Expos edge Phils; Bowa hurt

By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post

PHILADELPHIA –  It seems to be Randy Lerch's fate this season that, when the Phillies' lefthander pitches well, the guy on the other team pitches better.

Take last night for instance. Lerch produced perhaps his finest outing of what has been a frustrating year, only to lose, 1-0, to the Montreal Expos and Scott Sanderson.

"He pitched like hell, no question," said Manager Dallas Green after his club stepped 2½ games behind the Expos in the National League's East Division standings. "But the other guy pitched 10 times better. Randy knew we needed a (well-pitched) game from him and he gave it to us. It was just unfortunate that our offense went south."

SANDERSON, a long, lean righthander with a sizzling, sailing fastball, must be credited with directing the Phils' offense. He allowed only two singles and four baserunners while facing 29 batters two greater than the minimum.

The fact that Sanderson was all but unhittable may come as little solace to Lerch, who saw his record drop to a dismal 2-10 despite a five-hit effort that would've won on any other night. Lerch pitched all nine innings, yielding the game's only run when Andre Dawson bounced a seeing-eye RBI single to right field.

"Randy showed the same type of intensity and drive that he had in the LA game (a 10-inning no-decision against the Dodgers)," said Green.

ADDED CATCHER Bob Boone: "He throws like that the rest of the year, he'll win a lot of games. He had great command of his pitches all night."

Lerch's lone lapse came in the fifth when Chris Speier opened the inning with a single to left Sanderson followed with a perfectly-placed sacrifice before Lerch induced Ron LeFlore to bounce to Schmidt for the second out.

Lerch might have gotten out of the inning unscathed had he not walked Rodney Scott, a .223 hitter going into the game. Dawson's ensuing single to right was weak enough to give Bake McBride an opportunity to get Speier at the plate. McBride's throw, in fact, was in time. But it short-hopped Boone, who lost control of the ball as he attempted to tag the sliding Speier.

"IT WAS off to the side, but I had the plate blocked," said Boone. "When I swept my arm, I hit the toe of his foot and it hit right on the ball."

The game was merely minutes old when 3 1,696 fans in Veterans Stadium saw shortstop Larry Bowa pull up lame after attempting to field a grounder in the hole by Dawson. Bowa pulled his right hamstring muscle and had to leave the game. He may be out of the lineup for a week.

Indeed, it was not the Phillies' night. Pete Rose greeted Sanderson in the home first with a line single on an 0-2 pitch, but that was the last hit the Phils would get until Manny Trillo opened the eighth with a base hit.

SANDWICHED in between were two other baserunners. Garry Maddox reached first on an error by third baseman Ken Macha with one out in the second. But he was eliminated when Ramon Aviles, Bowa's replacement at short, hit into a double play.

The second runner was Schmidt, who walked on a 3-1 pitch with one out in the seventh after Sanderson had retired 14 straight. Del Unser, playing in left field in place of the ill Greg Luzinski, followed with a drive that right fielder Bob Pate had to run down on the warning track.

With two out and Trillo the hitter, Schmidt stole second and went to third when catcher Gary Carter's throw went into center field. Trillo fouled off Sanderson's next pitch. Then, in a daring move Schmidt attempted to steal home.

SCHMIDT WAS out in a close play only because Sanderson had the presence of mind to throw a fastball inside, a spot from which Carter could easily make the tag.

"If he had thrown a curve ball or a high fastball I would've been safe," said Schmidt.

Trillo, ironically, returned to the plate to single in the eighth. Maddox moved him to second with a sacrifice, but pinchhitter Greg Gross fouled out and Boone flied to left, ending the Phils only other scoring opportunity.

Schmidt’s big gamble was worth the effort

By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post

PHILADELPHIA – Attempting to calculate the odds on successfully stealing home might be likened to figuring pi to the 29th place. Neither exercise has much practical use. It does not, however, take any mental gymnastics to reach the conclusion that stealing home is a longshot proposition at best.

The play is seldom seen east of Oakland, where Billy Martin has his A's trying to steal home every other game or so. But last night Mike Schmidt took the gamble for the Phillies, attempting to pilfer the plate against Montreal's Scott Sanderson.

Schmidt's daring piece of baserunning came in the seventh inning after he had walked, stolen second and continued to third when catcher Gary Carter's throw bounced into center field. Sanderson had permitted the Phils nothing but a leadoff single in the first by Pete Rose and, if the odds on stealing home were long, the chances of the Phillies getting another hit off Sanderson seemed equally slim.

With two out and a 1-1 count on Manny Trillo, Schmidt rolled the dice, boldly sprinting for the plate as Sanderson delivered his pitch to Carter, who tagged Schmidt for the third out. Umpire Dutch Rennert's call was close enough to be disputed, a point that will be overlooked by today's boxscore.

The fact is, in what would end a 1-0 loss, Schmidt's attempt to steal home was the closest the Phillies came to generating a run off Sanderson, who finished with a brilliant two-hitter. The Phils' final hit was an ironic one, coming as it did off the bat of Trillo op Sanderson's first pitch of the eighth inning.

