Northern Expos-ure

Kid Carter with a walkoff hit as the 'Spos battle back from 2 deficits to force extras then win it in the 11th after giving up 1 run in the top of the inning.  Granger gets the win and LaGrow gets the L.  Jerry White had 3 bunt hits on the day.  Bake McBride had a 3 for 5 day himself.  Dan Warthen was putrid and got yanked for a pinch hitter after just 2 terrible innings.  Chip Lang kept the boat floating with 5 decent innings of long relief.  St. Louis used 6 pitchers on the day.  The Redbirds stay 3 games (4 in the loss column) ahead of Montreal for that coveted last place slot.

Phillies 10, Expos 6
Clay Kirby vs Jim Kaat
The pitiful Clay Kirby gave up 9 runs in 3 2/3 innings of forgettable work.  Steve Dunning came on board to mop up and was impressive with 4 1/3 innings of 1 run ball.  Results like that question why Dunning wasn't starting and Kirby wasn't departin'.  Montreal wasted their best offensive showing in days on a pitcher who couldn't find the strike zone with a map (8 walks).  Andy Thornton continues to impress by going 3 for 4 with 4 RBI's and 2 homers.  Dick Allen was the offensive star for the Phightin's going 2 for 3 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's.  The series sweep puts the Phils back over .500 and back in the NL East race, while the Expos erased all the good they did with their 5 of 6 win stretch.

Phillies 6, Expos 0
Don Carrithers vs Steve Carlton
Call this one a no contest.  Steve Carlton was brilliant in tossing a complete game 6 hit shutout.  Dick Allen hit a solo shot.  Carlton even got into the action on the offensive side with an RBI single.  Montreal's team batting average fell to an anemic .237.  Don Carrithers was sub par on the hill for the 'Spos, but he needed to be Don Corleone to order us some hits if he was going to win this one.  The Expos made 4 more errors in the field, which explains how the Phils scored 6 runs on just 5 hits.

Phillies 3, Expos 2 (13 inn)
Don Stanhouse vs Ron Reed
Once again the dormant Expo offense squanders a classic pitching performance by one of their starters.  Don Stanhouse, who's ERA now stands at 1.82, gave up 1 lousy unearned run in the 2nd and left the game with a no decision.  With 2 outs in the second Larry Parrish booted a grounder hit by his opposite number Mike Schmidt.  With Schmitty on 1st Bob Boone walked and Larry Bowa came through with a clutch RBI single.  Stanhouse was forced to pitch to Bowa, because pitcher Ron Reed was on deck & Reed is an above averge hitting pitcher.  Montreal tied it up in the 5th when Pepe Mangual hit a sac fly with 1 out and the bases loaded.  It's great to get the run across to tie the game, but you have to get more than just 1 when the bases are loaded.  This would come back to haunt the Expos, because they would not score the rest of the way.  Neither team scored in regulation, nor did the score in the 10th, 11th or 12th innings.  After Tug McGraw struck out the side in the top of the 13th the Phillies decided to put an end to this marathon.  With 2 outs and Dick Allen on 1st Bob Boone hit a line shot into the bullpen to send everyone on Broad Street home happy.

