National League Roundup : Sutcliffe Carries Cubs Past Astros

Rick Sutcliffe and Tom Lasorda have not been the best of friends since 1981, when Sutcliffe trashed the Dodger manager’s office after learning he would not be on the team’s playoff roster.

But the Chicago Cubs right-hander did his former boss a favor Wednesday at Houston when he pitched and batted the Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the struggling Astros. With the Dodgers also losing, the Astros remained 6 1/2 games out of first place in the National League West.

Sutcliffe’s six-hitter wasn’t a surprise, but when he hit a two-out, two-run home run in the fifth inning, it shocked just about everybody.

“With a left-handed-hitting pitcher going against a left-handed pitcher (Jim Deshaies) and two outs, you don’t figure to score,” Cub Manager Don Zimmer said. “You figure it out. I’m not smart enough to.

“You could see from the second inning, Rick was sharp. He was hitting his spots and was in command of all his pitches.”

It was the first homer of the season and the fourth of Sutcliffe’s career. “Obviously, it was a big surprise,” Sutcliffe said.

Sutcliffe (11-11), who struck out five and walked one in his 10th complete game, lost his shutout in the eighth inning when pinch-hitter Denny Walling doubled home Alex Trevino.

After the game, the Astros traded Walling to the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed pitcher Bob Forsch.

Forsch, 38, had been with the Cardinals since he broke into the majors in 1974. He was the Cardinals’ most dependable pitcher this season with a 9-4 record and was 5-1 in August with a 2.25 earned-run average. He won 163 games in his career with St. Louis.

Walling had 81 pinch hits for the Astros, a team record.

“I knew the trade was in the works, but I really enjoyed those last two at-bats,” said Walling, batting .244 in 65 games this season. “It (the trade) was a business decision; I understand that.”

When the Astros, who have 29 games remaining, returned to Houston last Friday to open an 11-game homestand, they trailed the Dodgers by 4 1/2 games. The Dodgers were on a tough trip East, and the Astros had hoped to cut into the deficit.

Instead, it has grown by two games.

San Francisco 3, Philadelphia 2--It was an 11-inning struggle at Philadelphia, but the Giants averted a sweep by the last-place team in the East.

Ernest Riles hit a sacrifice fly off Kent Tekulve with the bases loaded in the 11th inning, enabling the third-place Giants to pull within 7 1/2 games of the Dodgers in the West.

Candy Maldonado doubled home two runs in the first for the Giants, but that was their offense until the 11th, when Bob Brenly led off with a walk against Bruce Ruffin (6-10). Jose Uribe forced Brenly, but Ruffin walked Will Clark and Brett Butler before Tekulve took over. The Giants, who scored the winning run without a hit, had only three hits in the game.

San Diego 6, New York 3--The Mets’ first-line pitching has been impressive lately, but once they dip into the long relievers, the trouble begins.

Sid Fernandez hurt his knee while warming up for the second inning at New York. His successor, Terry Leach, hit better than he pitched.

Leach doubled home two runs in the bottom of the second as the Mets rallied to take a 3-2 lead, but his record fell to 6-2 when he gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings.

The Padres failed to score in the first two games against the Mets, but they ended their string of scoreless innings at 19 when they scored twice against Leach in the second. Roberto Alomar drove in two runs, including the tiebreaker in the sixth.

Mark Davis pitched 2 innings of hitless relief to save Andy Hawkins’ 13th victory. Davis has 24 saves in 29 opportunities.

Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 1--The Pirates, with a chance to slice into the Mets’ lead in the East, stranded 10 runners in the first five innings at Cincinnati.

Kal Daniels hit a three-run home run off bullpen ace Jim Gott in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie and keep the Pirates 7 1/2 games out of first place.

Rookie left-hander Norm Charlton gave up eight hits in eight innings but won his first game in his fourth start when Daniels hit his 14th home run. John Franco pitched the ninth inning to earn his 29th save.

St. Louis 6, Atlanta 4--Scott Terry is the reason the Cardinals decided that Bob Forsch was expendable. After a shaky second inning at Atlanta, Terry settled down to win his fourth consecutive game as a starter.

Tom Brunansky hit his 20th home run for the Cardinals, and Todd Worrell retired the Braves in the ninth after Dale Murphy hit his 23rd. It was Worrell’s 27th save.