National League Roundup : Mets Defeat Pirates on Elster’s Home Run, 1-0

The New York Mets expect good defensive play from shortstop Kevin Elster. Anything he does offensively is a bonus.

Elster, batting only .216, hit a home run in the eighth inning Friday night at New York to give the Mets a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The home run, Elster’s seventh of the season and third against the Pirates, broke up a pitching duel between Bob Ojeda and John Smiley. The victory stretched the Mets’ lead in the East over the Pirates to three games and gave them a jump in the first of 8 games that the teams will play against each other in the next 11.

Smiley (9-7) had retired 19 batters in a row and was working on a one-hitter when Elster, who had made two fine defensive plays to keep the game scoreless, hit Smiley’s first pitch with one out in the eighth over the left-field fence. The largest Shea Stadium crowd of the season, 49,584, cheered.

Ojeda (8-8) followed with the third and last hit off Smiley. Ojeda also pitched a three-hitter to improve his career record against the Pirates to 8-2.

After taking two of three at Pittsburgh in a late-June series, the Mets thought the race was over. They were sure it was when the Pirates fell into third place, 7 1/2 games behind, on July 4.

But the young Pirates have shown they don’t intend to quit. They have battled back to make it a tight race.

The Mets have helped by playing only .500 ball since Keith Hernandez went out with a hamstring injury.

“This type of game, I thought it would take a home run to win,” Elster told the Associated Press. “I just didn’t think it would be me.

“I went up there looking for a changeup. I knew he likes to get ahead with his off-speed pitches. I used a heavier bat than I did my previous at-bat. That was as hard as I could hit it.”

While the Mets surged from the dugout to congratulate Ojeda after the final out, the Pirates quietly filed into their clubhouse--all except Smiley, who walked alone down a runway tunnel toward left field, kicked over a trash can and went into the locker room.

“I just wanted to relax and not blow up,” said Smiley, a reliever until early this season. “This was the toughest loss ever for me.”

Before the game, Pirate fans had planned a rally in the parking lot at Shea Stadium as part of a promotion by a Pittsburgh radio station. But Commissioner Peter Ueberroth advised the Pirates to cancel the festivities as a safety precaution.

The teams will play three more games in this series at New York, then open another four-game series next Friday night at Pittsburgh.

In their last seven games the Pirates are batting only .187, with 41 hits in 140 at-bats.

San Francisco 5, Atlanta 3--Rick Reuschel, in another sterling performance at Candlestick Park, pitched the Giants within six games of first place in the West.

Reuschel (14-5) threw a six-hitter, retiring 15 of the last 17 batters, for his second straight complete game. Before shutting out St. Louis, he had not pitched a complete game all season.

Reuschel also played a part in the three-run rally in the fourth inning that broke a tie and gave the Giants the victory.

His sacrifice bunt with two on base was fielded by catcher Ozzie Virgil. Virgil threw to second in an attempt to get a force-out, but Ron Gant fumbled the ball, and a run scored. Brett Butler then singled in two more.

St. Louis 7, Montreal 5--For most of this season, the Cardinals have had trouble scoring runs. But in this game at Montreal, they jumped on Pascual Perez (7-5), the major leagues’ earned-run average leader, for 5 runs and 8 hits in 3 innings.

Perez had an ERA of 1.73 before the game, but it increased to 2.08.

Tony Pena hit a two-run home run in the second inning for the Cardinals, and Willie McGee went 4 for 4, stole 3 bases, scored 2 runs and drove in another.

Jose DeLeon had a 7-0 lead in the seventh, but the Cardinals almost blew it. They needed three relievers in the ninth, with Todd Worrell getting the last out for his 20th save.

Chicago 8, Philadelphia 3--Vance Law hit two home runs and drove in four runs at Philadelphia to help Rick Sutcliffe end a four-game losing streak.

Law hit a bases-empty home run off starter Kevin Gross (10-7) in the fifth and a three-run shot off Bruce Ruffin in the seventh to cap a five-run outburst that wrapped it up.

The Phillies, who are in last place in the East, have lost four in a row and seven of their last nine.

San Diego 5, Cincinnati 3--Tony Gwynn hit an inside-the-park home run, and Garry Templeton hit a two-run home run at San Diego to pace the Padres.

Andy Hawkins gave up 7 hits in 6 innings but became the Padres’ first 10-game winner. Mark Davis got the last seven outs.

Jack Armstrong was the loser, giving up three runs and five hits in four innings.

Bo Diaz hit a home run in the seventh for the Reds, and Herm Winningham hit a run-scoring triple to knock Hawkins out of the game.