Phils Win as Schmidt Homers : 18,142 Fans Turn Out at Philadelphia as Baseball Returns

A crowd of 18,142 welcomed major league baseball back to Philadelphia, and it was as if the two-day players’ strike never happened.

There was the customary applause and scattered cheering at the start of the game, in which the Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-3. There were no banners, no demonstrations, no catcalls.

Before the game, a photographer took pictures of some fans who acted blase.

When the Phillies’ Mike Schmidt hit a three-run homer in the first inning to highlight a four-run rally, the crowd reacted with resounding cheers.

Just another day at the ballpark.

Schmidt, who suffered one of the worst slumps of his 13-year career early this season, continued his resurgence.

He has six home runs, 15 runs batted in, 12 walks and 14 runs scored in his last 14 games. He’s hit in 15 of the past 22 games and raised his average from .214 to .253.

“I’ve felt good at the plate for a month,” said Schmidt, who has hit in 35 of the last 46 games.

He said the two-day break was a help.

“Although it felt a little strange,” he said. “We had to take batting practice inside (some showers). It seemed like three days that we hadn’t been on a baseball field.”

Schmidt said he hit a fastball in the center of the plate for a three-run homer in the first inning.

“It wasn’t a great pitch. I guess (Pittsburgh pitcher Don Robinson) has got me out six or seven straight at-bats with a fastball up in the strike zone,” he said. “But on an 0-1 pitch and I’m hitting with two on, a fastball over the middle of the plate is not the pitch to throw me.”

The Phillies have won three straight and eight of their last 10.

Phillies Manager John Felske said he couldn’t see any difference in his team, and Manager Chuck Tanner said the strike didn’t seem to affect the Pirates, either.

“It was just like two days of rainouts,” said Tanner. “Everybody looked normal.”

John Denny pitched seven innings to earn his seventh victory against eight losses. Denny allowed six hits, walked four and struck out three before being relieved by Don Carman, who worked the final two innings for his fourth save of the season.

Robinson, making only his fifth start in the last two seasons, dropped to 2-7.

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on consecutive walks to Johnny Ray, Bill Madlock and Jason Thompson, loading the bases. Ray scored on a sacrifice fly by Mike Brown.

Shortstop Tom Foley started the first-inning rally with a double in his first at-bat with the Phillies. Von Hayes then walked and Schmidt unloaded his 18th home run of the season for a 3-1 lead.

After Glenn Wilson flied out, Ozzie Virgil smashed his 14th homer, giving the Phillies a 4-1 lead.

Pittsburgh made it 4-2 in the fifth on a double by Robinson, who was sacrificed to third by Joe Orsulak and an run-scoring single by Madlock.

The Phillies got that run back in the bottom of the fifth as Hayes drew a one-out walk and stole second. After Schmidt walked, Wilson delivered an RBI single.

The Pirates made it 5-3 in the seventh on a triple by pinch-hitter Steve Kemp and Orsulak’s sacrifice fly.

The Phillies boosted their lead to 7-3 in the seventh off reliever Rod Scurry on a single by Wilson and a two-out homer by Rick Schu, his third of the season.

The first batter, as the major league season resumed after the Tuesday walkout, was Orsulak. He took a ball on Denny’s first pitch at 12:37 p.m. Orsulak then grounded out to Schmidt at first base.

Braves 2, Giants 0--Rick Mahler pitched a four-hitter for his 16th victory and knocked in an Atlanta run with an infield hit as the Braves shut out San Francisco, 2-0.

Only 3,557 fans, turned out at San Francisco. But the Giants, a last-place club, had two home turnouts that were even smaller before the strike.

The Braves’ defense turned double plays behind Mahler, 16-9, after the first two of San Francisco’s four singles, by Jeff Leonard in the second inning and Chris Brown in the fifth. Mahler, who registered his first shutout of the season, walked two and struck out one.

Atlanta, which managed only six hits, scored in the sixth off San Francisco reliever Greg Minton, 2-3, who walked Dale Murphy to open the inning. Murphy went to second on Bob Horner’s bloop single to left and scored on Terry Harper’s single to right.

A walk, a single by Glenn Hubbard, a sacrifice by Milt Thompson and Mahler’s slow roller down the third base line gave the Braves their second run.

Jim Gott, the Giants’ starting pitcher, shut out the Braves on two hits for five innings before leaving the game because of a split nail and a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand.

It was the 12th shutout loss of the season for the Giants.

Blue Jays 7, Orioles 2--Doyle Alexander fired a six-hitter for eight innings and Lloyd Moseby drove in three runs with a bases-empty homer and a two-run double, pacing Toronto to a 7-2 victory over Baltimore in the first game of a doubleheader.

Alexander, 12-6, struck out two and walked one while picking up his fifth consecutive winning decision and third complete game this season. Gary Lavelle pitched the ninth.

With the score tied 2-2, the Blue Jays sent nine batters to the plate in a five-run sixth inning. With one out, Scott McGregor, 9-9, surrendered Jesse Barfield’s third single and walked Cecil Fielder. Willie Upshaw pinch ran for Fielder and Sammy Stewart relieved. Pinch-hitter Rance Mulliniks ripped a ground-rule double, scoring Barfield and advancing Upshaw to third.

Ernie Whitt was intentionally walked to load the bases and Tony Fernandez laced a two-run single. Fernandez stole second and Moseby followed with a two-run double to right-center, making the score 7-2.

Baltimore opened a 1-0 lead in the first on Eddie Murray’s run-scoring infield single. The Orioles made it 2-0 in the second on Larry Sheets’ 12th homer.

Toronto cut the margin to 2-1 in the bottom of the second on Garth Iorg’s RBI double. The Blue Jays tied the score in the fifth on Moseby’s seventh homer and first since July 10.

Yankees 8, Indians 1--Dave Winfield homered twice and drove in six runs and Marty Bystrom won his first major-league game in more than a year as New York beat Cleveland, 8-1, in the first game of a doubleheader.

The Yankees played without center fielder Rickey Henderson, and team officials said they did not know where he was. Spokesman Joe Safety said Henderson, third in the American League with a .349 average, “has not returned from wherever he went during the strike.”

Winfield connected for a three-run homer in the third inning following a double by Willie Randolph and a walk to Don Mattingly.

Winfield hit his 18th home run of the season in the fifth after a leadoff double by Mattingly. The two-run homer knocked out Curt Wardle, 2-4.