National League Roundup : St. Louis Heat Agrees With Expos’ Rogers, 7-1

Just 24 hours after it was reported that he would be traded to Houston, Steve Rogers pitched the way he did when he was the Montreal Expos’ best pitcher for more than a decade.

Rogers, roughly treated in his first two outings this season, found the 87-degree weather in St. Louis to his liking, and he pitched a five-hitter to lead the Expos to a 7-1 victory over the Cardinals.

For 10 years, Rogers was the mainstay of the Expos’ pitching staff, but arm trouble sidelined him early last season, and he never returned to his best form. His 6-15 record and 4.91 earned-run average were the low marks of an outstanding career.

In his first two starts, cold weather and rain delays contributed to two defeats and a 6.23 ERA. A Canadian paper said Rogers would be traded for the Astros’ Mike Scott, but Astro General Manager said: “It’s dead in the water. We don’t have what they want.”

With Rogers holding the Cardinals to one hit after the fourth inning and retiring 13 batters in a row in one string, the Expos probably want even more. Or maybe they’ll keep the 35-year-old right-hander.

“It was very, very pleasant out there,” Rogers said. “After all the cold and rain we’ve seen, it really felt nice. I like pitching here--the hotter, the better.”

Vance Law led the Expos’ 15-hit attack with three hits and drove in two runs.

Cincinnati 4, San Francisco 3--Cesar Cedeno singled with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th inning at Cincinnati to drive in two runs and give the Reds their fourth win in a row.

The Giants had broken a 2-2 tie in the top of the inning when Chris Brown’s infield hit with two out scored Jeff Leonard from third.

A pinch single by Tony Perez started the winning rally. Pete Rose, who had singled earlier, walked. After a double steal, an intentional walk filled the bases for Cedeno.

The Reds had tied it in the bottom of the ninth on a run-scoring single by Dave Parker.