Wilmington News Journal - August 10, 1980
Phils blow scoring shots in loss to Bucs
By Hal Bodley, Sports Editor
PITTSBURGH - The trouble with the Phillies, Pete Rose says, is that they are not accustomed to winning race-horse baseball.
Race-horse baseball?
"Yeah," said the first baseman after the Phils fell to the Pirates 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium yesterday. "They're not used to scrambling. I'm not saying the team's not hustling. What I'm saying is that it's not used to scrambling and taking advantage of things.
"They've always had so much talent around here that the talent has gone to the top. They're not used to stealing third base, they're not used to taking that extra pitch or going for that extra base – things like that. It has always been a power lineup with Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski driving, in a lot of runs. Now, it's different."
The Pirates, who now hold an 8-5 advantage in the season series, used a crafty performance by John Candelaria and solid relief by Kent Tekulve to send the Phils to their second defeat in this series and eighth straight away from Veterans Stadium.
The Phils had the makings of a big inning in the first when they took a 1-0 lead, but Candelaria quickly put out the fire.
"When they got out of that inning, it was like winning a raffle," said Rose, who had two hits in the game watched by a record Saturday afternoon Pittsburgh crowd of 39,984. "We had a chance to score three or four times, but when we got just a run, they were in good shape."
Ed Ott's home run with one out in the third pulled the Bucs even and they took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Bill Madlock tripled and and scored on Omar Moreno's sacrifice fly to right.
The Pirates added two more runs in the seventh. Tim Foli's single, a walk to Lee Lacy and Willie Stargell's single to right produced one and sent Nino Espinosa (2-3) to the showers. Mike Easler's sacrifice fly off reliever Kevin Saucier made it 4-1.
Lonnie Smith opened the nationally televised game with a walk. He raced to third on Rose's single to right and scored when Schmidt lofted a sacrifice fly to left. Keith Moreland, who played right field against the left-handed Candelaria, singled to left, but Rose was unable to score.
"I had to wait to see if Foli was going to stop Moreland's ball before I could take off," said Rose. "Then, once it got through, I was unable to score."
After that, Garry Maddox, who made an all-time catch on Stargell's liner in the third, was called out on strikes and Manny Trillo grounded out to end the threat.
"Not making more of the first inning cost us, said Manager Dallas Green. "We had a chance to score several runs and didn't."
The Phils, who now trail first-place Montreal in National League East by 4½ games, had the makings of big innings in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings, but could not score.
In the fifth, with runners on first and second and one out, Moreland laced a grounder that Foli made a fine stop on. Smith, who had been on second, raced to third, rounded the bag and was picked off.
In the sixth, with Maddox on first, Trillo bunted. Catcher Ott gloved the ball and rifled it to Stargell at first. It appeared Trillo was safe by a step and the television instant replay backed this view. Umpire Paul Pryor, however, had other ideas and called the runner out.
In the eighth, with Schmidt on first, Moreland collected his third single of the day. Here, Pittsburgh Manager Chuck Tanner called on Tekulve. The skinny reliever got Maddox to hit a grounder that forced Moreland and Trillo ended the threat when he bounced into a double play.
"Tekulve had to throw ground balls and that's what he did," said Green. "An umpire's call, a base-running blunder by Smith and Tekulve's pitching made the difference.
"I thought sure Manny was safe in the sixth, so I ran out there. Pryor said he was still in the air when the ball got there. I said I thought his (Pryor's) butt was in the air and added a few more choice words.
"Funny how a call like that can change a whole game. It's 2-1 at the time and we have runners on first and second with one out. I had Larry Bowa bunting and Bob Boone comes up to face the left-hander with runners on second and third. A lot could have happened."
The umpire's call bothered Green, but he's the first to admit that is not really what has cost the Phils in the first two games of this four-game series.
"I think there are two ingredients to hitting," he said. "First, you have the mechanical phase. Second, you have the mental part and that has not been doing too well lately. With that, you have to know situations, know when to take a pitch, when to just put the ball in play – all those things. We're not doing them very well and it has hurt us."
The Pirates, it seems, always make the most of their infield outs, their sacrifice flies.
"That has something to do with our pitching," added Green. "When a fly ball is needed, you need to keep thinking about throwing the ball low. We've been having some trouble with this."
In the third, with one out and runners on first and second, Stargell hit a screamer to the center-field wall. Maddox raced to the fence, leaped high, and hauled it in.
"I think I made it a more difficult play than it really was," said the center fielder. "I could have taken my eyes off the ball, raced to the warning track, and not had so much trouble. The ball was slicing away, so I kept my eyes on it the whole time. I knew I was going to hit the wall, but the key was to keep my glove from hitting the wall."
"One of the Best catches I've seen," said Green. "I can't believe Garry thinks he made it a more difficult play than it really was."
EXTRA POINTS – Dave Parker left the game after the fifth inning because he was bothered by a left-knee sprain... In six out of Saucier's last seven appearances, runners have gone on to score after he has come in... Ott has three game-winning runs batted in this year against the Phils... When Saucier attempted to intentionally walk Madlock in seventh, the first pitch was a called strike... Randy Lerch and Dan Larson will start today's doubleheader against the Pirates' Jim Bibby and Don Robinson today... Smith has hit safely in 10 of his last 13 games.
Pitchers Stone, Walk win July achievement awards
NEW YORK (AP) - Pitchers Steve Stone of the Baltimore Orioles and Bob Walk of the Philadelphia Phillies are winners of Baseball Magazine's Achievements of the Month awards for July.
Stone won 14 straight decisions from May 5 to July 31 when he was defeated by the Texas Rangers 7-4.
Walk, a rookie righthander, won his first six games with the Phillies before being beaten July 20 by the Atlanta Braves 3-2.