Expos 4, Pirates 3 (11 inn)
Woodie Fryman vs Doc Medich
Pete Mackanin's second error in successive days led to Pittsburgh's first run of the day in the bottom of the 3rd.  Woodie Fryman, who has had a tough time getting run support, was able to get out of the jam by getting Stennett to ground into a 4-6-3 DP to end the inning.  Stennett's DP occurred with the bases loaded and prevented the Bucs from opening up a large lead.  Frank Taveras, just like yesterday would turn a walk into a stole base and then a run thanks to Dave Parker's sac fly to right to make it 2-0.  Fryman would make it 2-1 by laying down a perfect safety squeeze bunt to score Mike Jorgensen in the 5th, but he (Fryman) would give that run right back on a tape measure Willie Stargell homer to right center.  Medich was doing well keeping the Expo hitters off stride, but left after 6 innings and handed the ball over to Kent Tekulve and the Pirate pen.  Tekulve came on like a house of fire fanning the first 2 batters he faced (Jorgensen/Mackanin).  Since there were 2 outs and nobody on Fryman hit for himself and sent a flare into left center for what seemed to be a harmless hit.  Pepe Mangual beat out an infield single to put runners on 1st and 2nd.  Jerry White flared one to left center to score Fryman and make it a 3-2 ballgame.  Jim Lyttle was called on to pinch hit for Andy Thornton.  On a 2-2 count Lyttle lined a bullet down the right field line for a two bagger that scored Mangual to tie the game at 3-3.  Carter would strike out to end the inning, but the game was now tied.  Neither team could muster up enough offense to score again in regulation.  Dale Murray and Rick Langford carried the torch for their team into extra innings.  Murray, who has been nothing short of an adventure out of the pen all year, walked the first 2 batters to start the 10th.  Stargell hit a low sinking liner to right that Mangual caught off his shoe top and then fired into first behind Richie Zisk for the uncommon 9-3 DP.  Mangual wasn't done being heroic.  As is so often the case, the man who make a stellar defensive play usually winds up making a stellar offensive play in the following half inning.  With a 3-1 count Mangual, who is not a power hitter, turned quickly and hit a low liner that just hooked inside the left field foul poll to make it a 4-3 game.  After making a great defensive play in the bottom of the 10th and hitting a homer to put his team up in the 11th, Mangual still had some more cards left to play.  Manny Sangullens slicing liner off reliever Chuck Taylor looked destined for the outfield grass until Mangual came out of nowhere to make a sliding catch for out number 1.  After Stennett ground out to third Mangual would fittingly corral Taveras pop fly to right to end the game and give the Expos their second consecutive series victory in a row.  Buc manager Frank Aluzzi said after game 1, "Break up the Expos".  While 16-20 isn't exactly the record of a contender it is more than just a modest gain for a team that looked completely dead in the water a week ago.

Pirates 3, Expos 2
Steve Rogers vs Bruce Kison
"Hard Luck" Steve Rogers was once again victimized by his defense.  With 1 out and 1 on Pete Mackanin booted a sure fire DP ball hit by Frank Taveras.  Bruce Kison now found himself in a sacrifice situation and easily advanced both runners up 90 feet into scoring position.  Dave Parker, hitting leadoff, lined a 0-2 shot into right to score Richie Hebner and Frank Taveras to break a scoreless tie and make it 2-0 Bucs.  Montreal would cut the Bucs lead in half when Jerry White scored on Larry Parrish's slow roller to Stennett at second.  In the bottom of the 7th Frank Taveras would help manufacture a big insurance run by working out a walk, stealing second and scoring on an RBI single by reliever Larry Demery.  That run would loom large because the Expos would score once in the top of the 9th.  Larry Parrish would lead off the inning with a single and wind up on second on a botched hit and run play.  Tim Foli made up for his missing the sign on the hit and run, by lining a single to put runners on the corners.  The league's best pinch hitter, Jose Morales, strolled to the plate with runners on the corners and nobody out.  Ramon Hernandez would make the pitch of the game and Morales would hit a room service hop to Taveras at short, who would easily start the 6-4-3 DP.  Parrish would score on the play to make it 3-2, but all the wind was now out of the Expos' sails.  Pinch hitter Ellis Valentine singled, but when Hernandez got pinch hitter Bombo Rivera to fly out weakly to Parker in right, the game was over and the Bucs had a well earned 1 run victory.  Bruce Kison, who pitched 5+ solid innings, became the NL's first 7 game winner.  Kison (7-2, 1.76) is definitely in the hunt for the NL Cy Young Award with his great start.

Expos 3, Pirates 2
Dan Warthen vs John Candelaria
RBI singles by Al Oliver and Willie Stargell put the Bucs up 2-0 after 3 innings.  Usually the Expos go into the tank when they go down by more than 1 run so early in the game.  Shockingly the "candy man", John Candelaria did not have his good stuff and (most importantly) the moribund Expo offense was able to take advantage of it.  Pepe Mangual led off the 4th with a clean single to center and was followed by Jerry White who worked out a walk.  Newly acquired slugger Andy Thornton lined a single to right to put runners on the corners and score Mangual.  Gary Carter's sac fly scored White to tie the game at 2-2.  Larry Parrish's single once again put runners on the corners and Tim Foli delivered a line shot to left center to score Thornton to give the Expos a 3-2 lead, which they would miraculously protect to the finish.  Dan Warthen (1-4, 3.60) would earn his first win of the season by going 6 and giving up just 2.  The normally porous Expo bullpen held tight.  Fred Scherman, Chuck Taylor and Granger (who earned the save) allowed just 1 hit over the final 3 innings.  Candelaria departed with 2 outs in the 5th with the Expos threatening again.  Dave Giusti got the final out to prevent further damage.  Pete Mackanin was the only Expo starter, other than Warthen, not to get a hit.  Dave Parker and Rennie Stennett had 3 hit games for the Bucs.