Ruthven’s victory pleasing to Green

Phillies 6, Expos 2

By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post

PHILADELPHIA – Given the Phillies' newly-aggressive approach to the game of baseball, it was not surprising that they matter-of-factly ran over the Montreal Expos yesterday, 6-2, in Veterans Stadium before 36,962 contented fans.

What, with the Phils combining nearly-equal measures of power, speed and superb defense, the victory was remarkably similar in style to Friday's 6-3 opening-night triumph.

The Phillies ran the bases with an intelligent aggression, daring the fumbling Expo outfield to throw somebody out. The offense produced a robust 13 hits against Montreal's Spaceman, Bill Lee, among others. And, the defense was the difference between Dick Ruthven being a winning pitcher, or just a starting pitcher.

The fact that Ruthven won the game did, however, come as a pleasant surprise to Manager Dallas Green. Not that Green doubted Ruthven's capabilities. But there was no way to tell how long Ruthven would last in his first appearance since undergoing off-season elbow surgery. There was no way of knowing in advance how effective the righthander would be after a spring training in which he allowed at least one run in 11 of the 15 innings he pitched.

In fact, the last time Ruthven won a ballgame for the Phillies, Iranian students presumably were in school where they're supposed to be instead of milling about Tehran streets, Jerry Brown was a still-viable presidential candidate, and Jimmy Carter wasn't asking Olympic athletes to fight political battles.

Indeed, Ruthven's last win came 9½ months, six bone chips and one manager ago. Since that June 26 victory over Chicago, Ruthven had twice gone on the disabled list, pitching for the final time on Aug. 8, three weeks before Green took over for Danny Ozark. "I wasn't looking for nine (innings) from him," said Green. "But I got 84 pitches and six good innings out of him and, after the seventh, I just felt I'd rather not push him."

Ruthven understandably struggled through his seven innings, relinquishing six hits and five walks. But he threw two double-play balls, the most significant of which was a slider to Andre Dawson with the bases loaded in the fifth.

"I felt good," said Ruthven. "There's no reason in the world why I should walk that many people. I felt I made some good pitches when I had to, but I also made some bad pitches that were hit hard.

"The defense was, well, you just don't walk that many people and give up that many hits and win."

Defense, experts say, is worth three to four outs a game. With an average defense behind him, a pitcher has to get 27 outs in nine innings. Shoddy glovework can increase that number to 30 or 31. The kind of defense Ruthven had -yesterday would probably reduce it to 22 or 23.

Third baseman Mike Schmidt and center fielder Garry Maddox, who homered, singled twice and drove in two runs, contributed a couple excellent plays, but the centerpiece of the defense was the double play on Dawson, who faced Ruthven with three on, one out and his club trailing, 4-1, in the fifth.

Ruthven got the Montreal centerfielder to bounce a slow two-hopper to shortstop Larry Bowa's left. Bowa and second baseman Manny Trillo did the rest, transforming what should have been no more than a force out into an inning-ending twin killing.

Perhaps the only negative aspect of the Phillies' performance came when Ron Reed came in to pitch the eighth. Reed faced five batters, walked three of them and gave up a run before Green replaced him with Tug McGraw.

"Ronnie has enough experience to know we're not looking for bases on balls in that situation," said Green. "He (Reed) did not throw the ball today. That's why I went to Tug."

McGraw got the final out of the eighth and the first two in the ninth before – oh, no – loading the bases. McGraw, if you'll recall, tied a National League record last season by throwing four grand slam pitches. This time, though, he got Ellis Valentine to fly to Maddox, ending the game.

PHIL UPS – Montreal second baseman Rodney Scott tied a National League record by walking five times in the game... The major league record of six walks in one game was set by Jimmy Foxx when he was with the Boston Red Sox in 1938... Trillo went a quiet 3-for-4... Phils' baserunning featured Greg Luzinski going from first to third on what should have been a single by Bob Boone.

Phils Rip Expos, ‘Heal’ Ruthven

Philadelphia 6, Montreal 2

By Ed Hilt, Press Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA —  Phillies’ Manager Dallas Green will never be confused with Oral Roberts. But he's given pitcher Dick Ruthven the faith to feel healed. 

Ruthven’s 6-2 win Saturday before 36,962 fans over the Montreal Expos wasn't the stuff of which Cy Young Awards are made. He pitched seven innings, allowing six hits, one earned run, five walks and getting no strikeouts. He was helped by some spectacular defense and 14 hits (eight of them extra-base). 

But for a guy coming off off-season elbow surgery after being on the disabled list twice last year, the victory was just fine, thank you. 

“In spring training, we kept trying to get Dick Ruthven to eliminate from his mind that he had a bad arm,” said Green after the Phils whipped the Expos Saturday after handling them easily in the home opener Friday night. “I’d say he’s right on schedule now. Boonie (Phils’ catcher Bob Boone) told me his location was getting better as the game went on. I'm very pleased. I was hoping to get six innings out of him and I got 84 pitches in seven innings.” 