Despite the single, nobody in the Phillies' clubhouse was second-guessing Schmidt last night.

"It was," said Manager Dallas Green, "a helluva try. He got a good jump and I thought he had a shot at it. It didn't look like we were going to get any hits, that's for sure.

"That's the type of baseball we want to play. We've bad enough trouble convincing people who can run to run. Mike, to me, is a very instinctive baserunner. He knows his own abilities and usually stays within them. I have enough faith in Mike and Mike's judgment to go with him. It's a surprise thing and a thing that usually turns a game like this around."

Actually, all Schmidt really had going for him was the element of surprise, a formidable weapon if used at the right moment. And this moment seemed, in every respect, correct.

"There were two outs, we needed a base hit to score, he (Sanderson) has the big windup... It was the perfect time," said Schmidt.

Indeed, Sanderson, Trillo and 31,696 Veterans Stadium patrons were caught completely off guard when Schmidt broke toward home. But the young righthander remained composed and threw the only pitch that could possibly have gotten Schmidt out – an inside fastball.

"I didn't know he was coming until somebody yelled," Trillo said. "If I swing, I might hit Schmitty. I tried to give a fake (bunt), but no way was I going to swing."

"I didn't expect it," Sanderson said. "I saw him going, I knew he was going. A lot of runners fake stealing home hoping to make a pitcher balk, but I knew he was going after the second or third step. I kept the same motion. It was a fastball up and in to get Trillo out of the way and Gary was able to make the tag.

"I'm surprised they tried it in a 1-0 game, but you have to do something I guess."

Which was exactly Schmidt's thinking when he told third base Coach Lee Elia that he wanted to steal home.

"You got to try something when it's 1-0 and the guy's throwing a one-hitter," said Schmidt. "The only thing he can do is throw a fastball. Anything else, I'm safe and we're still playing. He (Ren-nert) could've called me safe as it was. I thought I got the front of the plate. The replay showed I might have been out, but the call could've gone either way."

Had the call gone the Phillies' way. Schmidt today would be the toast of radio talk shows. As it is, the play no doubt will be the subject of much backyard debate, the pros admiring Schmidt's effort, the cons pointing out that the loss column is filled with good intentions.

There's no doubt Schmidt's dash to the plate was a high-risk venture, a bucking of the odds with little hope of success. Nevertheless, it was a gamble well worth taking.

Noles decides to drop appeal

By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post

PHILADELPHIA – Phillies reliever Dickie Noles yesterday dropped his appeal of a three-day suspension imposed by National League President Chub Feeney.

Noles, who began serving the suspension yesterday, tossed a bat and helmet in the direction of umpire Joe West June 17 in Los Angeles. Feeney announced a $500 fine and the suspension Tuesday, Noles appealing through the Major League Players Association.

"I was," said Noles, "upset when I heard about the suspension. But after talking to several people the last two days, I decided to drop the appeal and get the entire thing over with."

Expos, Sanderson Waste Lerch’s Best Outing Yet

Montreal 1, Philadelphia 0

By Harry Hoffman, Press Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA — Scott Sanderson wasted Randy Lerch Thursday night at Veterans Stadium.

On a night when the struggling Lerch pitched his best game of the season for the Philadelphia Phillies, the big Montreal Expos' righthander was even better, giving up only two hits to win the classic pitching duel 1-0. 

Sanderson allowed only a single to leadoff hitter Pete Rose in the bottom of the first, and a single to Manny Trillo to start the Phils’ eighth. 

The Expos managed only five hits, all singles, off Lerch. However two of them, by Chris Speier and Andre Dawson in the fifth inning, dropped Lerch to 2-10. 

Although Sanderson, now 7-4, was close to perfect all game, the Phils still managed to come within a dare of a tie in the seventh inning.

Sanderson gave up his only walk of the night to Mike Schmidt with one man out. After Del Unser flied out to right, Schmidt stole second and continued to third when catcher Gary Carter’s throw went into center field. 

Then with a 1-1 count on Trillo, Schmidt took off for home as Sanderson wound up. 

“He had let us know he thought he could make it because the pitcher does have a long windup,” Phils Manager Dallas Green said. “We flashed him the green light to try.” 

Schmidt thought his slide got his toe to the corner of the plate before Carter applied the tag, but Dutch Rennert’s thumb signaled out and the daring maneuver failed. 

“That’s the kind of aggressive baseball I’ve been trying to establish on this team all season. So we certainly did not want to frustrate Mike’s attempt,’’ Green said. “We have some players with good legs on this club. We want them to use those legs as much as possible." 

The Phillies’ major problem has been too few good arms. Lerch has been one of the chief culprits among the starting rotation. However last night was different. 

“Randy gave us what we’ve been looking for. But the other guy pitched 10 times as well,” Green commented. “I just hope Randy is able to take this the right way. It has to be bitter for him right now, but we certainly look at it as a big step in the right direction.” 

