Allentown Morning Call - May 3, 1980
Phils lucky, Dodgers bullpen worse
By Jack McCallum, Call Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA – Entering last night's game against Los Angeles, nobody on the Phillies was more in need of therapy than Dick Ruthven and Greg Gross. And both received it as the Phillies defeated the hottest team in baseball 9-5 at Veterans Stadium.
The Dodgers came in with a 10-game winning streak, fashioned mostly against San Diego and San Francisco. And, through two rain delays lasting a total of 90 minutes, they pursued the Phillies, even until the ninth inning which ended on Steve Garvey's long flyball to left with three Dodgers on base.
Ruthven, for his part, had his first impressive outing of the season as he pitched six strong innings. Gross delivered the key hit in the bottom of the eighth – a two-run single off reliever Charlie Hough with the bases loaded and two out. Bake McBride then knocked in two insurance runs with a two-run single off of Joe Beckwith who replaced the ineffective Hough.
Ruthven left for a pinch-hitter in the sixth after giving the Dodgers five hits and just two runs. If there were any justice in the world, Ruthven would' ve gotten the win but instead it went to Ron Reed who did everything but hand the game to the Dodgers on a blue platter. He and L.A.'s Hough engaged in a duel of one downmanship but Reed – by virtue of being the pitcher of record when the Phils rallied in the eighth – got the victory, his first decision this year. More on that depressing subject later.
Ruthven gave up one run on Reggie Smith's solo home run to right center in the third, and the other in the sixth on a double by Smith, a groundout and an excuse-me RBI rounder to short by Dusty Baker. Smith, a Phillie-killer of the first order over the years, is either in or near the league lead in hits, average and RBIs.
"I pitched the way I've been pitching all season, said Ruthven who has been rather peeved at manager Dallas Green for suggesting he is holding up on his fastball for fear of reinjuring his elbow. "I might've had more on the ball tonight but that was just because I felt more comfortable mechanically. Yes, it felt good to get the win but I really didn't look at it like I NEEDED the game or anything like that.
Well. Ruthven might not have looked at it that way, but the Phillies were indeed thinking of taking him out of the rotation if he lived up to his pregame 9.00 ERA figure. Now, he's back in.
But whither Ron Reed? In the best spirit of the 1979 Phillie bullpen. Reed replaced Ruthven in the seventh with a 5-2 lead and tried to lose it. First, he gave the Dodgers a run in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by pinch-hitter Rick Monday and Davey Lopes. In the eighth, he walked leadoff hitter Smith and then watched as Garvey took him over the right centerfield wall for a two-run homer that tied the game at 55. Strangely. Garvey also hit the homer off Robin Roberts since the ball landed squarely on the seal marking the Roberts' retired No 36.
What kind of ballplayer is Garvey? Well, he was hitting just .216 when he came up against Reed but is still leading the National League in RBIs.
Fortunafely for the Phils, Hough was worse than Reed. After replacing starter Rick Sutcliffe, Hough – known as "Not Enough Hough" around Los Angeles – got through the seventh without damage. But in the eighth he walked Luzinski, Bob Boone and Luis Aguayo to load the bases with two out.
Dallas Green then sent up the left-handed hitting Gross but, strangely, Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda stuck with the righty Hough. Gross, who came into the game hitting an anemic .167, took two balls and a strike then lined a ball that just got over shortstop Bill Russell's head in short left to put the Phils ahead 7-5. McBride's two-run hit followed.
"Believe it or not, I haven't been pressing mentally at all," said Gross. "It's purely a mechanical thing and I know what I'm doing. With my compact swing everything depends on an even stride and I've been striding about a foot longer than normal. It's just something I've got to work out."
L. A. starter Sutcliffe, the league's rookie-of-the-year last season, pitched well in his six innings but got long-balled.
In the first, he got a pitch up to Mike Schmidt with Garry Maddox on base (walk) and Schmidt put it in the left-field seats for his fifth home run of the season. For the students of history, it was his 117th career homer at the Vet, tying him with Luzinski.
Well, tying him for a while. In the sixth inning, Luzinski blasted No. 118 with Schmidt single on base to give the Phils a 5-2 lead. Schmidt and Luzinski both now have five homers on the season.
Immediately after Luzinski's homer the game was delayed for 41 minutes by rain. The first delay had come after the third inning and lasted 53 minutes.
Ruthven finds credibility as Phils win
By Jack McCallum, Call Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA – Dick Ruthven, in search of credibility, found it last night at Veterans Stadium against the hottest team in baseball.
Ruthven had his first impressive outing of the season as he pitched six strong innings against the Los Angeles in a game delayed over 90 minutes by rain.
The Phillies finally won it 9-5, breaking a 10-game Dodger win streak fashioned primarily against San Diego and San Francisco.
Greg Gross delivered the key hit in the bottom of the eighth – a two-run single off of reliever Charlie Hough with the bases loaded and two out. Bake McBride then knocked in two insurance runs with a two-run single off of Joe Beckwith who replaced the ineffective Hough.
Ruthven left for a pinch-hitter in the sixth after giving the Dodgers five hits and just two runs. If there were any justice in the world, Ruthven would've gotten the win but instead it went to Ron Reed who did everything but hand the game to the Dodgers on a blue platter. He and Hough engaged in a duel of one-downmanship but Reed – by virtue of being the pitcher of record when the Phils rallied in the eighth – got the win, his first decision this year. More on that depressing subject later.
Ruthven gave up one run on Reggie Smith's solo home run to right-center in the third, and the other in the sixth on a double by Smith, a groundout and an excuse-me RBI rounder to short by Dusty Baker. Smith, a Phillie-killerof the first order over the years, is either in or near the league lead in hits, average and RBIs.
Reed, in the best spirit of the 1979 Phillie bullpen, replaced Ruthven in the seventh and tried to lose it. First, he gave the Dodgers a run in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by pinch-hitter Rick Monday and Davey Lopes. In the eighth, he walked leadoff hitter Smith and then watched as Steve Garvey took him over the right-center field wall for a two-run homer that tied the game at 5-5. Ironically, Garvey hit the homer off Robin Roberts since the ball landed squarely on the seal marking the Roberts' retired No. 36.
What kind of ballplayer is Garvey? Well, he was hitting just .216 when he came up against Reed but is still leading the National League in RBIs.
L. A. starter Rick Sutcliffe, the National League rookie-of-the-year last season, pitched well in his six innings but got long-balled.
In the first, he got a pitch up to Mike Schmidt with Garry Maddox on base walk and Schmidt put it in the left-field seats for his fifth home run of the season. For the students of history, it was his 117th career homer at the Vet, tying him with teammate Greg Luzinski.
Well, tying him for a while. Inthe sixth inning, Luzinski blasted No.118 with Schmidt (single) on base to give the Phils a 5-2 lead. Schmidt and Luzinski both now have five homers on the season.
Immediately after Luzinski's homer the game was delayed for 41 minutes by rain. The first delay occurred after the third inning and lasted 53 minutes.
An example of Ruthven's effectiveness came in the third right after Baker's home run. He struck out Garvey on three pitches, all of them changeups. Garvey swung and missed on two of them and the middle one caught the corner for a called strike.
Ruthven even figured in the offense. He singled with two out in the second, advanced when Pete Rose reached first on catcher's interference and came home on McBride's double.