BASEBALL MISCELLANY

George Foster is on his best streak in five years with the New York Mets. He had driven in 20 runs in his last 17 games through Friday, with 16 hits, 8 of them home runs. If Foster hasn’t yet convinced the Mets to exercise a contract option and retain him for 1987 at $2 million, he has convinced his teammates.

Said Met second baseman Wally Backman: “If he’d have a good day (before), we weren’t sure he’d have another. After a tear like this, we expect it out of him now. Now, we’re counting on him when he goes up there. We feel good when the game’s on the line and he’s up there.”

Numbers:

--The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Houston Astros, 9-2, Monday, leaving 17 runners on base, one shy of a major league record for the most in a nine-inning game. They then won Tuesday night, 3-1, leaving one runner on base, one shy of a record for the fewest.

--The Orioles have employed 20 third basemen since Brooks Robinson retired after the 1977 season. This year’s cast of Tom O’Malley, Floyd Rayford, Juan Beniquez, Jackie Gutierrez and Juan Bonilla had combined for 19 errors. The most Robinson made in an entire season spent strictly at third was 17, in 1974.

--The Texas Rangers’ Charlie Hough has pitched to a decision in each of his last 35 starts, emerging 18-17.

--The Cincinnati Reds are 7-16 at home, having already lost almost as many games as the 1975 Reds, who were a club-record 64-17 at home.

--Detroit Tigers left-hander Dave LaPoint, within a four-day span last week, ended a start against the Angels and began another against the Oakland A’s by facing a total of seven batters and yielding four singles, two walks and a pair of grand slams to Dick Schofield and Dave Kingman. LaPoint got one out in that span, and his earned-run average jumped from 3.83 to 5.40. Friday night, he gave up nine hits and six runs (all earned) in two innings, increasing his ERA to 6.29.

--The Chicago Cubs’ Rick Sutcliffe, 1-6 in eight starts before suffering a case of food poisoning, is 3-1 since. Even so, it doesn’t mean that Sutcliffe is about to endorse bad mayo.