ron Gant’s single with the bases loaded.

Pittsburgh 4, San Diego 2--Rey Quinones hit a three-run home run, and Bob Walk pitched a six-hitter at San Diego.

The Padres jumped off to a 2-0 lead, but Eric Show (4-3) couldn’t hold it.

With two on in the fourth, Quinones, obtained from Seattle for pitcher Mike Dunne, hit his home run. It was his first for the Pirates and only his second in the majors.