National League Roundup : Gooden Routed; Darling Sidelined

If the first game of their critical series with the St. Louis Cardinals was a nightmare for the New York Mets, the second game was a disaster.

Shortly after learning that their No. 2 pitcher, Ron Darling, was lost for the season with a thumb injury, the Mets sent out their No. 1 pitcher, Dwight Gooden, but he lasted only two innings in an 8-1 loss to St. Louis Saturday.

The Cardinals, who won, 6-4, in 10 innings Friday night despite trailing by three runs with two out in the ninth, scored five times in the first inning off Gooden, who had his worst outing in the majors. Even a night-like gloom in Shea Stadium couldn’t help Gooden, who is nearly unbeatable after dark but struggles during the day.

He walked three, including hard-to-walk Willie McGee, to force in the first run, and also gave up three hits, including a two-run bloop single by Tony Pena, in the first inning. He gave up another run in the second and for the first time since joining the Mets as a 19-year-old phenom in 1984, didn’t come out for the third.

So, instead of the three-game sweep predicted by first baseman Keith Hernandez that would have put the Mets in command of the National League East, the Mets are 0-2 and go into the finale today in third place, trailing the rejuvenated Cardinals by 3 1/2 games.

St. Louis left-hander Greg Mathews (10-9), given the early cushion, pitched only the third complete game of his two-year career. Although shaky early, he pitched an eight-hitter.

The loss of Darling is sure to be a blow. He held the Cardinals to one hit through six innings Friday night, but afterward he learned that he had torn ligaments in his right thumb when he fell trying to field Vince Coleman’s bunt to open the game.

He will undergo surgery today to repair the ligaments and will have his thumb in a cast for five weeks.

It has been a startling turnaround. The Cardinals, struggling since the All-Star break, went into New York after losing three in a row at Montreal and scoring just six runs.

The Mets, meanwhile, were rolling. Darryl Strawberry had hit two home runs and a double in his last three at-bats, the pitching staff was healthy and the Mets had cut a 10 1/2-game deficit to 1 1/2.

Now, unless rookie David Cone (4-3) can beat Danny Cox (9-6), it will be the Cardinals who sweep and take command.

There was no indication that Gooden (13-6) was going to have a poor outing when he struck out Coleman on three pitches to open the game. But on each of the next four batters he went to a 3-and-2 count and didn’t get any of them out. Ozzie Smith doubled and the next three walked. Gooden, who ordinarily has good control, needed 46 pitches to get through the first inning.

Manager Davey Johnson, who said he learned Gooden wasn’t feeling well shortly before the game, sent him home after removing him.

“He had a cold, or the flu,” said Johnson of Gooden, who is only 19-14 in daytime. “That’s not an excuse. Obviously he didn’t have very much. I’m not about to take out my best pitcher just because he has a cold.”

Coleman scored the last three Cardinal runs and stole two bases to reach 100 stolen bases for a third consecutive season, the first major-league player ever to do so. He is 29 for 29 in his career against the Mets.

Montreal 7, Chicago 1--Pascual Perez pitched the Expos into second place with a five-hit, career-high 11-strikeout performance at Chicago.

The Expos jumped ahead of the Mets and are three games behind the Cardinals.

“I feel I can bring a lot to this team,” said Perez (3-0). Manager Bob Rodgers agreed.

“He has been a shot in the arm,” Rodgers said. “We have had great success this year bringing up quality players from the minors.”

Hubie Brooks and Mitch Webster homered for the Expos, who have won six of their last seven.

San Francisco 7, Cincinnati 1--It’s not just Rick Reuschel’s pitching that has the Giants in command in the Western Division, it’s also his hitting.

The 38-year-old right-hander pitched a six-hitter and doubled in three runs at Cincinnati as the Giants, with 21 games left, took a five-game lead over the Reds.

“This was the biggest game of the season, but this won’t be the only one,” Reuschel said. “We’ve got a long way to go. We play them three more times. If we don’t beat them, that puts them two back.”

Reuschel is 4-1 since being obtained Aug. 21 in a deal with Pittsburgh. In a recent 14-4 win over Montreal, Reuschel doubled in two runs to trigger a six-run second inning that broke the game open. In his last three starts, Reuschel has pitched 25 innings and given up just four earned runs while walking only one batter.

“He didn’t do nothing but hit, pitch, field his position and hold men on base,” Giants Manager Roger Craig said. “You can’t do much better than that tonight, in a game that was probably the most crucial game of the year for us. We wouldn’t have lost it (the division race) if we’d have lost tonight, but it would have gave them momentum.”

Pittsburgh 12, Philadelphia 4--Bobby Bonilla and Sid Bream each homered and drove in three runs at Philadelphia to lead the Pirates to their sixth win in a row.

Rookie Mike Dunne improved his record to 11-5, although he gave up all 4 runs and 8 hits in 6 innings.