Allentown Morning Call - September 2, 1980
Aggressiveness pays off for Phils
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Philadelphia Phillies got a pre-game pep talk from General Manager Paul Owens, then got another solid pitching performance from Steve Carlton and grabbed at least a share of the National League East lead.
"Paul told us he hates to see us play non-aggressively," said Pete Rose after yesterday's 6-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
The talk by Owens, along with some lineup changes by Manager Dallas Green, came a day after the Phils lost 10-3 in San Diego.
"Even if we'd lost today, nobody could have said we didn't play aggressively enough," Rose said.
Rose, baseball's ultimate hustler, set an example for his teammates early in the game, taking an extra base when San Francisco center fielder Bill North held the ball a second too long after fielding a hit by Mike Schmidt.
Carlton notched his 21st victory of the season, yielding seven hits and striking out nine. His catcher, Bob Boone, drove in the winning run, breaking a 4-4 tie, with an eighth-inning single off Giants reliever Greg Minton, 3-5, the sinkerball specialist who had been spectacular lately.
"No matter how much a sinker sinks, it has to be low. You can't throw it belt high, and that's what I did," said Minton.
The Phillies' other run in the inning was unearned. A grounder hit by Greg Gross got past second baseman Rennie Stennett for an error, allowing Carlton to score from second base.
Carlton, 21-7, increased his season strikeout total to 241 , his second highest in his 15-year major league career.
The Phillies broke a 2-2 tie with a two-out rally in the fifth inning, when Greg Luzinski, Manny Trillo and Bowa singled off Giants starter Ed Whitson. Luzinski scored from second on the hit and Trillo scored as center fielder Bill North threw over third base for an error.
The Giants tied the score in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Jim Wohlford and an RBI single by Mike Ivie.
Bowa was one of four Phillies with two hits in the game. He also drove in a run with a groundout in the second.
Minton had not allowed an earned run in 11 consecutive appearances, covering 19⅔ innings before yesterday.