National League Roundup : Mets Spoil Return of Dykstra, McDowell to N.Y. With 9-3 Win

Len Dykstra and Roger McDowell returned to New York Friday night, but the Mets didn’t seem to care that they’d been away.

Bob Ojeda beat Philadelphia for the second time in a week, pitching the Mets past the Phillies and former teammates Dykstra and McDowell, 9-3.

Ojeda (5-6) won his third straight game, allowing three runs --two earned--and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings. He beat the Phillies, 1-0, on June 17 with a three-hitter.

“I like to see the guys we trade do well,” Met Manager Davey Johnson said. “But not so well they beat us.”

Dykstra looked as if he was going to do just that.

Dykstra, who was traded by the Mets to Philadelphia last Sunday along with reliever McDowell for Juan Samuel, hit Ojeda’s second pitch of the game for a triple, and Dickie Thon hit the next pitch for a home run, his sixth.

Since joining the Phillies, Dykstra is 7 for 16 with seven runs scored. The sellout crowd of 44,828 gave him a standing ovation before his first at-bat, and several banners welcomed Dykstra and McDowell back.

“It’s nice to be accepted,” Dykstra said. “The fans here are great, and I always had high regard for them.”

Bob Dernier hit an RBI single in the Phillies’ eighth, narrowing the Mets’ lead to 6-3, but Randy Myers, who got his 10th save with 1 2/3 innings, retired Dykstra on a grounder with runners on first and second to end the inning.

Howard Johnson, Barry Lyons and Kevin McReynolds each drove in two runs for the Mets.

Tim Teufel, activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, singled home a run in the Mets’ eighth against Greg Harris. McDowell relieved and gave up RBI singles to Dave Magadan and McReynolds.

St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 2--Vince Coleman stole three bases and tied a major league record with his 38th consecutive steal as the Cardinals handed the Pirates their fourth straight loss at Pittsburgh.

All three of Coleman’s steals came in the first two innings, increasing his major leagues-leading total to 32. Coleman, who has not been caught stealing since last Sept. 18, tied Davey Lopes’ 1975 record for consecutive successful stolen bases.

Joe Magrane (6-6) gave up one run on four hits in seven innings. Todd Worrell worked the final inning for his ninth save.

San Francisco 8, San Diego 7-- Pinch-hitter Donell Nixon’s RBI single capped a four-run rally in the seventh inning, and Steve Bedrosian got his third save since joining San Francisco as the Giants beat the Padres for their sixth straight victory at San Diego.

The Giants, who are on their longest winning streak of the season, hold a four-game lead over second-place Houston.

Rich Gossage (2-1) got the victory. Bedrosian, acquired Sunday in a trade with Philadelphia, pitched 1 1/3 innings for his ninth save of the season.

Houston 5, Atlanta 2--Ken Caminiti singled home the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning, and Louie Meadows added a two-run single as the Astros ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Braves at Atlanta.

Terry Puhl led off with a double and beat pitcher Paul Assenmacher’s throw to third on a sacrifice by Craig Reynolds. Caminiti’s single made it 3-2, and after a double steal, Meadows greeted reliever Mark Eichhorn with a single to left field.

Danny Darwin (6-2) was the winner, and Dave Smith got his 14th save in 15 opportunities. Assenmacher (0-2) took the loss.

Montreal 5, Chicago 1-- Dave Martinez had the second two-homer game of his career, and Hubie Brooks added a two-run homer at Chicago as the Expos ended the Cubs’ five-game winning streak.

Martinez, traded to Montreal by the Cubs last July, led off the game against Mike Bielecki (6-3) with his second home run of the season, then started the fifth by hitting a 3-1 pitch over the right-field fence.

Martinez also hit two homers on Sept. 17, 1988, against the New York Mets.

The Expos put the game away in the eighth when Tim Raines led off with a single and Brooks followed with his fifth homer, a drive over the left-field wall. Martinez scored the final run in the ninth when he reached base on an error by reliever Steve Wilson, was sacrificed to second and came home on Raines’ single.

Mark Langston, 3-2 since coming from Seattle on May 25, allowed four hits and one run in seven innings. He walked three and struck out four as the Expos moved within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Cubs.