Wilmington Morning News - June 9, 1980

Phils stifled by Cubs

By Ray Finocchiaro, Staff Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA - Righthander Lynn McGlothen pitched himself out of the Chicago Cubs' doghouse and into the Phillies' kennel yesterday.

With an inning's relief from Bruce Sutter, McGlothen blanked the Phillies 2-0 on just six hits, ending the Phils' three-game winning streak and dropping them two games behind the Montreal Expos.

McGlothen was making only his fourth start in 14 appearances for the Cubs. The fact that he was 3-1 vs. the Phillies last year – allowing them just three runs in his three victories – may have influenced Manager Preston Gomez's decision, but then so did the fact that McGlothen may have finally atoned for leaving the club during the player's strike as spring training ended.

McGlothen, one of six Cubs to go home when the strike was called the last week of spring training, knows his decision didn't win many friends among the Cub brass.

"My decision was to leave when the strike started," recalled McGlothen. "Evidently it was a bad one and I paid for it."

Gomez said he went with three starters because of early-season open dates and rainouts.

"You guys say McGlothen was in the doghouse," said the Chicago manager. "There was no doghouse. There were just a lot of open dates. Then he (McGlothen) pulled his groin in his second start.”

McGlothen has no grudge against his manager.

"When we got together when the season opened, Preston said he had nothing against the guys who went home, McGlothen said. "He said he was behind us 100 percent.

"But, with the rainouts, he had the perfect opportunity to show Lynn McGlothen who was boss. But I knew that already."

Yesterday McGlothen showed the Phillies he was the boss. Not only did he keep them off the scoreboard, but he had a hand in both runs that were scored off loser Dick Ruthven.

McGlothen doubled to left center with one out in the third, moved to third on Ivan DeJesus' infield single and scored when Mike Tyson doubled over third.

"That ball had a bad spin on it," said Phils' Manager Dallas Green when asked if he thought third baseman Mike Schmidt should have made the play. "It spun away from him.

"And Mike's not looking for Tyson to pull a breaking ball, either. He's looking for him to go the other way."

In the seventh, Tim Blackwell singled to right with one out and moved to second on McGlothen's sacrifice bunt. DeJesus followed with a single to center that Garry Maddox quickly fielded and threw home.

But the ball short-hopped catcher Bob Boone and spun away as Blackwell scored.

"Boone had no chance – unless it's a great play," said Green, refusing to blame anybody for the loss.

"Our attack wasn't really good today. We've scored in the past, we just didn't do it today. And the guy (McGlothen) pitched pretty good."

Was Green surprised that the Phils couldn't manage a run off McGlothen, who's now 3-2?

"I'm prejudiced – I think we should beat anybody," said Green, "but, yeah, I'm surprised we weren't able to grind out at least two runs against him."

McGlothen spotted his fastball and junkballed the Phillies to death. And he was proud of it.

"Look around the league and you'll find maybe two or three hard-throwers anymore," McGlothen said. "Just about every pitcher is using more changeups now. I had to succumb to that idea. Now I throw as much junk as I can."

The Phils put two men on base in the first on Bake McBride's double and a two-out walk to Greg Luzinski, but McGlothen pitched out of trouble. Maddox doubled to right in the fourth but died on second.

The Phils staged their only serious threat of the game in the ninth. Luzinski laced a fastball to left for a double and Gomez waved in Sutter.

“You can't blame the manager for not wanting to jeopardize his job by leaving a guy like Sutter in the bullpen," said McGlothen. "I knew if I gave up a hit, he (Gomez) would come out to get me."

Sutter got two outs on four pitches. Boone hit the first one to shortstop and Maddox swung and missed the next three for the second out.

But pinch-hitter Del Unser reached base when umpire Andy Olsen ruled Tyson's throw pulled first baseman Larry Biittner off the bag.

Manny Trillo walked on four pitches to load the bases before George Vukovich, batting for Ron Reed, lined to shortstop DeJesus to end the game.