The Press of Atlantic City - October 20, 1980

Comeback Phillies Do It Again, 4-3

By Pete Wickham, Press Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY — They did it again, folks.

The Philadelphia Phillies pulled off another comeback, then held on for dear life as Tug McGraw slayed a slew of dragons, both personal and professional, to save a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals in the fifth game of the World Series Sunday at Royals Stadium.

A two-run homer by Mike Schmidt in the fourth gave the Phils a 2-0 lead, but the Royals had devoured the edge by the end of the sixth.

The final two Phillie runs in the ninth were the usual fare for this club of late. Nothing special a single by Schmidt that glanced - off the diving George Brett's glove. Another pinch double by Del Unser that took a wicked hop over Willie Aikens glove at first. A sacrifice bunt by Keith Moreland that hugged the first baseline like a steady girl friend. And an 0-2 liner by Manny Trillo off the glove of losing pitcher Dan Quisenberry.

The real test of fire was yet to come. McGraw, admitting he had a bit too much Saturday night revelry, had survived a seventh-inning twoout double by Hal McRae and an intentional walk to Amos Otis, whose solo homer had tied the game 2-2 in the sixth. He got out of the inning by a fly out by Jose Cardenal, then retired the side in the eighth.

"I was out a little too late with my wife and had a couple beers too many and I was worried that if I got hit bad I would really be in trouble when I got home," said McGraw.

In the ninth he opened with a walk to Frank White.

McGraw came back and scored almost impossible second straight strikeout on Brett, crossing him with an 0-2 fastball "that has to one of the thrills of my life.”

But McGraw's life went before in the space of a couple of minutes. walked Aikens on four pitches to runners on first and second with McRae (nine for 19 in the series) Otis (11 for 20 with three homers) coming up.

McRae let McGraw have a taste the afterlife by sending a long foul into the left field bleachers.

"You know that CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary-Resuscitation) program they keep advertising on the scoreboard?" said McGraw, referring to the first aid training program fostered in area by Royals Owner Ewing Kauffman. "Well somebody was going have to come out and do that to me that ball goes over the fence."

McRae wasn't done with McGraw's blood pressure yet. The Royals' designated hitter sent a sharp grounder the left side of the infield. Larry Bowa just managed to backhand the ball and throw to Manny Trillo, forcing pinch runner Onix Concepcion.

Up came Otis, and McGraw pitched an intentional-unintentional walk load the bases.

"It came down to a choice of Amos Otis, a hitter I didn't know that well, or Jose Cardenal, who is always of the toughest pinch hitters with men on base," said McGraw of the former Phillie. "I decided to go with Jose since I had seen him more often."

McGraw got ahead 1-2 with screwball, then threw another scroogie that Cardenal fouled away, losing his bat in the process.

McGraw retrieved it and gave back to Cardenal, who is now zero-for-six in the series, without comment.

"He said something to me in Spanish that you wouldn't hear in church,' McGraw claimed. "So I stuck the bat in his stomach a little and thought ‘hope you know your Scotch' because here comes the Cutty Sark."

Cardenal said that for a pitcher McGraw tells a pretty good tale — but the final tail of the day was on McGraw's Cutty Sark fastball, which like the famous clipper sailed up and in for the final strike.

There was a certain rhythm to this game. The one you hear on an ambulance siren just before it comes take you away.

Going into the ninth, the Phils had only gotten six hits off starter Larry Gura and Quisenberry and had left men on third base in the seventh and eighth.

Then Schmidt pulled a neat bit of fakery to open things up. In Saturday's fourth game, he reached base on a bunt. Yesterday he faked the bunt again, then sent a shot to Brett's left, that the Royals third baseman nearly flagged down. Up came Unser, pinch-hitting for Lonnie Smith, who had come into the game to run for Luzinski in the seventh. He had already doubled home the winning run against Houston in the playoffs, and beat Quisenberry with a double in Wednesday's second game of the series. And on the third time he was still charmed, turning a double play pitch by Quisenberry into a game-tying two bagger.

"This pitch was in a little more than the fastball he threw me Wednesday," said Unser. "I said to myself that if he threw in on me I would be able to pull it."

After Moreland's bunt, Garry Maddox put a bouncer down the third baseline which Brett just grabbed in fair territory for the out.

