National League Roundup : Astros Win, 2-1, as Scott Stays Hot

Jose Cruz singled in two runs, and Mike Scott turned in another strong pitching performance Friday night at Houston as the Astros outlasted the pesky Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1.

The victory enabled the Astros to remain seven games in front of the Cincinnati Reds in the Western Division.

Scott, the former Pepperdine star who has blossomed into an outstanding pitcher, gave up 6 hits in 7 innings and had 6 strikeouts in improving his record to 14-9.

A year ago, Scott won 18 games for a Houston team that finished only four games above .500. This season, he has developed into the most dependable starter on a solid staff.

After losing his first two starts, Scott, the major league strikeout leader this season, has made 29 more starts. In only two of those has he been hit hard. In the other starts he has gone at least six innings and almost always has taken the Astros into the eighth.

He has won 8 of his last 11 decisions. In his last four defeats, one of which was by 1-0, the Astros scored only five runs.

Scott credited his 18-8 record in 1985 to the development of a split-fingered fastball that was taught to him by Roger Craig, now the manager of the San Francisco Giants. Craig maintains, however, that Scott is as effective as he is because he scuffs up the baseball, something that Craig says he did not teach the Houston pitcher to do.

Scott had a career record of 0-8 against the Pirates until beating them, 3-0, on a four-hitter Aug. 18 at Pittsburgh.

This game was tougher. After Cruz drove in two runs with his single in the sixth, Scott had a 3-0 lead. He gave up three singles and a walk for two runs in the seventh, then needed Dave Smith’s help with two out in the eighth. Smith got his 27th save.

The six strikeouts extended Scott’s total to 241. He also lowered his major league-leading earned-run average to 2.24.

“I felt strong, but I didn’t have good control,� Scott said. “I didn’t get as many strikeouts as usual because I wasn’t getting ahead of the hitters. But the important thing is for us to just keep winning.�

Cincinnati 2, St. Louis 0--Bill Gullickson remains a hot pitcher. The Reds’ big right-hander had his eighth consecutive sharp outing, this one at St. Louis, as he gave up just three hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.

In 65 innings in those eight games, Gullickson (12-8) has yielded only six earned runs--never more than one in any start--51 hits and 11 walks while striking out 39.

Friday night, the Reds scored an unearned run off Danny Cox (8-11) in the fourth, then completed the scoring on Buddy Bell’s home run in the sixth. The homer was the veteran third baseman’s eighth in the last 15 games and 17th of the season.

Willie McGee had two of the three hits off Gullickson. His single in the ninth ended a string of 17 batters in a row retired by Gullickson.

Gullickson’s performance drew praise from Cardinal manager Whitey Herzog.

“He has awful good command of his pitches,� Herzog said. “I don’t know who’s better right now.�

Manager Pete Rose of the Reds said:

“I knew he could pitch. That’s why I went out and got him.�

The Reds have won six games in a row and 10 of their last 11.

Philadelphia 6, San Francisco 4--Von Hayes and Steve Bedrosian shared the honors for the Phillies in this game at Philadelphia.

Hayes had a single, double and triple, scored two runs, drove in two and just missed a home run on a drive to the warning track in the eighth.

Bedrosian pitched two perfect innings of relief to gain his career-high 20th save.

“I had 19 with Atlanta in 1983,� Bedrosian recalled. “And there were two weeks left in the season, but I never got another one, so this is a thrill.�

The Giants are 0-4 in Philadelphia. It is the only place where Manager Roger Craig hasn’t won a game this season.

Chicago 7, Atlanta 3--Light-hitting Bob Dernier was given the hit sign on a 3-and-0 pitch in the fifth inning at Atlanta and proceeded to hit his third home run of the season, a three-run clout that highlighted a five-run rally.

Dernier went into the game batting just .206.

Scott Sanderson (7-10) gave up nine hits in seven innings but struck out eight to earn the victory.

Two of the hits off Sanderson were by Bob Horner. In the first inning, Horner singled in a run, and in the third, he hit his 19th home run of the season.