Wilmington Morning News - September 5, 1980
Phillies win battle of home runs
3-2 victory over Dodgers gives Phils one-game lead in NL East
By Hal Bodley, Sports Editor
LOS ANGELES – It came down to this last night at Dodger Stadium: Tug McGraw vs. Joe Ferguson. Remember that match-up?
It was just nine days ago when Ferguson reached across the plate at Veterans Stadium and stroked a two-run single when McGraw was trying to intentionally walk him. McGraw then hit Bill Russell with a pitch, there was a brawl, etc., etc., etc.
Last night, just when it appeared the Phillies were riding Bob Walk's pitching and home runs by Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski to a 3-0 victory, the Dodgers came to life, knocked the rookie righthander out and then pulled to within a run on Dusty Baker's two-run homer off Warren Brusstar.
With pinch-hitter Ferguson the batter, McGraw was called and tension increased throughout Dodger Stadium. The fans remembered.
McGraw won this time. He got Ferguson to pop out to shortstop and the Phils clung to their lead and went on to end the Dodgers' seven-game winning streak 3-2.
The victory, over Dodger ace Jerry Reuss (16-5), was the fourth in a row for the Phils and put them atop National League East by one full game over Pittsburgh and Montreal. Walk, who was brilliant for seven innings, now has a 10-4 record.
The Phils won it on first-inning, two-run homer by Schmidt, his 36th and eighth career off Reuss, and a bases-empty blast by Luzinski in the seventh, his 17th.
Walk, who allowed only four hits before Brusstar arrived with Davey Lopes on first base and nobody out, grew up in the Los Angeles area.
His idea of a good time was to come to Dodger Stadium and sit in the left-field stands. Once, in 1974, he threw a tennis ball onto the field and was thrown out of the park.
"I thought about that before the game, but not after I went to the mound," said Walk. "I know we are in a close pennant race and tonight's game was very important for the team, but to be truthful, I thought more about what it was going to be like pitching in Dodger Stadium than I did about the race.
"I wanted to go out there, throw the ball hard and have a good game. I was ready to come out in the eighth, there was no argument. My arm was beginning to drag. This is just a great, great experience for me. I am going to enjoy it for a couple of days, then get ready for my next start."
For McGraw, there was a measure of revenge attached to his 17th save and third of this trip.
"Sure, Ferguson is the guy who started all my trouble last week (Aug. 26) back in Philly, but I didn't think about him as much as I did Lopes on first base," said McGraw. "I thought about all the things he said in the newspapers after the brawl. When he came to the mound he said he wanted to kill me, but since he didn't say he wanted to beat me, I didn't worry."
"Another example of grind-it-out baseball," said Manager Dallas Green after the Phils improved their record on this 11-game road trip to 6-2. "We could have folded when the Dodgers came to life, but we didn't. You have to be pleased with Bobby Walk. I don't know where we would be without him."
Reuss, who leads the National League with six shutouts, entered the game with the lowest earned run average in the league, 2.14.
Lonnie Smith opened the game with an infield single and, after Pete Rose grounded out, Schmidt blasted Reuss' first pitch to the pavilion seats above the 385-foot mark in right-center.
Walk allowed just one single and a walk until, with one out in the fifth, Mike Scioscia singled to center and continued to second when Garry Maddox bobbled the ball for an error. Scioscia moved to third on an infield out and before Reuss waited out a walk. Davey Lopes ended the threat, forcing Reuss at second.
Luzinski led off the seventh, cracking a 2-2 pitch to the Dodger bullpen in left and it was 3-0.
The Dodgers brought the crowd of 41,864 to life in the sixth when Jay Johnstone opened with a double and Baker was safe on a Schmidt error. Garvey fouled out and Ron Cey bounced into a double play.
The Phils' eighth inning could have haunted them for days, had the Dodgers rallied to win. The Phils loaded the bases against reliever Bob Castillo with one out and did not score.
Bob Boone singled to left, was sacrificed to second and, after Smith was hit by a pitch, Rose singled to left. Schmidt, however, struck out and Greg Gross, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement for Luzinski, fanned on a 3-2 pitch out of the strike zone.
The Dodgers made it 3-2 in the eighth. Walk gave up a leadoff single to Lopes on a 3-2 pitch and, when the count went 2-0 to Johnstone, Green summoned Warren Brusstar. He got Johnstone to fly to center, but Dusty Baker sent a 1-1 pitch screaming over the 395-foot mark in right center for his 27th homer of the year.
Brusstar gave up a single to Garvey and after Cey fanned, Rick Monday singled to right and McGraw arrived. He got pinch-hitter Ferguson to pop out to shortstop and the rally was over.
EXTRA POINTS – It was nine days ago at Veterans Stadium when Tug McGraw hit Dodger shortstop Bill Russell with a pitch that started a bench-emptying brawl. Prior to last night's game, McGraw donned an Army helmet and a combat jacket, while Russell put on boxing gloves for a television interview. They hammed it up, pretending to fight during the interview, then carried the starting line-up cards to home plate... McGraw, of course, has apologized to Russell for what Tug has blamed on his temper for allowing Joe Ferguson to single home two runs during what was supposed to be an intentional walk. Russell, however, did not start because of a sore wrist... Steve Garvey played in his 805th consecutive game last night... Schmidt has hit safely in 14 of 15 games.