National League Roundup : Mets Finally Backing Words With Victories

Several times this season, the New York Mets have indicated they were ready to take command of the East.

Each time they fell back, seemingly content to let the Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos dominate the division.

It now appears the Mets are ready to prove what they have been saying all along--that they are the class of the league.

During the weekend, the Mets didn’t merely put a deep dent in the hopes of the St. Louis Cardinals, they served notice they are beginning to live up to expectations.

Bob Ojeda, in winning his fourth in a row, made it into the eighth inning Sunday at New York and the Mets outlasted the Cardinals, 3-2.

In winning four of the five against their bitter division rival, the Mets moved to within 3 1/2 games of the first place Cubs.

The Cardinals, who barely missed pulling out victories in the last two games, are 6 1/2 back.

With the bases loaded in the eighth inning and St. Louis trailing by a run, the Cardinals’ Jose Oquendo hit a slow roller off Randy Myers toward second. Tim Teufel, not noted for stellar defensive play, made a barehanded pickup and his throw barely beat Oquendo. If Oquendo, a switch-hitter, had been batting from the left side, he probably would have beaten it out and tied the score.

Ojeda (9-9) has a 1.88 earned-run average in his last six starts, while the staff in its last 14 games has a 1.74 ERA.

The Mets are 40-19 at Shea Stadium but 10 games below .500 on the road.

The Cardinals’ Vince Coleman stole two bases and is now 52 for 52 against the Mets.

Howard Johnson, the Mets’ offensive leader, sat out the second game in a row because of a bruised shoulder.

Philadelphia 5, Chicago 3--The Cubs’ strategy was to pitch around Von Hayes and John Kruk in this game at Chicago.

But Ricky Jordan foiled the best laid plans of Manager Don Zimmer. Jordan tripled in two runs in the first inning, then hit a sacrifice fly to break a tie in the eighth inning and give the Phillies a split in the four-game series.

“Now I see the ball better and I’m more confident,” said Jordan, who has driven in 14 runs in the last 15 games. “Earlier it frustrated me when they pitched around the other guys to get to me.”

One Cub streak ended. Ryne Sandberg, after resting a game, went 0 for 3 after hitting home runs in five consecutive games. But Jerome Walton doubled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 24 games, longest in the majors this season.

Walton crashed into the left-field fence in the sixth inning trying to catch Hayes’ deep drive, which went for an inside-the-park home run. Walton suffered a bruised shoulder and left after one more inning.

Cincinnati 5, Houston 0--The way he pitches against the Astros, left-hander Tom Browning looks as good as any pitcher in the league.

Although he gave up six hits and walked five at Houston, Browning breezed to his eighth victory in a row over the Astros.

In his previous game against the Astros, the Reds scored 14 runs in the first inning for Browning and won, 18-2.

“I’ve had some good breaks,” Browning said. “It is much easier to pitch when you have some runs to work with. The Astros are an aggressive team and I won’t give them the same pitch in the same spot twice.”

The Astros, who have lost four of their last five and eight out of 11, missed a chance to gain ground on the San Francisco Giants in the West. They remained three games behind.

Browning has won 23 of his last 26 decisions against teams in the West.

Pittsburgh 6, Montreal 4--Bob Walk, with last-inning help from Bill Landrum at Montreal, improved to 10-7 and ended the Pirates’ three-game losing streak.

The Pirates’ Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla hit consecutive home runs in the seventh inning.

Pascual Perez (6-12), mostly a disappointment this season, lost for the third time in the last four games. He gave up seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.