National League Roundup : With Mitchell Out, Maldonado Leads Giants

It is unlikely that either Tom Lasorda or Roger Craig is a better or a worse manager than he was a year ago.

Last year everything worked right for Lasorda and the Dodgers became world champions. Nothing went right for Craig and the San Francisco Giants finished back in the pack.

This season it is Craig with the magic touch and Lasorda’s club that is having problems.

To begin with, Kevin Mitchell all of a sudden made like Babe Ruth, and hit home runs in bunches and drove in runs in batches.

So, Mitchell’s back became sore and swollen. All Craig did was push a button and Candy Maldonado emerged from a deep slump to become a more than adequate replacement.

The Giants, with the best home record in baseball, completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday with a 7-5 victory.

Maldonado’s two-run home run in the fourth inning broke a scoreless tie. He added a run-scoring single in a five-run fifth as the Giants held on for their fifth win in a row.

Mitchell missed all three games, but Maldonado, hitting only .210 starting the series, was five for 11, scored four runs and drove in five.

The Craig magic worked in the fifth when he sent up Greg Litton as a pinch-hitter and Litton hit a three-run home run.

Then there is Jeff Brantley. He doesn’t always pitch very well, but since June 29 he is 6-0, all in relief. In this game he lasted 2 1/3 innings, giving up three runs and six hits, but won.

“I don’t think Mitchell could have done more in this series than Maldonado,” Manager Whitey Herzog of the Cardinals said. “He’s gotten some big hits against us this year.”

The Giants, who are 34-15 at home, are 57-37 overall, the best record in the majors and are 20 games over .500 for the first time in more than a decade. Maldonado is glad he’s finally contributing.

“Things are starting to fall into place,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to help the club by coming up with some key hits. The main thing is that everybody’s contributing.”

With Houston losing, the Giants, who finished 11 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the West last season, lead the West by 4 1/2 games.

Craig may also get a bonus this weekend. Giant pitcher Dave Dravecky, who had a cancerous tumor removed from his left shoulder last year, is ready to pitch.

Philadelphia 9, Cincinnati 4--Mariano Duncan arrived in Cincinnati eager to help his new club and Manager Pete Rose put him at shortstop and batting leadoff.

Duncan went 0 for five and the Phillies handed the slumping Reds their fourth loss in a row.

Ricky Jordan went five for five and had one of four homers yielded by Tom Browning (7-9). Browning gave up 36 home runs in 36 starts last season. In his previous eight performances he had given up only one. But the four homers ran his total to 20 this year in 23 starts.

Dickie Thon, Von Hayes and Randy Ready also hit home runs.

New York 8, Houston 2--The Mets reached a low ebb Monday when they returned home to lose a doubleheader to the Astros.

Suddenly, though, with help from Atlanta, the Mets have pulled to within three games of Montreal in the East.

In this game at New York, David Cone continued his return to form and Darryl Strawberry hit his 20th home run.

Cone (7-5) won his fourth in a row and pitched a four-hitter for his fourth complete game in 19 starts. He had trouble only with Glenn Davis, who hit two home runs and has 20 for the season.

“I think when Davey (Manager Johnson) yelled at us the other night,” Cone said, “he woke a lot of people up. I know I did.”

Atlanta 3, Montreal 2--For the second night in a row the Expos let the Braves off the hook at Montreal and lost another game of their lead in the East.

Tuesday night, with their best pitcher, Dennis Martinez, they blew a 6-0 lead.

In this game, they loaded the bases with one out in the 10th, but Mike Aldrete struck out and Tim Wallach grounded out.

With two out in the 12th, Joey Hesketh (5-3) walked Oddibe McDowell, who stole second and scored the winning run on Tommy Gregg’s single.

San Diego 9, Pittsburgh 1--Hot-hitting Chris James continued his assault on Pirate pitching at San Diego. Tuesday night, he hit a grand slam in a 17-4 victory. In this one he hit a three-run home run.

Ed Whitson pitched a three-hitter to improve his record to 13-6. He is 4-0 against the Pirates. He won 14 in 1984 for the Padres.

Jack Clark doubled in the second inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Luis Salazar had a two-run home run and Benito Santiago a three-run triple.