New Jersey Newspapers - June 14, 1980
Camden Courier-Post
Ruthven is injured as Phils tip Padres
By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post
PHILADELPHIA – On the whole, the date Friday the 13th has been unusually kind to the Phillies. In terms of wins and losses, they've experienced uncommonly good fortune on everyone's bad-luck day.
Indeed, their 9-6 victory over the San Diego Padres last night before 31,015 finger-crossing fans in Veterans Stadium raised their Friday the 13th record to 7-2 over the last decade, 3-0 against the snakebitten Padres.
But a seemingly small incident occurred during the seventh inning that erased some of the good vibrations the Phils felt after generating a near-record nine-hit, seven-run first inning.
RIGHTHANDER Dick Ruthven injured his pitching shoulder while attempting to field a bunt by the Padres' Tim Flannery. Ruthven, who scuffled for six innings without his best stuff, fell on the shoulder as he tried to bare-hand the ball and throw to first.
While preliminary medical reports indicate nothing serious, the injury is another tear in the delicate fabric holding the Phillies' pitching staff together.
"I know he's hurting," said Manager Dallas Green. "And, it might cost him a start. He caught a spike and landed right on his shoulder. That Astro-Turf doesn't give much."
AND THE injury, if it in fact does cause Ruthven to miss a turn, doesn't give Green many (Options. The trade that has been looming on the Phils' horizon for so long becomes more remote as Monday's 3 a.m. (Eastern time) deadline draws near. Injured righthander Nino Espinosa has agreed, perhaps reluctantly, to try his mending shoulder on Double-A hitters and should join the Phils' Spartanburg club Monday. Similarly, sore-armed Warren Brusstar is being sent to Peninsula, the Phils' Single-A farm club, to pitch.
Espinosa must be recalled after 20 days under a provision that allows injured veterans to be sent to the minors – with their permission. But no one knows whether Espinosa will be sound enough when he returns to give the Phils the starting help they need.
"He agreed to go," said Green. "We just have a few details to work out. The main reason they're both going down is I can't afford to do it (give them work) here, Nino knows he can and has pitched with the type of stuff he's throwing right now. But I explained the roster situation to him and what it'll do if he breaks down."
WHILE THE pitchers were presenting Green problems, the hitters gave him the night off. Lonnie Smith, starting his third straight game in right because Bake McBride has been under the influence of a heavy cold, ripped four hits – two in the first inning – and scored a couple of runs. It was Smith's first four-hit game in the majors and it should put to rest rumors that the Phillies were showcasing him at any team with a pitcher to deal.
"I think," said first baseman Pete Rose, "he can hit. He's a make-things-happen type of guy."
Rose, of course, is of the same mold. He, too, ground out four hits, something he's done more than once over the years. The hits gave Rose a career total of 3,431, putting him in fifth place on the all-time list ahead of Honus Wagner.
IT IS not inconceivable that Rose could threaten Ty Cobb's record of 4,191, should Rose remain healthy and productive.
"The only place that matters to me is first," said Rose. "If I stay healthy and get enough at-bats, the rest will take care of itself."
While every batter in the lineup got at least one hit off four Padre pitchers – including lefthander Randy Jones, who left before getting an out in the first – Mike Schmidt was the only one to join Smith and Rose with more than one. Schmidt sailed a two-run home run over the center field fence off Jones in the watershed first and deposited a well-crafted hit-and-run single into right off reliever Eric Rasmussen in the fourth. The homer was Schmidt's 19th of the season and his sixth off Jones.
THE FIRST inning told the story of this game. Smith, Rose and Schmidt conspired to make it 3-0 before Greg Luzinski and Bob Boone followed with singles to send a shell-shocked Jones to the showers. Reliever John D'Acquisto fared little better, allowing Garry Maddox a two-run single and Larry Bowa an RBI triple before retiring Manny Trillo on a sacrifice fly for the inning's first out.
In all, the Phils sent 12 men to the plate against three pitchers (Rasmussen replaced D'Acquisto) in a 29-minute barrage that did not end until Rasmussen got Schmidt to hit into a force.
The 7-Run Start
PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies last night fell one shy of matching their own major league record when the first seven batters hit safely and scored in a 29-minute first inning against the San Diego Padres.
Randy Jones, John D'Acquisto and Eric Rasmussen were the victims of the big inning. Here's how it went:
Lonnie Smith: Singled to left, then stole second base.
Pete Rose: Singled to right to score Smith.
Mike Schmidt: Hit the first pitch over the center field fence for his 19th home run to make it 3-0.
Greg Luzinski: Singled to right-center.
Bob Boone: Singled to right and took second as Luzinski moved to third.
Garry Maddox: Greeted reliever D'Acquisto with a single to center, scoring Luzinski and Boone.
Larry Bowa: Tripled to right-center, scoring Maddox with the sixth run.
Manny Trllo: Hit a line drive to left-center that was pulled in on the run by Jerry Mumphrey for a sacrifice fly, scoring Bowa.
Dick Ruthven: Struck out.
Lonnie Smith: Singled to center.
Pete Rose: Singled to right, knocking out D'Acquisto.
Mike Schmidt: Grounder forced Rose at second.
Seven runs, nine hits, no Padre errors.
Phillies sign 10 picked in draft
PHILADELPHIA – Ten players drafted by the Phillies in last week's free agent draft have signed contracts, the National League club announced.
Pitcher Jon Reelhorn, a fourth-round pick from Fresno State University, was signed to a contract with Reading in the Eastern League.
Infielder Larry Jeltz, ninth-round, from Kansas State University, was assigned to Spartanburg in the South Atlantic League.
