Cincinnati Enquirer - July 22, 1980
Reds Hold On To Defeat Phillies
By Ray Buck, Sports Reporter
It was probably just coincidental but Monday night's rain activity was in perfect harmony with the thunder in the Cincinnati Reds' bats.
What happened to the Philadelphia Phillies was the equivalent of getting caught with their umbrellas down. No warning. No sympathy. The Reds simply launched a late attack and held onto their collective caps to win, 5-4, in a rain-marred game that ended at 11:50 p.m.
The Reds seemed bent on losing, 3-2, as they slumbered Into the bottom of the sixth inning against Randy Lerch (3-12).
Then Ray Knight, who Is hitting .387 in his last nine games, deposited his second single of the night and scored on Junior Kennedy's RBI double to left field. The score was tied, 3-3, and a sudden downpour sent the 27,177 fans scurrying for cover.
Following a 14-minute delay, the game was resumed and the Reds quickly regained the lead on doubles by Ken Griffey and Johnny Bench in the seventh.
GRIFFEY, SUNDAY'S Hero, continued his torrid and timely hitting with a perfect 3-for-4 night through seven innings. He had no trouble scoring on Bench's blast into the right-center field alley... just before Rain Delay II.
The second delay lasted 56 minutes. When it resumed, Dan Driessen singled home Bench off reliever Kevin Saucier. The Reds led, 5-3.
Mike LaCoss started but couldn't preserve a 2-0 lead and eventually left for a pinch-hitter in the Reds' pull-even sixth inning.
In came Charlie Lelbrandt (9-6), reminding us all about the threadbare nature of the Reds' pitching staff. Lelbrandt has been a starter all season and last worked four innings on Saturday.
The rookie left-hander retired the Phillies in order in the seventh before the second rain delay reduced Riverfront to a vertlble chain of lakes. The Zambonis were at work. Leibrandt would receive the victory.
THE PHILLIES didn't let this spongy defeat get away without a fight as they scored once off Tom Hume and put the tying run in scoring position with one out in the ninth.
Larry Bowa ripped a one-out triple down the right-field line and scored on Bake McBride's double to left-center.
But Hume, who earned his 15th save, retired Pete Rose on a fly ball and Greg Gross on a popup to end the game.
The Reds had drawn first blood by scoring in the first inning. Davey Concepcion doubled Into the left-center field gap and Griffey followed with a walk. Both advanced on Randy Lerch's wild pitch.
Then George Foster collected his seventh RBI in four games and his 19th since the All-Star break with a line-drive sacrifice fly to right field. Concepcion scored. It was 1-0.
The Reds had a chance to blow the game out of shape in the third inning when Dave Collins, Concepcion and Griffey led off with a walk and two singles. No outs, bases loaded.
After a shallow fly-out by Foster, Johnny Bench smoked a one-hop single to left-fielder Gross. Collins scored but Concepcion was gunned down at the plate. Bench had hit the ball too hard.
Knight flew out to the warning track, and the Reds had succeeded in scoring only one run on three hits with nobody out.
The Phillies pulled even, 2-2, when Mike Schmidt led off the fourth inning with a walk and Keith Moreland lined his fourth home run over the left-field wall.
LaCoss and the Reds fell behind In the sixth. With two outs, Garry Maddox singled to right field, took second on LaCoss' errant pick-off attempt and scored when Larry Bowa's singled bounced in front of Foster in left.
Rose wasted no time in snapping an 0-for-10 slump with an opposite-field single to left In the first inning.