Speier started the Montreal fifth inning by bouncing a single up the middle. Sanderson’s perfect bunt moved him to second. After Ron LeFlore grounded out, Lerch walked Rodney Scott to put men on first and second. 

Lerch then pitched Dawson into a 1-2 hole. The Montreal center fielder fouled off three good pitches. On the next one, he leaned over the plate and punched a single to right. 

Bake McBride, who threw Scott out Wednesday night to save a run in a 2-1 victory, got off another strong throw that reached the plate before Speier. However the ball took a short hop in front of catcher Bob Boone and when he swept his glove trying to snare it for the tag it bounced away and the run scored. 

Sanderson’s fine pitching sends the Eastern Division-leading Expos home two and a half games up after beating the second-place Phillies two out of three here. 

In addition to losing the game, the Phils also lost shortstop Larry Bowa for at least a week, thanks to a strained hamstring in his right leg suffered in the second inning. 

“I hurt it for the first time on the West Coast trip, and aggravated it again Wednesday night,” Bowa reported. “Tonight I felt a pull when I went for a ground ball. I could hardly walk. I just hope it only keeps me out a week. Right now I don’t feel too great.”

The Phillies begin a four-game series with the New York Mets here tonight at 8:05 p.m. Their one strong arm, Steve Carlton, will go after his 14th victory in 16 tries against New York’s John Pacella.

Phillies’ Walk Gets New Life

Tales of Hoffman by Harry Hoffman

PHILADELPHIA — In the sixth inning, Wednesday night Phillies’ pitcher Bob Walk took a toss from first baseman Pete Rose to retire Expo Warren Cromartie for the third out. He spiked the ball hard into the Astroturf as he hustled off the field. 

In the eighth inning, Walk was backing up homeplate when Bake McBride’s strong throw from right field cut down swift Rodney Scott to end the inning and keep Walk in a 1-1 tie. This time the young pitcher spiked his glove and then drop kicked it toward the dugout in a dramatic show of boyish enthusiasm. 

“I guess I would have taken off my shoes and spiked them next time if something good happened for the team,” the 23-year-old right hander said. 

Actually Walk was something good that happened to the pitcher poor Phillies. The 6-3, 195-pounder was making his seventh start since being recalled from the minor leagues. Although he began the evening with a 2-0 record, it was rather deceptive. His earned run average was a whopping 7.96 and in his six previous starts the struggling hurler had never made it beyond the sixth inning. 

“I guess that is why I was doing all that spiking. At last I felt I was doing something good for the team,” Walk said. “I knew I was a better pitcher than I showed my first few starts here. I also knew the team brought me up because it was involved in a pennant race and needed some pitching help. I was down because I felt I wasn't being too much help.” 

Although he didn’t get the eventual 2-1 decision since he left for a pinchhitter in the eighth with the score 1-1, Walk was a major reason the Phils won the important game. He allowed the free-swinging Expos only four hits. He did walk four hitters showing a bit of the control problem that haunted him in previous starts. 

“The big difference this time was he was able to make some real fine pitches when he needed them,” Philadelphia manager Dallas Green said. ’Let’s face it, the young man was not going to get many more chances if he didn’t come through with a strong performance.” 

However, Green said he was not overly surprised by Walk’s turnabout. 

“We would not have called Walk up if we didn’t think he had major league tools. It’s tough for a young pitcher to try to mature suddenly up here. In this game he grew up. Let’s hope it is just the start of a consistent pattern.” 

The Phillies drafted Walk out of junior college in 1976. He was 6-11 in the farm system in 1977. In 1978 he had a 13-8 record with a 2.12 earned run average. Last year he made the Eastern League All-Star team while pitching for Reading. He compiled a 12-7 record and a league-leading 2.24 ERA. 

The Phils decided to give Walk one more minor league season to develop his pitching techniques. But when they lost Larry Christenson to surgery and already had Nino Espinosa and Warren Brusstar on the disabled list, a hurry up call brought Walk to Philadelphia. 

“In some of my early starts I was uptight and lost my composure when things did not go my way,” Walk said. “This time I convinced myself it was not a life or death situation, although it was important to the team. 

“Sure, I would have liked to walk off with the W. But I was satisfied we won. I think in this game I showed people how I really can pitch. Now it’s up to me to show the same composure and the same stuff next time out. Consistency is what makes a big league pitcher, not just one good outing.” 

That’s mighty powerful philosophy for a young pitcher, especially a young Phillies’ pitcher.

Noles Drops Suspension Appeal

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dickie Noles has dropped his appeal to National League President Charles Feeney and began a three-day suspension today, the NL team said. 

Noles tossed a bat and helmet onto the playing field in Los Angeles on June 17, angered over a first-base umpire's decision which preceded a Dodgers home run for which he was pulled from the game. 

Feeney announced a $500 fine and three-day suspension Tuesday and Noles appealed through the Major League Baseball Players Association. 

“I was upset when I heard about the suspension,” Noles said. “But after talking to several people the last two days, I decided to drop the appeal and get the entire thing over with.”