Game #9
Saturday April 12
New York Mets at Chicago Cubs
Cubs Silenced by Mets, Blanketed 6-0 at Wrigley
Seventh Consecutive Loss Baffles Club
By PAUL SULLIVAN
Chicago Tribune Staff Writer
CHICAGO — Under a cool, gray sky at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon, the New York Mets handed the struggling Chicago Cubs their second straight shutout loss, riding the right arm of Tim Leary to a decisive 6-0 win.
Leary, making just his second start of the season, baffled Cubs hitters for 5 2/3 innings, allowing only two hits and four walks while striking out three to earn his first victory. Three Mets pitchers combined to hold the Cubs scoreless for the full nine innings, with Dick Tidrow and Wes Gardner finishing the job cleanly from the bullpen.
The Cubs, now 2-7 on the young season, managed just four hits—two of them coming off the bat of catcher Jody Davis—and never advanced a runner past second base.
“We’ve got to get some momentum going, and right now we’re stuck in neutral,” said Cubs manager Jim Frey. “Leary was sharp, but we also didn’t help ourselves.”
The Mets broke the scoreless deadlock in the third inning, when Cubs starter Dick Ruthven loaded the bases with no outs. Keith Hernandez, who later homered in the ninth, forced home the first run with a bases-loaded walk, and George Foster followed with an RBI single. Darryl Strawberry capped the rally with a sharp RBI double to right, staking Leary to a 3-0 cushion.
The Mets tacked on two more in the sixth. Wally Backman doubled in a run with two outs and then came around to score himself on Foster’s second hit of the day. Hernandez added the finishing touch in the ninth, lifting a solo shot off reliever Rich Patterson into the bleachers—a rare blow on a day when the wind was blowing stiffly in from center.
For the Cubs, it was another long afternoon. Ruthven (0-2) went seven innings, allowing ten hits and five earned runs while walking three and uncorking two wild pitches. Patterson surrendered the final run in two innings of relief.
Chicago's offense remained lifeless, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and grounding into one double play. The middle of the order—Gary Matthews, Leon Durham, and Ron Cey—combined to go 1-for-10 with three strikeouts.
The loss, in front of a chilly crowd at Wrigley, dropped the Cubs to the bottom of the National League East standings.
Meanwhile, New York improved to 4-5, buoyed by multi-hit games from Foster (3-for-5), Gardenhire (3-for-5), and Leary himself (2-for-3).
“We’re starting to click a little,” said Mets skipper Davey Johnson. “Tim throwing strikes, pounding the zone—that’s exactly what you want to see.”