The Week (aug. 16-22)

NL EAST

Keith Hernandez of St. Louis (4-2) was having trouble hitting the ball, so he hit the bottle. "I drank two bottles of wine and stayed up till 5 a.m. watching old movies," Hernandez explained. "It's a once-a-year thing for me." Since swigging, Hernandez has been stroking wine—make that line—drives. With Hernandez batting .348 and Lonnie Smith .400, the Cardinals won three of five one-run games and clung to first place.

Victories were hard to come by for the Phillies (3-3). They were on the verge of being blanked for the second day in a row in Houston when ninth-inning hits by Mike Schmidt, Garry Maddox and George Vukovich knotted the score at 3-3. Philly won 5-3 in the 15th as Gary Matthews and Bo Diaz drove in runs. Overall, Maddox had 11 RBIs. Dick Ruthven had to survive four rain delays totaling two hours and 54 minutes before beating Cincinnati 9-2.

Nine RBIs by Andre Dawson and seven by Gary Carter helped Montreal (4-3). But Ray Burris dropped to 0-11 as a starter (he's 4-2 as a reliever) when he lost to Houston 5-3.

Pitching carried the Pirates (4-2), who gave up only one run in each of four games. Rick Rhoden's two-hitter took care of the Giants 4-1, and Mike Easler's eighth-inning homer knocked off the Dodgers 2-1. Easler again scored the winning run during Sunday's 4-3 triumph over Los Angeles after he had singled in the bottom of the 14th.

Three extra-inning losses put the Mets (0-6) in the cellar. Errors led to a pair of defeats, one miscue coming on what should have been the final out of a 1-0 victory in Atlanta. Following that 10th-inning error, Pat Zachry issued a bases-loaded walk and then kicked his glove from the mound to third base as Jerry Royster trotted home with the run that made the Braves 2-1 winners.

Ferguson Jenkins' 272nd win, 8-2 over the Dodgers, pulled the Cubs (3-3) up to fifth place. Bill Buckner, who batted .500, had four hits in that contest.

ST.L 71-52 PHIL 68-54 MONT 65-58 PITT 64-59 CHI 54-72 NY 50-72

NL WEST

Optimism was rampant, even among the Reds (5-2). Mario Soto beat the Mets 9-2 on a four-hitter and 15 strikeouts. Dave Concepcion hit .433, Duane Walker .467 and Larry Biittner .500. Cesar Cede�o became the 10th player in major league history to steal 500 bases. And when Ron Oester saw New York Third Baseman Hubie Brooks charging in, he disdained the bunt sign and slugged a two-run homer in the 10th for a 3-1 victory.