NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Mets Sweep Phillies to Close In on First

What’s happened to the New York Mets? All of a sudden they are living up to expectations. They seem just about ready to take charge of the National League East.

For the first two months, the Mets played atrociously. They couldn’t hit, they couldn’t field and their talented pitchers were being pounded.

They kept looking for somebody to blame. It was not until they found a scapegoat--Manager Davey Johnson--that they finally straightened out.

Maybe Bud Harrelson is a genius. More likely, though, the firing of Johnson simply woke up the players.

First the hitters began to click. Then Dwight Gooden started pitching like Dwight Gooden again and the rest of the staff followed. The defense may never be great, but it’s doing the job.

The last ingredient--the ability to come from behind--appears to have fallen into place.

A two-out pinch single by Tim Teufel drove in two runs to cap a three-run rally in the ninth inning that gave the Mets a 6-5 victory Sunday at New York and a sweep of the three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was the sixth victory in a row and the 13th in the last 15 games for the Mets, a heavy preseason favorite to win the NL East.

They are now within two games of first place.

When Johnson was fired, the Mets were below .500. Shortly after Harrelson took over, they fell 9 1/2 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Mets began their climb into contention with three victories in a row over the Pirates. The Pirates have never been the same since.

Under Harrelson the Mets, despite losing four of the first five, are 16-7 and rolling.

Pittsburgh 5, Montreal 3--The Expos’ reign in the East lasted fewer than 24 hours.

Rookie Stan Belinda escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth inning at Montreal for his first save and the Pirates moved back on top by half a game. The Pirates had lost five in a row.

Neal Heaton (10-2), who joined the Mets’ Frank Viola as a 10-game winner, went six innings and bullpen ace Bill Landrum went into the ninth preserving a 5-1 lead.

But after a two-run double by Tim Wallach had what was left of a crowd of 41,054 excited, Belinda, a 23-year-old right-hander, was summoned with the bases loaded.

He struck out Nelson Santovenia and got Junior Noboa and Tim Raines on fly balls to end the game.

It was hot-hitting Barry Bonds who was largely responsible for the big Pirate lead. He singled and eventually scored to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh. In the eighth he hit his 13th home run to make it 4-1. Bonds, who has hit safely in 11 games in a row, was eight for 10 in the series.

Houston 8, San Francisco 2--At home, it has been a sensational June for the Giants. But on the road, they are just another team.

Bill Gullickson (5-5) drove in two runs and came within one out of a complete game as the lowly Astros won the series, 2-1.

Former Dodger Franklin Stubbs, who replaced injured first baseman Glenn Davis, hit a two-run home run, his ninth of the season, in the fifth to build a 5-0 lead against Don Robinson (2-1).

The Giants won 16 of their first 17 games in June, but have lost five of the last six.

Atlanta 11, San Diego 10--Andres Thomas, the disgruntled shortstop, ended one of the wildest games of the season when he led off the 12th inning at Atlanta with his second home run of the year.

Thomas, who is upset because he isn’t playing more, was hitless in five at-bats before the homer.

Pitcher Dennis Rasmussen hit a three-run pinch double in the top of the 10th only to have the Braves tie it on a three-run pinch home run by Jeff Blauser.

The Padres pulled even, 7-7, on a two-out double by Mike Pagliarulo in the ninth.

Chicago 3, St. Louis 2--Pinch-hitter Hector Villanueva singled home the winning run with the bases loaded and two out in the 10th inning at Chicago.

Ryne Sandberg, who has already had a big season, began the winning rally with a single.

Earlier, the second baseman hit his league-leading 21st home run.