National League Roundup : Horner Breaks His Bat and Cardinals’ Hearts

Bob Horner is so strong that he can break his bat and still hit a triple. The triple came with the bases loaded in the seventh inning at St. Louis Sunday and dealt a blow to the pennant hopes of the Cardinals.

The three runs brought the Braves from a 2-1 deficit to a 4-2 lead and they went on to score a 7-3 victory. The lowly Braves took two out of three in the series.

With the New York Mets beating the Dodgers in two out of three, the Cardinals’ lead in the East was cut to one-half game.

The Cardinals and Mets will meet six more times this season, three of them in New York beginning Tuesday night.

The teams have met 12 times this season and the Cardinals hold an 8-4 edge.

Bob Forsch had a four-hitter and the lead with one out in the seventh. But he walked Ken Oberkfell on a 3-and-2 pitch and hit Glenn Hubbard on a 2-and-2 count. Rookie Todd Worrell replaced Forsch. After going to a 3-and-0 count on Chris Chambliss, Worrell walked him intentionally.

Horner, who was taking the day off, came in to bat for Joe Johnson. He hit a flyball to short left and it bounced high off the artificial surface over left fielder Vince Coleman’s head to clear the bases.

The Braves scored three more in the eighth, but it was the three in the seventh that upset Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog.

“Horner only got part of it. He hit a good pitch,” Herzog told the Associated Press. “We had a 2-1 lead and they load the bases without hitting the ball. And a broken bat hit beats us.”

It was the eighth win in 13 games for the Braves since Bobby Wine replaced Eddie Haas as manager.

“It’s a matter of approach to the game,” Wine said. “We can play with these guys. We’re not just 22 games out and it doesn’t matter. We’re just looking at every day as opening day for us.”

The Braves open a five-game series tonight with the Dodgers.

Philadelphia 9, San Diego 7--After losing for the seventh time in nine games on this homestand, the Padres were glad to slip out of town for a while. About their only consolation was that the crowd of 15,765 pushed them over the 2-million mark in attendance for the first time in their 16-year history.

Reserve shortstop Luis Aguayo hit two home runs to double his output for the season and lead the Phillies’ 13-hit assault. It gave the Phillies an 8-2 West Coast trip.

About the only sour note was that Steve Carlton’s second outing in his comeback was not a success. Carlton was knocked out in the sixth. He gave up eight hits and six runs in 5 innings.

With the Dodgers also losing, the Padres, defending champions in the West, still trail Los Angeles by 8 1/2 games. They have 27 left to play.

“We’re due to put something together,” optimistic Steve Garvey said. “It would be nice to do it in Cincinnati.”

This may be a tough order, because the Reds are sure to be pumped up. Tuesday night Pete Rose will need only one hit to break Ty Cobb’s career record for basehits. When he does, it will be a wild time.

Montreal 9, San Francisco 6--Throwing errors by pitcher Scott Garrelts and catcher Bob Brenly paved the way for four runs in the 10th inning at San Francisco for the Expos.

Garrelts made a wild throw on a bunt by Vance Law after Tim Raines opened the extra inning with a single and steal of second. Raines scored. Later in the inning another run scored when Brenly tried to pick Tim Wallach off third and threw the ball into left field.

Jose Uribe hit his third home run of the season in the bottom of the 10th.

The Giants battled back from a 4-0 deficit, tying the game, 5-5, in the eighth when Chili Davis hit a two-run single off reliever Jeff Reardon.