National League Roundup : Ryan Is Wild, but Wins, in Return

Maybe, 1986 will not be remembered as the season in which the two leading strikeout pitchers ended their careers.

While the Philadelphia Phillies are wondering what to do about Steve Carlton and his 6.10 earned-run average, the No. 1 strikeout king of all-time, Nolan Ryan, has finally returned.

Ryan, out since May 31 because of a strained elbow, won his first game since April 25 as he pitched the Astros to an 8-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night at Houston.

Except for the fact that he only went five innings, it was a typical Ryan performance. He threw hard, he didn’t give up many hits and he was wild. He allowed two hits, two runs (only one earned), walked five and struck out four.

The four strikeouts gave Ryan a career total of 4,186. Carlton has 3,982.

Until Ryan made his auspicious return, it was feared both future Hall of Fame members were near the end. In his last four starts Carlton has pitched only 14 innings, given up 27 hits and 22 runs. The Phillies held a meeting after his latest flop Saturday and decided to give the 41-year-old left-hander another chance on Friday night.

Meanwhile there were rumors that Ryan’s elbow problem was serious. Before the injury there had been flashes of the old Ryan brilliance. On May 15 he had a nine-strikeout game and a shutout until he lost on a three-run home run by Mike Brown of Pittsburgh with two out in the ninth.

In that game Ryan, 39, felt pain in the elbow. When he tried to pitch again on May 31, he worked one inning, then something popped as he warmed up for the second inning.

“I was impressed with Nolan,” Manager Hal Lanier of the Astros said. “He felt fine and he didn’t have any discomfort. That’s what’s important.

“He had good velocity and his control will improve. If he continues to throw like that and gets his control back, he’s going to be a big factor from now on.”

Glenn Davis had three hits, including his 16th home run, and drove in two runs. He has 48 runs batted in this season.

In his first full major league season, Davis is second in the league in home runs and fourth in RBIs. He is a big reason why the Astros have been in the pennant race all year.

Montreal 6, New York 2--The Expos just wanted to let the Mets know they were still around. In this game at New York, the Expos won for the second time in a row and cut the Mets lead in the East to eight games.

While Bryn Smith and Bob McClure were checking the Met hitters with six hits, Tim Wallach, Mitch Webster and Mike Fitzgerald each drove in two runs to lead the assault on Bruce Berenyi.

Manager Bob Rodgers said he didn’t expect to catch the Mets in a hurry. But he added that winning two out of three at home last week against the Mets had helped the Expos’ confidence.

“Now, we are a relaxed team,” Rodgers said. “I hope the rest of the league will do the same, because we need help. The Mets can’t play .700 ball all year. All the teams in the league have had bad slumps except the Mets. They’re due for one.”

Smith (5-5), gave up the two runs and six hits in 6 innings. McClure finished, giving up just a walk.

St. Louis 5, Pittsburgh 2--It probably is too late, but the Cardinals are beginning to play the way they did last season when they were the best in the National League.

With speedy Vince Coleman leading the way at St. Louis, the Cardinals scored three of their runs without getting the ball out of the infield. Coleman, recently benched because of an 0-for-36 slump, stole two bases and scored two runs to set a fast pace.

Ray Burris held the Pirates to one hit for six innings, but before he had his fourth victory, the Cardinals had to use four relievers.

The fifth Cardinal pitcher, Ken Dayley got the final out for his fourth save.

Philadelphia 7, Chicago 6--The Cubs improved considerably in just 24 hours, but not enough to win the game. After being humiliated Monday night at Philadelphia, 19-1, the Cubs held them even through nine innings.

But, in the 10th, John Russell hit his 10th home run off bullpen ace Lee Smith to lead off the bottom of the 10th.

Ryne Sandberg’s two-run double with two out in the top of the ninth got the Cubs even before Russell finished them off.

Russell has had to assume the Phillies’ catching duties because of an injury to Darren Daulton. The Cubs stole four bases on him. The converted outfielder has nailed only six of 34 runners trying to steal.

San Diego 3, San Francisco 0--After scoring 18 runs and pounding out 21 hits Monday at San Francisco, the Giants didn’t score and had only four hits in this one.

Eric Show and two relief pitchers snapped the Giants’ five-game winning streak and cut their lead in the West over the Astros to half a game.

Show gave up two hits in five innings, then had to come out because of a sore elbow.

Rookie Terry Mulholland gave up a triple to Tony Gwynn and a run-scoring single to Kevin McReynolds in the fourth. He lost, but those were the only hits he allowed up in six innings.