Reading Eagle - August 23, 1980
Giants’ Spray Hitters Defeat Phillies in 10
PHILADELPHIA (UPI) – The lineup the San Francisco Giants threw at the Philadelphia Phillies Friday night wouldn’t strike fear in the hearts of a lot of pitchers.
With Jack Clark nursing a bruised hand and Darrell Evans getting the night off, the Giants had no one in the lineup hitting above .257. The top RBI man had 42 and all eight had combined for a grand total of 20 home runs, two less than Clark.
So it seemed fitting that the Giants couldn’t get the ball out of the infield in the 10th inning but still scored on Mike Ivie’s high chopper to third base in gaining a 4-3 victory over the Phillies that foiled Steve Carlton’s bid for his 20th win.
“That’s why we have 25 players,” San Francisco Manager Dave Bristol said in defending his lineup. “They all can do the job. Unfortunately, not all of them can play at once but you still have to keep them sharp.”
Bill North began the deciding inning with a walk and Joe Pettini sacrificed him to second. With two out, Jim Wohlford beat out a grounder to shortstop Larry Bowa’s right for his third hit of the night, sending North to third.
Ivie then hit a chopper that third baseman Mike Schmidt had to charge and get rid of in a hurry. A perfect throw might have nipped Ivie but it went wide for a single and an error as North came across.
Al Holland worked the final two innings to improve his record to 5-2 and enable the Giants to reach .500 for the third time this season.
“I tried to throw as many strikes as possible,” Holland said. “My philosophy was to go right at them. I was holding nothing back.”
The Giants got a big lift from their bullpen after starter Ed Whitson was struck in the right ankle by a Pete Rose line drive in the first. Whitson finished out the inning and Tom Griffin, Greg Minton and Holland held the Phillies to seven hits and two runs from then on.
Phillies’ Manager Dallas Green stuck with Carlton all 10 innings, letting him bat as the leadoff man in the ninth. Carlton, 19-7, allowed 11 hits and struck out 13, bringing his major league-high season total to 224.
The Giants went ahead 2-0 in the first on Wohlford’s RBI triple and Schmidt’s error. Schmidt got a run back in the bottom of the inning with a double and the Phillies tied it in the fourth on Bowa’s grounder.
Griffin shocked Carlton with his first home run of the season and ninth of his career in the fifth, but Manny Trillo countered one inning later with his sixth homer of the year and fourth in the last eight games.
“If we play normal defense, they don’t score in the first inning,” said Green. “These are the kind of games we have to win.”