Wilmington Morning News - June 17, 1980
Trillo lifts Phils over Dodgers in 12th
By Hal Bodley, Sports Editor
LOS ANGELES – Manny Trillo delivered a game-winning double last night, but what the Phillies will remember most about their 12-inning, 3-2 conquest of the Dodgers were two balks.
Trillo's clutch one-out double to the gap in right-center off reliever Rick Sutcliffe scored Larry Bowa in the 12th as the Phillies won their fourth straight game and fifth in their last six.
The triumph moved the Phils to within 1½ games of Montreal and Pittsburgh in the National League East.
Ron Reed, who came in after Randy Lerch pitched 10 strong innings, gained his third victory in as many decisions, while Tug McGraw worked the 12th for his 65th career save with the Phillies.
With one down in the 12th, Bowa singled to right. With Trillo at the plate, Sutcliffe was charged with a balk and Bowa went to second.
A balk by starter Jerry Reuss helped the Phils move into a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning after the Dodgers had gone on top 2-0 off Lerch in the fourth.
Lerch, who has been ineffective of late, allowed just seven hits during 10 innings.
Lerch worked out of first-inning trouble when the Dodgers collected two hits, but was not as fortunate in the third.
After Reuss fanned, Davey Lopes singled to center just out of the reach of Manny Trillo's glove and advanced to second on Bill Russell's infield out. Reggie Smith then cracked a single to left and it was 1-0.
Steve Garvey followed with a booming double to right-center that sent Lonnie Smith crashing against the wall in an attempt to haul it in. As the dazed Smith crumbled to the ground, Reggie Smith easily scored and it was 2-0.
Lonnie Smith remained in the game after regaining consciousness, but left in favor of Bake McBride after batting in the top of the fourth. Trainer Don Seger said Smith injured his right rib cage area, but the injury was not serious enough to merit X rays.
After Lonnie Smith grounded out to start the fourth, Pete Rose singled to right and raced to third on Mike Schmidt's double to center. With Greg Luzinski batting, home-plate umpire Paul Pryor called a balk on Reuss, allowing Rose to score and Schmidt to take third. Luzinski followed with a sacrifice fly to center, tying the game.
Lerch's best inning was the sixth.
Garvey lined a ground-rule double down the line in left and went to third on Dusty Baker's fly to right. Lerch then got Ron Cey on a fly to shallow center and stalked off the mound after Pedro Guerrero grounded out.
EXTRA POINTS - Because of Dick Ruthven's shoulder injury, Green has decided to remove Dickie Noles from the bullpen and have him start tonight's game against Dave Goltz... The Phils had a 10-8 record on the West Coast last season and were 3-3 in Dodger Stadium... The Phils entered the game with an 8-2 record against left-handers, their only losses being to the Reds' Charlie Liebrandt and Pittsburgh's Grant Jackson... The Phils will leave after tonight's game, bus down the freeway to San Diego.
Baseball Notes: Carlton lets work slide on way to baseball’s best record (excerpt)
By Jerry Langdon, Gannett News Service
No longer does Steve Carlton, baseball's winningest pitcher at 11-2, overpower batters with his fastball.
Instead, he mixes a hard fastball with the best slider in the majors and an occasional changeup.
"The slider has been a very good pitch for me," he said. "I try to make the pitch look like a strike just before it breaks down in the dirt."
"The slider is the nastiest I have ever seen," St. Louis slugger Ken Reitz said. "It breaks down a foot."