Mathews, Worrell Limit Cubs to 2 Hits in 5-1 Win; Cardinals Now Lead by 3

CHICAGO — Greg Mathews and Todd Worrell combined on a two-hitter, backed by John Morris’ three hits and two RBIs, pacing the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs Friday.

Mathews (3-4) struck out 6 and walked 4 in 7 innings. The only hits he allowed were an RBI double by Jody Davis in the first and a single by Davis in the fourth. Worrell finished, walking one.

Morris tied the score in the fourth with an RBI single, and broke the 1-1 tie with a sixth-inning RBI single.

The victory, St. Louis’ 19th in 27 road games, stretched the Cardinals’ first-place lead to three games over the second-place Cubs. Scott Sanderson (4-2) suffered the loss despite striking out 10 in 5 innings.

The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the sixth. Terry Pendleton led off with a single to center and went to third on Tony Pena’s single to right. Morris followed with a single to right, scoring Pendleton.

St. Louis tied the score 1-1 in the fourth. With one out, Pena lined a triple to center and scored on Morris’ single to left through the drawn-in infield.

The Cardinals, who had 13 hits, added three unearned runs in the eighth. Mathews walked with two out off reliever Drew Hall, went to second on a walk to Vince Coleman and scored when Ozzie Smith’s grounder went through Keith Moreland’s legs at third for an error. Tommy Herr followed with a single to left, scoring Coleman. Jack Clark capped the rally with a RBI single to center.

Chicago grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. Bob Dernier led off with a walk, stole second, and two outs later scored on Davis’ double near the right-field foul line.