Reading Eagle - August 2, 1980

Youth, Vets Lead Phils

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Cincinnati Reds’ troubles began before they took the field when scheduled starter Bill Bonham got a sore shoulder warming up.

Charlie Liebrandt took over the pitching duties and drove in the Reds’ only run, but he couldn’t hold off the Philadelphia Phillies, who climbed within two games of first-place Montreal in the National League East with a 3-1 victory Friday.

The Phillies’ youth corps of rookies Bob Walk, Lonnie Smith and Keith Moreland combined with veterans Mike Schmidt, Bake McBride and Manny Trillo for what manager Dallas Green called a “good team baseball win right there.

“You can’t play them much better than that,” Green said after Walk overcame early wildness to record his eighth win against just one loss.

The 23-year-old righthander threw 90 pitches, 167 overall, and walked four in the first four innings before settling down to give up only three singles over the next four innings. Tug McGraw came on in the ninth to gain his 10^th save, his third in his last three outings.

“Bobby (Walk) was having some problems with his control, but he kept struggling,” said Smith, who scored two of the Phillies’ runs after singling and doubling.

“He (Walk) hasn’t folded on us yet,” said Green. “He seems to make the 3-1, 3-2 pitches when he has to. It’s a quality you can’t teach; he has it within him and I’m darn glad.”

Mike Schmidt, playing despite an injured groin, drove in Smith with a sacrifice fly, his eighth game-winning RBI, with the bases loaded in the sixth, to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Smith and Pete Rose had singled before Reds lefthander Charlie Liebrandt, 9-7, hit McBride to load the bases.

The Phillies scored in the second when Moreland singled and took second on a fielder’s choice. Trillo, 2-for-3 to raise his average to .322, brought the rookie catcher home with a sharp single to left. Moreland has raised his average from .284 to .330 with a seven-game hitting streak, going 10-for-22 with six RBI.

Smith doubled in the eighth and score again when McBride singled up the middle. McBride, who has hit in eight straight games at a .515 clip, has 62 RBI, a career high.

The Reds left 10 men on base through the first four innings before Walk settled down. Cincinnati has now scored just three runs on 26 hits in their last three games, leaving 28 men on base.

“That’s been the difference,” said Reds’ slugger George Foster, who singled twice, but never got past second base.

“We’re getting our share of hits, but not when we need to drive in runs,” said Reds’ manager John McNamara. “We had ample opportunities tonight, no question.”

“That has been the big thing in the last four or five games,” said McNamara. “We get our share of base hits, but not when we need to drive in runs.”