Ruthven won his first six games last year as the Phillies, in the first two months of the season, looked like they were going to make a joke of the National League Eastern Division race. 

But it turned into a season of injuries to pitchers, with maybe the biggest blow being Ruthven's bonechipped plagued arm. He won only one more game for a 7-5 record, and the Phils, coming off three straight Eastern Division titles, fell to fourth place. 

He had a rough spring training (7.88 ERA), but this outing may have convinced him he can come back. 

Although Ruthven allowed six hits and five walks against the Expos, he wasn't really in serious trouble. In the first, Ron Lelore hit a slicing, opposite field line drive for a triple, and he scored on a ground out by Andre Dawson for a 1-0 Expo lead. 

After that, Montreal never got more than one hit per inning, and efforts like a Mike Schmidt stab of a Larry Parrish white-hot, two-hopper, and three double plays stifled the Expos. 

If it’s a positive, confident approach Ruthven is seeking, then his team mates seem able to back him up. Garry Maddox, still unsigned by the Phillies, was three-for-four with a single, double and homer and two RBI. The slim, new-look Greg Luzinski roped a double and came close to hitting his second homer of the season, a long fly out to the warning track in deep left-center. Boone hit a double and a single, Larry Bowa tied for sixth with Cy Williams (1,553) on the all-time Phillies hit list with a triple and Manny Trillo was three-for-four with a triple. 

The triples by Bowa and Trillo were back-to-back in the fourth which gave the Phils their fourth run. 

It was 6-1 in the seventh when Green decided Ruthven had had enough and went to veteran reliever Ron Reed. But the big right-hander walked Rodney Scott (who came close to a major league record of six walks with five) and Andre Dawson. They advanced on a ground out. Parrish hit a sacrifice fly and scored Scott Reed walked Gary Carter and put men on first and third. 

Green called Tug McGraw from the bullpen, and the left-hander got Warren Cromartie to ground out to end the eighth-inning threat.

Phils Try Another Way on Opening Day

By Michael Shepherd, Press Sports Editor

It couldn't have been opening day, could it? 

The Philadelphia Phillies won, Steve Carlton went the distance and looked great in recording his first victory, Larry Bowa made an error and Kiteman’s sortie to home plate was perfect.

If you are familiar with the recent history of the Phillies, you know that almost never do any of the above occur on opening day at Veteran’s Stadium. 

But on Friday night against the Montreal Expos, the Phillies won their first home opener since 1974. 

And it takes Bowa sometimes half a season before he boots one at shortstop. 

And Kiteman? After two crashes on takeoff, the hang glider pro finally flew at the Vet. This time it was from a shorter runway in center-field. He circled off into rightfield and then made a perfect landing at home plate. 

Just in case fans thought they had been transported by time warp to another dimension, an old tradition emerged to bring one’s senses back to reality. 

Right after Kiteman's flight, the seasonal resident of the Vet roost made its first appearance — the boo-bird. Yes it surely is the first sign of spring in South Philly when the boo-bird comes out.

Who did they boo? Why the man they recently elected to the Mayor’s office, Bill Green, who was handed a baseball by Kiteman for the ceremonial first pitch. 

The pre-game festivities were the usual spectacular: fireworks, the big band, a choir singing the national anthems of Canada and the United States, the unfurling of the huge American flag and the shenanigans of the Philly Phanatic. 

And the Phillies themselves? One thing is for sure, they are in outstanding physical condition. 

Greg Luzinski, 25 pounds lighter and unashamedly wearing glasses, is the most notable success of Manager Dallas Green's shape up campaign. Luzinski, whose diet no doubt consists of less kielbasa, proved that his dramatic loss of weight did not result in an equal loss of power. With Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt aboard through walks, Luzinski lined a 2-2 pitch from Montreal starter Steve Rogers to left. 

Luzinski was charged up rounding the bases and raised his fist over his head in the season’s first show of emotion by the Phillies, renowned for their ‘cool’ on the playing field. Maybe the Phils’ corps of fired-up players has increased from three to four with Luzinski joining Pete Rose, Bowa and pitcher Kevin Saucier.

The crowd of 48,460 gave Luzinski, much maligned for a poor season last year, a standing ovation, which he acknowledged with a wave after the prolonged applause summoned him from the dugout. 

A little later, Luzinski demonstrated that the loss of weight may have not improved his fielding. He fell down chasing a liner to left by Ellis Valentine, probably turning a double into a triple. But in fairness, the ball was past The Bull into the corner, and he slipped, perhaps because of his very lightness, while trying to chase the carom. 

The Phils, apart from Green's back-to-basics theories, have not really made any great changes from last year when they faded to fourth from three years as National League East Division champions. 

It's obvious the Phils’ management believes the team has the players and what’s needed is to get the best out of them, hence the emphasis on fundamentals, and to avoid injury, hence the emphasis on conditioning. 

Injuries last season, mainly to the pitchers, devastated the Phils.

On opening day, at least, the Green era appeared to make a good beginning as the 1980 Phillies looked like an improved model despite the fact they did not change their personnel except to bring up a handful of young prospects.