Wilmington Morning News - August 22, 1980

Bake burns, tops Padres with double in 17^th 9-8

By Hal Bodley, Sports Editor

PHILADELPHIA – There is great temptation to begin the story this way: Enraged Bake McBride, ejected by home-plate umpire Ed Vargo in the 13th inning, returned in the 17th yesterday to triple home the winning run as the Phillies outlasted San Diego 9-8.

Everybody knows, though, once you get the thumb you don't come back to triple or do anything else in baseball.

But to most of the 36,201 customers who sat through the five-hour, seven-minute matinee at Veterans Stadium, Shake 'n' Bake was clearly ejected by Vargo in the 13th.

"Yeah, I thought I was gone, too," McBride admitted after his triple scored Mike Schmidt from first and made a winner of reliever Kevin Saucier. "When he (Vargo) threw his arm up, I thought I had been ejected."

So did just about everyone who was wondering at the time what else might happen in the bizarre game.

The Phillies, who fell behind after a half-inning 3-0, were coasting to an 8-6 triumph when Dave Winfield blasted a two-run homer off Ron Reed in the ninth. That shot triggered the overtime clock and made most of those who played hooky from work late for dinner.

McBride is a soft-spoken, mild-mannered athlete who prefers to let his bat and his glove and his aching legs do his talking. Few players are as consistent as McBride when it comes to poise.

It had been a long, grueling afternoon for Bake just like all the other players. He had tripled in the first moments after Schmidt hit the first of two home runs, and drove in two runs with his 26th double of 1980 in the seventh. That hit vaulted the Phils on top 7-6 and was already being chronicled as the game-winning RBI.

But after Winfield unloaded his 15th homer, superb relief pitching by both teams turned the contest into a marathon.

Side-arming left-hander Dennis Kinney, who suffered the loss, blanked the Phils for 9⅓ innings. His longest previous stint was 4⅓ innings.

Dickie Noles worked four strong innings before he turned the outcome over to Saucier.

The Padres, who have the worst record in the National League, had several chances but each time they were snuffed.

The Phils had a shot in the 12th when they loaded the bases with two out, but Greg Gross flied to center.

In the 13th, Pete Rose opened with a double to center, his 33rd of the year which is tops in the league. After Schmidt was walked intentionally, McBride came to the plate. As McBride squared around to bunt, Kinney's first pitch appeared to hit Bake on the shoulder.

McBride dropped his bat and started toward first.

"No!" yelled Vargo. "It was a foul ball."

McBride spun around, shouted something at the veteran umpire and crashed his helmet to the ground.

Just as he did that, Vargo shot his arm up, an obvious ejection. Teammates have never seen McBride so incensed. He had to be restrained and when he finally settled down, he retreated to the dugout while Manager Dallas Green argued with Vargo. When the verbal battle finally subsided, everyone wondered who would complete McBride's at-bat. Green looked to the dugout and summoned a player – Arnold Ray McBride. He put down a beautiful bunt, but after Manny Trillo was walked intentionally, Garry Maddox and Larry Bowa hit pop fouls to send everyone back to work.

"The ball hit my shoulder first and then my bat," said McBride, who recorded his 11th game-win ning RBI. "Later, I found out that he was fining me $100 for throwing my helmet down. That's an automatic fine, but I thought I had been ejected.

"I have never been that upset with an umpire before. Once I came back I tried to concentrate on bunting the ball, moving the runners over. I seldom get upset, but when I do, I am able to control my temper so it won't mess my play up."

Schmidt's two homers pushed his season total to 34, tying him with the Yankees' Reggie Jackson for the lead in the majors. After his second of the day, the fans gave him a standing ovation.

"That seemed like yesterday," quipped Schmidt, who singled with one down in the 17th before McBride delivered the kayo punch. "This game felt like it was going on forever. It's good to be the home team in a situation like this. When you go this long, you get a little punchy. Eventually, you're more relaxed. It gets to the point that sooner or later somebody is going to win. You just reach back and try to get extra concentration.

"That one inning it was so obvious we were going to win, but Larry and Garry popped out. They had pitches to hit and I'm sure they weren't trying to pop up, but it was as if Kinney had a rabbit's foot. Everything he threw up there he seemed to get us out with. He worked out of two bases-loaded jams and another with two on. He kept getting out of everything.

"When Bake hit that triple it was a beautiful sight. I had had enough."

EXTRA POINTS – Bob Walk had a tough beginning for the Phils... He gave up five runs in two innings before Randy Lerch came on... Lerch allowed just a run on four hits during six innings and would have been the winner had Winfield not homered in the ninth... Lonnie Smith, who had two doubles and a single in four at-bats, crashed against the left-field wall in the first inning trying to haul in Gene Tenace's triple... Schmidt leads the league with 90 RBI... Larry Bowa was credited with an inside-the-park homer in the sixth when his sinking liner dropped between Jerry Mumphrey and Gene Richards in left-center... The longest game in Veterans Stadium history was on May 4, 1973, a 20-inning, 5-4 victory over Atlanta... Smith has an 11-game hitting streak and is hitting .359... Saucier, who says his stint was his best ever with the Phils, has a 6-3 record and a 3.43 ERA... The Phils are 18-22 in one-run decisions and 6-6 in extra-inning games... Steve Carlton goes after his 20th victory tonight as the Giants come in for a three-game series... Ed Whitson starts for San Francisco.