National League Roundup : Maldonado Leads Giants to Top in 7-5 Victory

While Candy Maldonado was struggling around the .200 mark for parts of five seasons in Los Angeles, Dodger Vice President Al Campanis kept insisting that the Puerto Rican outfielder could hit.

At long last, Maldonado has started to hit, but not for the Dodgers. Last December, the Dodgers traded him to San Francisco for backup catcher Alex Trevino.

Maldonado, 25, is doing such a good job of hitting for the streaking Giants that Manager Roger Craig is trying to find a steady job for him.

Maldonado had three hits, scored one run and drove in another run with a double Wednesday night at Pittsburgh to lead his team to a 7-5 win. The Giants took over first place in the West, extended their winning streak to four games and boosted their record to 17-11, San Francisco’s best start in 13 years.

At the beginning of the season, the Giants were using Maldonado against only left-handed pitching. But he has played such a prominent part in the team’s early surge that Manager Roger Craig put him in the starting lineup Tuesday night against right-hander Rick Reuschel, and Maldonado responded with a two-run home run at Three Rivers Stadium.

“I’m going to have to find a place to play Maldonado,” Craig said. “I still have my three regular outfielders (Don Gladden, Chili Davis and Jeff Leonard), but he gives me more of an opportunity to give those guys more rest.”

Maldonado, often appearing only as a pinch-hitter or a late-inning glove man in the outfield, is batting .348. In just 46 times at bats, he has hit four home runs and has driven in 12 runs.

His production fits in well with the team’s. After 28 games last season, when the Giants lost 102 games, they had an 11-17 record.

The Giants haven’t finished above third place since they won the division in 1971. But with the Dodgers losing Pedro Guerrero and with the Cincinnati Reds off to a poor start, they’re making the most of their opportunity.

To a man, the Giants give the credit to Craig, who took over from Jim Davenport near the end of last season.

“He gave us confidence,” said catcher Bob Brenly, who hit a two-run double in the first inning Wednesday night to get the Giants off to a fast start. “He is responsible for a change in attitude. We didn’t change that many faces, just the attitudes.”

The Giants gave Juan Berenguer a quick 3-0 lead, but he couldn’t hold it. Bill Laskey, the first of three relievers, gained his first victory of the season. Jeff Robinson retired the last six Pirates, three on strikes, to earn his third save.

The Giants didn’t stop Johnny Ray, however. The Pirate second baseman went 3 for 4 and raised his league-leading batting average to .400.

New York 3, Houston 2--There’s no stopping the runaway Mets. With Darryl Strawberry hitting another home run and former Dodger Sid Fernandez pitching seven strong innings at New York, the Mets ran their latest winning streak to five games. They have won 16 of their last 17 and have an 18-4 record, easily the best in the majors.

The fourth defeat in a row dropped the Astros into second place in the West.

Strawberry’s two-run smash in the third inning helped Fernandez improve his record to 4-0. Fernandez gave up five hits and both Astro runs. He struck out three batters and walked two.

In the last two innings, off Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco, the Astros had five hits but couldn’t score the tying run.

Montreal 8, Philadelphia 2--The Expos can’t gain any ground on New York, but like the Mets, they’ve won five in a row. In this game at Philadelphia, Floyd Youmans pitched seven strong innings for his first victory.

Hot-hitting Tim Raines had two singles to extend his streak to 12 games, scored two runs and had two of the Expos’ seven stolen bases.

Going into the game, Youmans was 0-3 with an earned-run average of 7.25.

St. Louis 4, San Diego 3--Padre left fielder Carmelo Martinez misplayed Ozzie Smith’s long fly into a triple in the 12th inning at St. Louis, and Jose Oquendo singled Smith home to end the Cardinals’ six-game home losing streak.

Jack Clark hit a two-run home run in the third inning to tie the game, 3-3, and neither team scored again until the 12th. Todd Worrell pitched two scoreless innings to win it.