Perhaps the Pirate who will be the unhappiest over the news that Musial probably will sit out most of the series is Bob Friend, who was beaten by The Man twice last season on dramatic home runs. Friend is off to a great start with a 4 -- 0 record but isn't likely to see action here this week.

``We're getting Friend some runs for a change, and he has been pitching good,'' Murtaugh said. ``Virdon has been blasting the ball. No plunkers for him.''

The Pirates jumped off to an 11 -- 3 start by May 1 last year, when the Redbirds as well as the Dodgers held them even over the season. On last May 1, the Cardinals stood at 7 -- 6, ending a two season fall-off on that milestone. In 1958, the Birds were 3 -- 10 on May 1. A year later they were 4 -- 13.

Since 1949, the St. Louis club has been below.500 on May 1 just four times. The'49 team was off to a so-so 5 -- 5 beginning, then fell as low as 12 -- 17 on May 23 before finishing with 96 victories.

The'52 Cards were 6 -- 7 on May 1 but ended with 88 triumphs, the club's top since 1949. Then last season the Birds tumbled as low as 11 -- 18 on May 19 before recovering to make a race of it and total 86 victories.

Since 1949, the only National League club that got off to a hot start and made a runaway of the race was the'55 Dodger team. Those Dodgers won their first 10 games and owned a 21 -- 2 mark and a nine game lead by May 8. The club that overcame the worst start in a comparable period to win the pennant was New York's'51 Giants, who dropped 11 of their first 13.