NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Friendly Confines Good Therapy for Mets

The Chicago Cubs hit seven home runs, three of them by Ryne Sandberg, and scored 16 runs, but they lost a doubleheader Wednesday.

Yes, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field and the New York Mets took better advantage of it. The Mets scored five runs in the ninth inning of each game, winning 15-10 in the opener and 9-6 in the nightcap.

The wind hurt, but the riddled Cubs’ pitching staff was done more harm by the absence of bullpen ace Mitch Williams. While the Mets were hammering the Cubs for 43 runs and 57 hits to win the last three games of the series, Williams was undergoing knee surgery.

The Mets went into Chicago in a batting slump. They came out of it with a three-game winning streak and a chance to get into the race in the East in a four-game series at Pittsburgh beginning tonight.

The Mets, who have been the worst hitting team in the league from the start of the season, have played 14 games in June, scored at least three runs in each and raised their team batting average 20 points.

In the first game, it was 10-10 when Kevin Elster hit a bloop single to drive in a run. Howard Johnson followed with a grand slam.

In the second game, the Mets led, 4-3, in the ninth when they scored five times. Mark Carreon capped the rally with a two-run homer. Sandberg’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth was too little, too late.

In his last 20 games, Sandberg is batting .446.

Cincinnati 13, Atlanta 4--The Braves picked a strange time to unveil their prize young left-hander, Steve Avery.

They started the 20-year-old at Cincinnati against the angry Reds, who had lost five in a row.

The Reds hammered Avery for eight hits and eight runs and knocked him out in the third inning. They went on to match their season highs in runs and hits (18).

Tom Browning (6-4) took advantage of the Reds’ hitting and pitched a complete game. He also had a hit in the seven-run third inning.

Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 5--Willie McGee’s third error set up the winning run as the Pirates scored two runs in the ninth at St. Louis.

Frank DiPino, who had won 14 games in a row, all in relief, was the loser, ending a streak that began in 1988.

Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3--Spike Owen hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning at Philadelphia to hand the slumping Phillies their sixth loss in seven games.

Lenny Dykstra went 0 for four and has dropped to .384.