Wilmington Morning News - June 25, 1980

Cromartie foils Phillies with winning hit in 10th

By Ray Finocchiaro, Staff Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies decided to play the percentages last night but the numbers came out wrong.

Manager Dallas Green opted to intentionally walk Montreal's Gary Carter and let Tug McGraw face left-hander Warren Cromartie. The theory was sound but the execution wasn't, as Cromartie's single scored Ron LeFlore with the deciding run in the Expos' 7-6, 10-inning win at Veterans Stadium.

"You got to go by the book," said McGraw, 0-3, "but you'd like to think you can get anybody out."

"It's always a challenge," Cromartie said.

The Phils, who dropped 2½ games behind the Expos, had tied the game 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth on Garry Maddox's single to center that scored Lonnie Smith.

Phillies' starter Dickie Noles, who learned in the afternoon that he'd been fined $500 and given a three-day suspension by NL president Chub Feeney for a bat-throwing incident in Los Angeles a week ago, seemed to be in suspended animation last night.

Noles allowed 10 hits and left trailing 4-0 after five underwhelming innings and needed three Phils' comebacks to escape without his fourth loss.

“I just wish that loss could have been mine," said Noles. "Everybody else did their job but I didn't do mine."

Pete Rose, who'd bailed Ron Reed out of trouble with a leaping catch of LeFlore's surefire double to end the Expos' seventh, opened the' Phils' half with a walk.

McBride's hit-and-run single to right got Rose to third and when Rowland Office's throw skipped away from second baseman Rodney Scott, Rose kept going and scored the tying run.

The Expos had taken a 5-4 lead against Lerrin LaGrow in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by LeFlore and Scott before Kevin Saucier got the Phils out of a bases-loaded jam.

Montreal got its 6-5 lead in the eighth against Reed on singles by Scott and Carter. The Phillies missed two shots to win against Elias Sosa, stranding four baserunners in the eighth and ninth.

Noles, getting the start while Dick Ruthven's sore right shoulder continues its slower-than-expected recuperation, was in trouble in each of the five innings he pitched.

Noles got out of trouble in the first inning after Scott wound up on third with one out, but he wasn't as lucky in the second when Cromartie extended his hitting streak to eight games with a leadoff single to center and scored on Chris Speier's two-out single to right past the diving Rose.

"They just kicked my butt tonight, it's as simple as that," said Noles, who insisted his imminent suspension wasn't blurring his concentration. "I had good stuff but they just beat me."

Andre Dawson drilled his ninth homer – and 10th lifetime at the Vet – in the third to make it 2-0.

"I made a good pitch to Dawson," said Noles, "but give him credit. He hit it out of the yard."

Then the "heart" of the Expos' order against Noles – the eighth and ninth hitters – went to work in the third.

With two out, Speier got his second single to right and starting pitcher David Palmer, who'd singled in the second, followed with a hit to left. Then LeFlore, who'd struck out his first two times up, singled to left to score Speier.

In the fifth, Carter singled, stole second and scored on a single by Brad Mills, Montreal's third baseman of the moment with Larry Par-rish on the disabled list. Mills has had his moments, too, hitting .341.

The Phils didn't manage a hit off Palmer, who'd faced them in two relief appearances earlier this season, until Schmidt singled to deep short in the fourth. But the Phils couldn't get him home.

"We're a team that's capable of comebacks," said Green, "but I didn't find a damn thing encouraging about this loss tonight. I wasn't pleased with the way we pitched tonight. Any of us. You'll have to ask the guys why they pitched the way they did. I don't know."

The Phils seemed to get their act together in the fifth.

Larry Bowa opened it with a ground-rule double down the right field line and Manny Trillo walked. George Vukovich, batting for Noles, forced Trillo at second and Rose scored Bowa on a groundout.

Bake McBride's triple unnerved Palmer more than anything. Bake's high-arching blast came down in center fielder Dawson's glove, then squirted out as Dawson twisted his body in midair. The ball hit his glove again, then glanced off the wall before Dawson could catch it again while falling to the warning track.

First base umpire Dave Pallone waved "safe" as McBride trotted into third. The Expos argued, in vain, that Dawson had caught the ball.

Then Mike Schmidt sent Palmer to the showers with his 21st homer, and first in 10 days, a bullet to the bullpen in left.

That tied the score 4-4 and took Noles off the hook. At least one hook. Chub Feeney's still awaits.

EXTRA INNINGS - Pete Rose tied Met Ott for 12th place on the all-time list and fifth in the NL by playing in his 2,730th game last night... Expos stole six bases, three by Scott, who tied the club's single-game record... Expos have stolen 14 straight bases and 14 of 15 against Phils this year... Steve Carlton and San Francisco's Jack Clark tied for NL Player of the Week honors... While the team was on the West Coast, the Phils' interior decorators were at work in the Vet, moving the Philadelphia skyline mural that serves as the home run spectacular and drew expletives from distracted hitters from center field to the left field bullpen and shifting the NL team logos to the tarps in left and right center.

Green laments Noles ‘jailing’

By Hal Bodley, Sports Editor

PHILADELPHIA – Phillies' Manager Dallas Green last night compared pitcher Dickie Noles' suspension by the National League as "putting somebody in jail who goes through a red light."

Noles, a 23-year-old pitcher, was fined $500 and suspended three days by National League President Chub Feeney yesterday for a bat-throwing incident in the fifth inning of the Phillies' game in Dodger Stadium last Tuesday night.

Immediately after Noles was notified of Feeney's action, an appeal of the decision was made through the Major League Baseball Players Association.

"Because of the appeal, Noles will be eligible to play until further notice," said Feeney from his New York office.

Feeney also said that under baseball rules, the appeal will be heard within the next 10 days.

"I really don't have much to say about it now," said Noles, who started for the Phils last night against Montreal at Veterans Stadium. "One thing is for sure. When you consider what I'm making (about $30,000) I can't afford those fines. I will never do anything like that again."

Prior to the action by Feeney, Noles was fined $250 by Green for the incident.

The Phillies were locked in a 2-2 tie with Joe Ferguson on first base and two out in the fifth inning. Reggie Smith hit a ball between first and second that was gloved by Pete Rose. He lobbed a throw to Noles, who apparently tagged first base. Umpire Joe West, however, said the pitcher did not have his foot on the bag and an error was ruled on Noles. Steve Garvey followed with a three-run homer in a game the Phils eventually won 6-5.

Noles and Green complained about the decision, but it was not until the Phils returned to their dugout that the incident in question happened.

Noles threw a bat from the dugout, prompting umpire-in-chief Billy Williams to charge Noles and the other Phillies.

"I was just trying to get the umpires' attention," Noles said after the game. "I would never throw a bat at anyone."

When the Phillies arrived in San Francisco last Friday, Feeney held a hearing, listening to Noles, Green and members of the same umpiring crew.

"I have never felt it was a suspendable incident, especially since it is a first-time situation for Dickie," said Green. "I don't ever remember a precedent being set for this type item. If he physically abuses an umpire, I can see it.

"I am not condoning his action. I tried to keep it within in the Phillies' family. I fined the kid 250 bucks myself for unprofessional conduct. Now, maybe that's not enough money, but he only makes so much money. We're trying to impress on him what he did was very unprofessional. He understands that now.

"Only Dickie Noles can tell the intent of what he did. I don't think the umpires can do it nor can I nor can Chub Feeney."

Green did not see the incident, but when Williams arrived at the dugout, the manager kept him out of it.

"I told Billy I didn't see it, but I told him I would take care of it at my end."