National League Roundup : The Bloom Is Off the Rose as Reds Lose Again

Before last season, Pete Rose had to prove himself as a manager. He did just that, and the Cincinnati Reds, under his guidance, were the surprise team of the National League. The club won 19 more games than it did the year before and finished only 5 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the West.

This season, almost everyone expected the Reds to make a run for the pennant.

Instead, the Reds are in a deep slump, and Rose is facing his toughest test as a manager.

With Bob Ojeda improving his record to 4-0 on another sharp outing, the New York Mets beat the Reds, 4-1, Saturday at Cincinnati, sending them reeling to their seventh loss in a row.

While the Mets, who have won 13 of their last 14 games, are leading the East, the Reds, losers of 11 of their last 12, are mired in the West cellar. Their only victory at Riverfront Stadium came on opening day.

Rose, who started the season on the disabled list because of a stomach problem and is hitless in 10 at-bats, told UPI that the losing streak is “scary.”

“I can’t believe this team is 5-14 without any injuries,” he said, “but I believe it because I’ve been watching it. The way I see it, I’m glad we’re not in the same division with those guys.”

The pitching hasn’t been too bad for the Reds, but the hitting has been atrocious. Only the St. Louis Cardinals have a lower average than the .217 of the Reds, and no team has scored fewer runs.

The Reds need to have their one big hitter, Dave Parker, setting the pace. After 11 games this season, Parker had five home runs and had driven in 14 runs. In the last eight games, seven of which the Reds have lost, Parker is 6 for 34 without a home run or an RBI.

The Reds’ luck isn’t very good, either. First baseman Nick Esasky’s error helped the Mets get two runs in the second inning Saturday. The Mets led, 2-1, in the seventh with two out, a man on third and Keith Hernandez at bat. Hernandez hit a high chopper toward third. Losing pitcher John Denny lost it in the sun, and it squirted foul. On the next pitch, Hernandez hit a two-run homer, and the light-hitting Reds were out of it.

Atlanta 10, Philadelphia 4--It could be that the Braves will have to find a spot in their regular lineup for rookie Andres Thomas, the 22-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic.

In this game at Philadelphia, Thomas made his fifth start and had four hits, including three of the nine doubles the Braves hit in the easy victory. In the games he’s started, Thomas is 9 for 19.

Glenn Hubbard also had three doubles, while Bob Horner, who had four hits Friday night, got two more hits, including a double. Horner scored twice and drove in two runs.

Chicago 6, San Francisco 5--Except for two home runs by Ron Cey, Scott Garrelts had pitched brilliantly at San Francisco and held a 4-2 lead going into the ninth.

But when Garrelts, the former bullpen ace, yielded a walk to open the inning, Giant Manager Roger Craig summoned his present bullpen ace, Greg Minton. The Cubs jumped on Minton for the victory. The key blow was Terry Francona’s two-run single with two out to break a 4-4 tie.

Cey’s home runs were his first of what has been a slow beginning. Entering the game, he was batting .143 and had driven in only one run. He now has 301 career home runs.

Montreal 7, Houston 6--Hubie Brooks is proving that his total of 100 runs batted in last season was not a fluke. In this game on another cold day at Montreal, Brooks tripled home Jim Wohlford from first base with the winning run in the 10th inning.

It was Brooks’ second RBI of the game, and he has 19 for the season.

Andre Dawson started the winning rally with an infield hit that extended his hitting streak to 13 games. But he pulled a hamstring running out the hit, and Wohlford ran for him. Dawson expects to play today.

Pittsburgh 7, San Diego 6--Bill Almon hit a three-run home run off Rich Gossage with two out in the eighth inning at San Diego to give the Pirates the victory.

The Padres built a 3-0 lead on a two-run home run by Steve Garvey and a solo swat by Carmelo Martinez in the third. They were still on top, 5-3, when Almon hit his fourth home run.

Two errors by shortstop Garry Templeton gave the Pirates the extra run they needed in the ninth.