Wilmington News Journal - June 14, 1980

Phils maul Jones early, maul Padres 9-6

By Ray Finocchiaro, Staff Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA – Black cats? Friday the 13th? Just bring on the San Diego Padres and throw bad luck out the window.

That may not be the standard formula for curing all ills, but the Phillies certainly subscribe to it. The Phils, you see, are 7-2 on Friday the 13th in the last 10 seasons and 3-0 against San Diego.

Last night the Phils' witches' brew was good for an 9-6 victory at Veterans Stadium in a game that featured six Phillies runs scoring before the Padres got their first out of the game – and the seventh scoring as they did.

It was that kind of game.

And Friday the 13th certainly wasn't unlucky for Pete Rose, who cracked four singles his first four times up to move past Honus Wagner into fifth place on baseball's all-time hit parade and third in the National League with 3,431.

"I'm just happy to get base hits," said Rose. "When you think you have a chance for No. 1 – in the league, I mean, not Ty Cobb's record (4,191) – you don't get excited about No. 3, 4 or 5. You can't worry about who you'll pass next."

And Lonnie Smith, who also hit safely his first four times up, wasn't worried about walking under a ladder on the way home.

"Just a lucky night when the ball started seeing some holes," said Smith, the subject of every trade rumor as the deadline approaches. "All I can do is play. Every day I play out there (right field), I feel more comfortable.

"The more you play, the better you're gonna play."

The only sour note of the evening, besides a few struck by Pat Benatar's punk rock band in a pregame concert, came when winner Dick Ruthven fell while fielding Tim Flannery's seventh-inning bunt and had to leave the game with a contusion on his right shoulder. No X-rays are planned.

Another injured starter throws a monkey wrench into Manager Dallas Green's plans. Another examination today will determine if Ruthven will miss any starts.

"That's exactly what I did not need." said Green.

"Dick caught his spike just before fielding the ball and he landed right on his shoulder."

The Phillies' funtastic first began innocently enough as Smith singled and stole second. Then Rose singled to right and Smith slid under catcher Fred Kendall's tag for the first run.

Randy Jones, a onetime Phils' nemesis who pitched three consecutive shutouts in May and then lost it altogether, threw Mike Schmidt a breaking ball that Schmidt drilled over the center field wall for a 3-0 lead.

It was Schmidt's 19th homer, of the season and sixth lifetime against Jones, who has now lost four straight to the Phillies after owning them his first few years in the league.

Greg Luzinski kept things going with a bloop single to center and Bob Boone chased the Bull to third with a single to right center, moving up to second on Dave Winfield's throw to third.

That was it for Jones, now 0-4 with two no-decisions since his shutout sprint.

Padre manager Gerry Coleman waved in John D'Acquisto and, Garry Maddox welcomed him with a single to center, scoring both runners and giving Jones a forgettable line of five men faced and five runs scored.

But it wasn't over. Larry Bowa promptly tripled and scored on Manny Trillo’s sacrifice fly to center, making it 7-0 for the Phils' biggest inning of the year.

Trillo's fly ball left the Phils' one hit short of the major-league record for consecutive hits at the start of a game. The Phils set the record of eight against the Cubs on Aug. 5,. 1975, and the Pirates tied it 21 days later against Atlanta.

Quite a month.

And quite a start for Ruthven, who allowed three runs in the next two innings to prove that the Padres weren't entirely disinterested in the proceedings.

"It looked like Dick would make it interesting," said Green, who wasn't amused. "He was struggling with his rhythm and control. Those 3-1 counts were making .250 hitters into .350 hitters in a hurry."

Rose cracked his third single of the night leading off the fourth and eventually scored on Boone's sacrifice fly for an 8-3 Phils' lead.

But pinch-hitter Bill Fahey singled home a pair of Padre runs in the sixth to make it 8-5 and the laugher suddenly took a serious turn.

Until the Phils' four-hit brigade took over, that is. Smith greeted Rollie Fingers with a double over third for his first four-hit game in the majors and Rose followed with his fourth hit, a single to center, to score Smith and move Rose past Wagner.

"Pete didn't want that kid to show him up," said Green. "He got four, Pete got four."

"He sure made my job a lot easier tonight," said Rose of Smith. "He can hit. He's a make-things-happen kind of guy."

As is a guy named Peter Edward Rose, who makes things happen no matter what day it is.

EXTRA INNINGS - Reliever Warren Brusstar, trying to pitch his way out of a nagging shoulder that bothered him all last season, will report Monday for 20 days at Class A Peninsula to get some game experience... Sore-armed starter Nino Espinosa, who hasn't pitched an inning this season, will go to Spartanburg, N.C., in the Class A South Atlantic League... Both pitchers will be paid their major-league salaries and lose no benefits for the 20 days... Schmidt's first-inning homer was his 126th at the Vet and first since June 3... Padres have lost five straight and 14 of 17... Steve Carlton goes for his sixth straight victory at 7:05 tonight in what’s billed as "Salute to America Night," a Flag Day spectacular… Steve Mura will pitch for the Padres... Bob Walk vs. ex-Phil Rick Wise in tomorrow's 1:35 p.m. Cap Day and Father's Day game... Tomorrow's also the trading deadline and several Phillie fathers hope their plane tickets read "Los Angeles" for the start of a week-long West Coast trip and not other sundry stops on the NL map.

Sports briefs (excerpt)

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