National League Roundup : Reuschel’s Two-Hitter Helps Giants Boost Their Lead to 5 1/2

Manager Roger Craig had already claimed the championship in the National League West when he acquired Rick Reuschel late last month.

The job for the 38-year-old right-hander was to help them clinch it earlier.

Reuschel is doing what he was expected to do. He pitched a two-hitter Sunday at San Francisco, and the Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1, to increase their lead over Houston to 5 1/2 games.

Reuschel (11-7) is 3-1 for the Giants since they obtained him from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and this was by far his best performance.

He needed only 87 pitches and just over two hours to gain the victory. He retired the first nine batters before Juan Samuel singled. With two out, Mike Schmidt doubled him home. That was the Phillies’ last gasp.

The Giants, who have won 10 of their last 13 games, open a three-game series at Houston tonight with a chance to take complete charge of the division.

“Rick put us in a great position,” Craig said. “He makes it look so easy. It was a masterpiece today. He just throws the ball and lets the defense do the rest.”

Reuschel, unlike the majority of pitchers in the league, likes to pitch at Candlestick Park.

“I love pitching here,” he said. “We have a good chance to win the West and go into the playoffs. I’m really happy to be here.

“One reason I didn’t throw many pitches today was that they were going after the first or second pitch most of the time.

“The pitch to Schmidt was up and away, a pitch he ordinarily leaves alone.”

The Giants gave Reuschel, whose 10th complete game tied him for the league lead with Fernando Valenzuela, all the runs he needed in the first inning. Mike Aldrete singled in one run and Chili Davis doubled in the other.

The Giants beat the Phillies the last seven times they played and finished with a 10-2 margin for the season.

When the Giants obtained Reuschel, they had to outbid the Cincinnati Reds. At the time, the Giants were two games ahead of the Reds. Now, they are six in front of the fading Reds.

St. Louis 6, San Diego 4--John Tudor’s arm appears to be ready for the stretch drive, and so does his bat.

Tudor held the Padres to three hits in seven innings at St. Louis to improve his record to 6-2 and he helped himself at the plate.

The Cardinals, who have been struggling for runs lately, got the first two on singles by Tudor.

The Cardinals had 11 other hits, including a two-run home run by Jack Clark, his 35th homer of the season, the most by a Cardinal hitter since 1954 when Stan Musial hit 35.

“We broke out of the hitting slump today,” Tudor said. “It was good to see Jack Clark come back with a homer. I got the game-winner, but I’ll take the win. It’s not like I’ll always hit like this.”

Tudor retired the first 11 Padres, surprising himself.

“The way I looked and felt warming up in the bullpen, I didn’t think I had a prayer. In the first inning, I struggled and then the adrenaline kicked in.”

The Cardinals, leading the East by 3 1/2 games over the New York Mets, play the next six games on the road, three against Montreal, which is five games back, and three against the Mets.

Pittsburgh 4, Houston 3--Mike Dunne may not be the rookie of the year in the National League because of the Padres’ brilliant catcher, Benito Santiago.

But there is no doubt the young right-hander is the best new pitcher.

Dunne improved his record to 10-5 and dealt a blow to the Astros’ pennant chances in this game at Houston. Jim Gott had to come to his rescue and get the last five outs, but Dunne has won seven of his last eight decisions.

Another rookie, second baseman Jose Lind, had three hits and made a game-saving defensive play in the ninth. With runners on second and third, Lind went behind second base to grab Alan Ashby’s smash and throw out the catcher to end the game.

Montreal 5, Atlanta 2--The Expos warmed up for the Cardinals’ invasion by taking two of three at Atlanta.

Vance Law drove in two runs, and Tim Raines led a 13-hit attack with three hits.

Floyd Youmans (9-7) gave up seven hits and two runs in five innings and then Joe Hesketh, slowly returning to form after being out of action for a year, pitched four scoreless innings for his first save.

“It’s going to be a crucial series with St. Louis,” Youmans said. “We know we have to get at least two, and we’re ready.”

The Expos hammered Zane Smith (15-8), one of the hot pitchers in the league, for nine hits and all their runs in 5 innings.

Chicago 3, Cincinnati 1--The Cubs decided that an eight-game rest should be enough to get Leon Durham out of a lengthy slump. They were right.

Durham returned to first base in this game at Chicago and hit two home runs as the Cubs dropped the Reds six games behind the Giants in the West.

Rookie Les Lancaster gave up nine hits but only one run in eight innings to win his fourth in a row and improve his record to 6-1.

Durham’s two-run smash in the first inning was the Cubs’ first home run in the last 44 innings.