Atlantic City Press - May 20, 1980

McBride Paces Phillies’ Win

 

Philadelphia 6, Cinn. 4

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Bake McBride slammed three hits and drove in two runs as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied to beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 Monday night in the opener of a three game series. 

 

Loser rank Pastore, 4-2, led 4-2 and retired the first two batters in the Philadelphia seventh when the Phillies stroked four straight hits for three runs and a 5-4 lead. 

 

Manny Trillo started the rally with a double and scored on pinch-hitter Del Unser’s two-bagger. Pete Rose, who had two hits and two RBI, singled across Unset to tie the score. 

 

McBride followed with a single to right, and Rose, who was running with the pitch, scampered all the way home when right fielder Ken Griffey threw the ball into second base. Rose had slowed down going into third and after Griffey released the ball, alertly turned on the speed and scored the go-ahead run. 

 

The Phillies increased their lead to 6-4 when Greg Luzinski hit his eighth home run of the season in the eighth off reliever Tom Hume. 

 

Carlton, who worked seven innings and gave up 10 hits, was credited with his seventh victory in nine decisions.

Hope Still Exists In Baseball Talks

 

NEW YORK (AP) – Hopeful that he still can get the two sides to hammer out an agreement and avert a strike, Federal Mediator Kenneth Moffett has summoned management and the players back to the bargaining table today in the continuing baseball contract dispute.

 

Moffett, who recessed talks and returned to his Washington, D.C., offices after two fruitless negotiating sessions Sunday, notified the parties yesterday of the resumption in talks. 

 

“There is still time for a satisfactory settlement to be reached,” Moffett said in a statement released by his office. “I call on the parties to do their best in the next two days and bargain in good faith. A concerted effort on the part of all concerned — the players, their union, the club owners and representatives — can produce a contract and avert a strike.” 

 

The talks between Ray Grebey and the management negotiators and Marvin Miller and the union representatives will resume at 2 p.m., Wednesday, just 34 hours before the midnight Thursday strike deadline set by the players.

 

Many players are resigned to the fact that the strike will come, Moffett’s efforts notwithstanding. 

 

“We set a deadline and we intend to stick by it,” said Jerry Reuss, player representative of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I’m not optimistic. They (the owners) haven’t moved in six months.” 

 

Keith Hernandez of the St Louts Cardinals agreed. 

 

“If they come to terms I’ll be very surprised,” he said. “And if they don’t, there’s going to be a strike. It’s that simple. You have to stand up and fight for what you think is right.” 

 

The only other general player strike in major league history occurred at the start of the 1972 season. Play was delayed for 13 days and 82 games were lost. The dispute at that time was over the pension and health plan provisions of the contract. 

 

Richard Wortham, player rep of the Chicago White Sox, said he thought the last chance for a settlement had evaporated Sunday when the two sides met together for only a few moments, spending the rest of their time in separate caucus sessions and meetings with the mediator.

Tanner:  ‘Something Will Happen to Avoid Strike’

 

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Chuck Tanner, ever-optimistic manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, says he still has hope there won’t be a baseball strike this week. 

 

“It looks serious now, but I still think something will happen to avoid a strike,” Tanner said as the world champion Pirates returned home from their first West Coast road trip of the season – and possibly their last.

 

Phil Garner, the Pirates’ player representative, wasn’t so positive as the Thursday midnight strike deadline neared. 

 

“I can’t see how we can avoid a strike,” said Garner. “Prepare for the worst.” 

 

The Pirates, who closed their 4-5 road trip with three straight losses in Los Angeles, still came home with a three-game lead in the National League East.

 

They led by as many as five games before the Los Angeles series, but their hitting slumped against the Dodgers. They were shut out 2-0 Sunday and held to three hits by pitchers Bob Welch and Steve Howe. 

 

“In four of our losses, we were either shut out or held to one run,” said Tanner. “That can happen to any club… It will be good to get home.” 

 

The Pirates are scheduled to meet the San Diego Padres Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

 

In Thursday night’s game, the Pirates will start pitcher Bert Blyleven against San Diego.

 

Blyleven, who quit the Pirates April 30 and rejoined the team 10 days later, now is 0-4 in six starts.  He is 0-2 since his return.

 

He has given up only 19 runs in 46 innings, but the Pirates have scored only 12 runs behind him in that span.