Then Trillo drilled a shot in and out of Quisenberry's glove and Unser raced home with the winning run.

Schmidt's homer to dead center on a fat 2-2 pitch by Gura gave rookie Marty Bystrom a 2-0 lead, and the youngster survived a pair of two-hit innings in the third and fourth. But Kansas City picked up a run in the fifth on singles by U. L. Washington and Willie Wilson, a bunt by White and a grounder to second by Brett.

McBride made a neat catch at the wall in foul territory to end the fifth, but Otis parked his second solo homer in as many days to start the sixth. And Bystrom got the hook following singles by Clint Hurdle and Darrell Porter.

Ron Reed came on for the Phils and Kansas City took a 3-2 lead on a sacrifice fly to left by Washington. Wilson looked like he was going to break things open with a double over McBride's head. But for the second time in the Series, the slow moving Porter was gunned down at the plate, this time on a good throw by McBride and a perfect relay by Trillo. A foul fly by White to Schmidt ended the threat.

Now the Phils go home with a 3-2 lead and Steve Carlton ready to go against Rich Gale in the sixth game Tuesday night at Veterans Stadium.

"Us in control?" Bowa "Baby, nobody has a handle on this thing yet.”

Quisenberry Matches Pressure With Humor

By Pete Wickham, Press Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY — The air was tense and the questions pointed Saturday as the Phillies and Royals and gave their versions of the close shave Dickie Noles gave George Brett during the fourth inning of the third game of the World Series.

Then somebody had the bright idea to ask Dan Quisenberry a loaded question. And the comedy world got a new straight man.

"Do you have a pitch you could use to retailiate?" Kansas City's top relief pitcher was asked. "Yes, I'd use a hand grenade."

Have the Royals pitchers discussed retaliation? "We're going to take our series money and buy nuclear weapons."

If the Royals ever got smart, they could probable ask a cover charge to interview Quisenberry, a pitcher whose humor is as deceptive as his sinker.

"Not sinker, sanker," Quisenberry will interject. "I dont know what it does but it sure sank when I first pitched it.”

That description may kill the king's English, but the pitch has killed Philadelphia twice here at Royals' stadium over the weekend.

Friday night, with the score tied 3-3 and the Phils threatening to take a 3-0 lead in the best of seven series, Manager Jim Frey brought on Quisenberry to pitch to Mike Schmidt with two on and two out in the eighth. He got the Phils power broker on a fly ball, and pitched scoreless relief until the Royals pulled out a 4-3 win in the 10th.

Then Saturday, he protected a Royals lead through two innings, gettting four straight ground balls to end the game.

It was the fourth straight appearance for Quisenberry in the series, but like most drop ball artists he gets better as he gets more tired. Earlier in the week, he got four days rest and was tapped for a four run rally in the eighth inning of the Phils 6-4 second game win. The reason was simple — he was throwing too hard and the ball was not dropping off at the plate.

What did the Royals need t to come back from the 2-0 deficit Friday? "Had the best clubhouse meeting we had all year," Quisenberry said. "Jim Frey (the Royals manager) was the funniest I've ever heard him.”

What about the win the following afternoon? What did the Royals need then? "About 15 minutes more sleep, judging from the eyes I saw in the clubhouse. But our clubhouse man makes one of the world's most spectacular cups of coffee.

Quisenberry, a 27-year-old Californian, who shored up the Royals bullpen when the came to the majors in 1979, became a true submarine pitcher during spring training from Pittsburgh's Kent Tekulve.

"I'd always had underhanded tendencies in college, but I stuck with sidearm pitch," said Quisenberry, 12-7 in 1980 with 33 saves, good for a share of the league lead with New York's Rich Gossage. "All I did was come out of the closet."

The only comment Quisenbery said he resented was when a writer described him as a right hander trapped in a lefthanders body. "I think he was a harlequin romance’s writer trapped a sports writers body."

Quisenberry said he viewed the World Series only as a chance to prove himself against the best. "The one on one confrontation is always what attracted me to this game."

Had he held this philosophy for a long time or had it developed over the years? "When I was six, I wasn't cognizant of anything. When I was 20 I was only worried about making my college team and at 25 I thought I'd never make the majors. I think I came up with it just at this moment.”

OK, two points. Why the put on? "That's the way you have to handle this circus. If I took all this, or me, seriously, I'd really go crazy."