National League Roundup : Cardinals Lose Lead in Ninth and Game in 10th

The St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen was so good last season that the National League pennant winners won all of the 83 games they led going into the ninth inning.

The Cardinals, however, won’t be perfect this season in games they lead going into the ninth.

In the opener of a four-game series with the New York Mets Thursday night at St. Louis, the Cardinals led, 4-2, going into the ninth. However, they lost, 5-4, in 10 innings.

Todd Worrell, a bullpen ace after joining the Cardinals late last season, was the victim of the uprising. He came in after George Foster opened the ninth with a double. With one out, Howard Johnson drilled a game-tying two-run home run.

In the 10th, Foster, turning from goat to hero, singled with two on and two out to give the Mets their sixth victory in a row.

The Cardinals had stretched their lead to 4-2 in the eighth when Foster misplayed Jack Clark’s line drive, allowing Tommy Herr to score all the way from first.

Darryl Strawberry hit his first home run of the season in the second inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, but Bob Forsch stopped them until the eighth.

Andy Van Slyke’s bases-loaded single climaxed a three-run sixth inning that gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. In the previous three games the Cardinals, who have lost four in a row, scored only two runs.

The bitter rivalry between the top contenders in the East is all even at a win apiece. However, the Mets are 1 1/2 games in front in the standings, where it counts.

Chicago 7, Montreal 5--Rick Sutcliffe won his first game after three losses. While his pitching left much to be desired, there was nothing wrong with his hitting.

With the wind blowing out at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Sutcliffe hit a three-run home run to give himself a 7-2 lead. In his other three outings, the Cubs scored a run in each.

Sutcliffe needed help from Jay Baller in the seventh. In 6 innings, Sutcliffe struck out eight, but he walked six and gave up seven hits.

“I’ve had good stuff in every game,” Sutcliffe said, “but I’ve been high in the strike zone. I’ve had some self doubts and it’s frustrating.”

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 2--The Pirates would have been better off if they had pitched around Mike Schmidt in this game at Pittsburgh.

Schmidt hit two homers and drove in all the runs to ruin an otherwise sharp performance by Rick Rhoden.

Rhoden gave up only four other hits and struck out four, but Schmidt made him a loser. Shane Rawley pitched a five-hitter to win his second.

“It seems that every game I pitch,” Rawley told UPI, “is a tight one. I didn’t really get to breathe easily until Mike hit that second home run in the ninth inning.”

Cincinnati 3, Houston 0--Manager Pete Rose took himself off the disabled list, but it was Mario Soto who put an end to the Reds’ four-game losing streak at Houston.

With Rose watching from the dugout, Soto pitched a three-hitter. He got all the offense he needed when Nick Esasky hit a home run in the fourth inning. The Reds have hit a home run in every one of their 12 games.

The Astros dropped into a tie with San Francisco for first place in the Western Division. They had won seven of eight on the road to take over first place.

Rose did not say when he would make his first appearance of the season.