Signed to contracts with Helena in the Pioneer Rookie League were pitcher Yonis Rodriguez, Ozone Park, N.Y.; outfielder Randy Salava, Owasso, Mich.; third baseman Bernardo Howard, Kansas City, Mo.; pitcher Tim Steverson, Umatilla, Fla.; pitcher Dee Decker, San Diego, Calif.; catcher Darren Daulton, Arkansas City, Kansas; outfielder Andre Mallett, Houston, Texas; and pitcher Dale Cooke, Calvin, La.
The Press of Atlantic City
Smith-Rose Duel Gives Phils Life
Ruthven Injury Causes Concern
Philadelphia 9, Chicago 6
By Harry Hoffman, Press Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA — The kid just starting his big league career, Lonnie Smith, and the veteran in hot pursuit of records, Pete Rose, had a duel with their bats Friday night at Veteran’s Stadium.
They each-banged out four hits to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-6 victory over the San Diego Padres. The four hits by Smith gave him 21 for his career. The four by Rose gave him 3,431 and made him fifth on the all time hit list.
“I just learn from watching him,” young Smith said of Rose. “The last three days I felt a lot better playing the game because my wife and young son came to Phila from Spartansburg, S.C. Just having them around makes me a more confident person."
The Phils won the game in the first inning when their first seven batters collected hits off starter and loser Randy Jones, 4-6, and John D’Acquisto. By the time a third pitcher, Eric Rasmussen, had snuffed the Phillies’ fire, the home team had seven runs.
That big number in the first time at bat should have made it easy for Dick Ruthven to obtain his sixth victory to go with rive defeats. However, Ruthven wasn't easy on himself.
He gave up a run in the second inning, two in the third and two more in the sixth. By then it was an 8-5 game and manager Dallas Green wasn't laughing.
He was laughing even less in the seventh inning when Ruthven's spikes caught in the astro turf as he hurried in to cover a bunt by Tim Flannery. The pitcher landed hard, and wound up leaving the game with a sprained shoulder.
Since Green is already suffering from the shorts in the pitching department the loss of Ruthven for even one turn could complicate a trying situation.
“At least we got a W out of it. But, sure, the club can’t afford to lose another starting pitcher even for a day. Right now we'll have to wait and see how Rufus feels tomorrow. I knew he was in trouble the way he hit the astro turf,” Green explained.
Smith started the Phillies’ first inning with a single, stole second and scored on Rose’s one-base hit. Then Mike Schmidt reached out and stroked his 19th homer over the centerfield barrier to make it 3-0. After Greg Luzinski and Bob Boone singled, Jones was replaced by D'Acquisto.
Garry Maddox singled home two more runs and scored on a triple by Larry Bowa. Manny Trillo's sacrifice fly brought Bowa home with the inning's seventh run.
Catcher red Kendall singled home a run for the Padres in the second inning. Then three singles produced two more runs in the third.
"Dick wasn’t really too sharp and that big first inning started to look a little smaller as the game went along,” Green said.
Singles by Rose and Schmidt along with a sacrifice fly by Boone made it 8-3 in the fourth inning. However, Padres pinch-hitter Dick Fahey singled home two runs in the sixth and the lead was to 8-5.
A double by Smith and a single by Rose in the bottom of the sixth made it 9-5.
“I've had four hits in one game a few times in the minors, but this is the first time in the majors,” Smith said. “I guess the ball was just finding some open spots for me."
A double by Willie Montanez, single by Jerry Mumphrey and a double-play ground ball by Dave Cash off Ron Reed made it 9-6 in the eighth inning. However, Reed protected the margin in the ninth.
Rose replaced Honus Wagner as number five on the hit list. His next target is Tris Speaker, who is fourth with 3,515 hits. Smith isn’t worried about catching Rose some day.
“Right now, my only desire is staying up here as a major league player, either in this city or some place else,” he commented. Smith has been the center of trade rumors involving a pitcher. And the trade deadline is Sunday at midnight.
Steve Carlton, number one pitcher in both leagues with a 10-2 record, will go against Steve Mura in the second game of the series at 7:05 tonight.
Phils’ Fans Sue Club Over Rain Delay
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A suburban couple has sued the Philadelphia Phillies, the National League and an umpire over a rain-delayed game that started Monday night and ended at 3:11 a.m. Tuesday.
Matthew S. Averback and his wife, Margaret, of Blue Bell, Montgomery County, filed suit Wednesday in Common Pleas Court here on behalf of 28,702 fans who attended the 7½-hour game with the San Francisco Giants.
Only a few hundred spectators remained in Veterans Stadium when the Giants handed the Phillies a 3-1 loss in the wee morning hours.
The Averbacks are demanding return of the ticket price to all spectators or the issuance of rain checks. They claim the decision to continue with the game at 1:28 a.m. on a weekday was "capricious” and deprived fans of their right to enjoy the game or receive a rain check.
They contend that the Phillies, the NL and the game’s chief umpire, Robert Engel, “are under a duty to call any game which has been delayed because of inclement weather beyond a reasonable time.”
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On a happier note, as far as the club is concerned, ten players picked in last week’s free agent draft have signed contracts.
Pitcher Jon Reelhorn, a fourth-round pick from Fresno State University, was signed to a contract with Reading in the Eastern League.
Infielder Larry Jeltz, ninth-round, from Kansas State University, was assigned to Spartanburg in the South Atlantic League.
Signed to contracts with Helena in the Pioneer Rookie League were pitcher Yonis Rodriguez, Ozone Park, N.Y.; outfielder Randy Salava, Owasso, Mich.; third baseman Bernardo Howard, Kansas City, Mo.; pitcher Tim Steverson, Umatilla, Fla.; pitcher Dee Decker, San Diego, Calif.; catcher Darren Daulton, Arkansas City, Kansas; outfielder Andre Mallett, Houston, Texas; and pitcher Dale Cboke, Calvin, La.