May 24, 1985
The Padres come to town for a four-game, Memorial Day weekend wraparound series.
Game 1985-39: Veterans Stadium - Phillies 5, Padres 1 / 27-12
Kevin Gross throws a complete game with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Game score 85. Absolutely outstanding. Von Hayes knocks his sixth home run, while Darren Daulton puts in a two-hit performance with a double. Juan Samuel adds two hits.
Meanwhile in New York, Fernando Valenzuela took the hill a day early to face the Mets. All eyes watched to see if Fernando could throw a third-consecutive no-hitter. But in the second, Bob Brenly led off with a double, and that wouldn’t be all. Fernando gave up five runs on 12 hits and two walks, losing 5-4 to the Mets.
His next start? Against us, of course.
May 25, 1985
Game 1985-40: Veterans Stadium - Phillies 8, Padres 5 / 28-12
Down 3-0 in the sixth, we score eight straight to put it away. Mike Schmidt slams a big blow, a two-run home run in the seventh to put us ahead. He also doubles, raising his average to .393. Juan Samuel adds a home run and a big eighth-inning double.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, Pirates pitcher Cecilio Guante struck our old friend Luis Aguayo with a pitch. Aguayo responded by charging the mound, taking down the pitcher, and forcing the benches to clear. Aguayo - who is hitting .300 with a home run in 25 plate appearances for the Braves - was suspended four games, as was Guante.
May 26, 1985
A good walk-up crowd on this holiday Sunday - about 43,000, our third largest crowd of the season, most likely.
Game 1985-41: Veterans Stadium - Phillies 6, Padres 3 / 29-12
Glenn Wilson has the big game on this day, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run, his eighth. Wilson is now hitting .305/.359/.580. Mike Schmidt, by the way, hits his 12th homer. He’s at .399/.482/.732, which is just astonishing. Von Hayes adds two hits, both doubles, to move to .371/.415/.547. Steve Carlton surrenders three in 7.2 innings but strikes out six.
In the news, Willie McGee of the Cardinals and Howard Johnson of the Tigers take National League and American League Player of the Week honors, respectively. Also, all-star voting begins - I have to believe Mike Schmidt will be the top vote-getter in the NL once again, while I predict good things for Von Hayes, Glenn Wilson, maybe Juan Samuel, and Charles Hudson.
Also today, we find out that pitcher Tommy John will retire when the season ends. The 42-year-old is playing out the string in California; lifetime, he has a 253-200 record with a 3.25 ERA, 2019 strikeouts and 72.8 WAR. Hopefully he reaches the Hall of Fame, if only because of the groundbreaking ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction procedure he underwent in 1974, which prolonged (and turned around) his career.
Finally, new power rankings:
1. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - 29-12
2. Detroit Tigers - 28-12
3. Toronto Blue Jays - 27-15
4. Montreal Expos - 24-17
5. St. Louis Cardinals - 24-14
We had a great week, so we’re back on top.
May 27, 1985
Last game of the four. Let’s see if we can take a full four games from San Diego.
Game 1985-42: Veterans Stadium - Phillies 4, Padres 1 / 30-12
A four-game sweep! What a season so far.
We score four in the seventh to take this one, led by Darren Daulton’s triple. Mike Schmidt and UL Washington add doubles bookending that strike. Glenn Wilson goes 2-for-3, and John Denny gets in on the fun with an RBI single. He also pitches a complete game.
May 28, 1985
We’re a quarter of the way through the season. Let’s go over some major league stat lines:
LF Von Hayes - 192 PA, .368/.411/.540, 18 XBH, 14 K, 15 BB, 12 SB, 5 CS, +0.2 ZR, 1.022 EFF, 2.4 WAR
Outstanding in all facets of the game. MVP-caliber season so far.
3B Paul Molitor - 184 PA, .244/.313/.329, 12 XBH, 28 K, 16 BB, 8 SB, 5 CS, +1.3 ZR, 1.012 EFF, 0.7 WAR
After a quick start, a slowdown for Molitor with too many strikeouts and not enough base hits, but he still gets on base and plays his position well.
2B Juan Samuel - 179 PA, .243/.274/.396, 13 XBH, 32 K, 7 BB, 20 SB, 3 CS, -1.7 ZR, .962 EFF, 0.8 WAR
Underwhelming at the dish, though - believe it or not - the strikeout rate is down. Also, he’s been going the other way more often, which says to me this could be a transitional time at the plate for him. Defense is meh, but the speed is still elite. Kid is young - not upset here.
1B Mike Schmidt - 168 PA, .394/.476/.725, 22 XBH, 19 K, 24 BB, +0.6 ZR, 1.045 EFF, 3.0 WAR
He’s on pace for one the greatest single seasons in modern baseball history. Not sure if Schmidty can keep it up, but it’ll be fun watching him try.
CF Dave Stegman - 156 PA, .229/.329/.405, 12 XBH, 34 K, 20 BB, +1.8 ZR, 1.006 EFF, 1.1 WAR
I brought in Stegman for defense, and he hasn’t disappointed, proving a rock out in center. The offense has been surprising, as he’s on pace for a career year in every offensive category. Getting 15-20 home runs from him would be wonderful, and I love that the OBP is 100 points higher than the AVG.
SS UL Washington - 149 PA, .300/.342/.407, 11 XBH, 25 K, 9 BB, 9 SB, 0 CS, +3.4 ZR, 1.055 EFF, 1.7 WAR
I didn’t want 30 errors … he has seven, so we’re just a little under pace. Otherwise, can’t be upset. He’s been steady defensively and a revelation at the plate, hitting at levels he hasn’t reached in three seasons. We’ll see how long it lasts.
RF Glenn Wilson - 145 PA, .313/.366/.582, 19 XBH, 17 K, 9 BB, 2 SB, 0 CS, -0.5 ZR, .998 EFF, 1.6 WAR
Speaking of revelations … if Wilson can keep up this kind of offensive pace (32 HR, 100 RBI), we’re talking about an honest-to-goodness middle-of-the-order threat. The biggest leap forward is he’s been good (and not a crutch) against righties (107 PA, .283/.336/.525, 15 XBH, 13 K, 6 BB).
C Darren Daulton - 127 PA, .162/.291/.314, 8 XBH, 30 K, 20 BB, 4 SB, 1 CS, +0.7 ZR, 1.052 EFF, 34.1 CS%, 0.5 WAR
Not the best first quarter for Dutch, but I’m encouraged by two things: The patience seems to be good, if not better than last year, and his ISO is in line with last season’s (.152). My goal for him is to get the AVG over .200 by midseason. The defense has been fine, though not spectacular.
SP Steve Carlton - 63.1 IP, 3.41 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 44 K, 22 BB (6.3 K/9, 2.0 K/BB), 1.2 WAR
Lefty has been as advertised for a 40-year-old. Not necessarily a No. 1 anymore, but at times a No. 2 and more likely a solid rotation arm.
SP John Denny - 61 IP, 2.51 ERA, 2.64 FIP, 29 K, 12 BB (4.3 K/9, 2.4 K/BB), 1.8 WAR
He has the Denny magic this year, throwing 56 percent ground balls and yielding few (actually just one) home runs. Improved defense has certainly helped. Not my one-game shutdown guy, but he can hang with just about anyone.
SP Charles Hudson - 58.2 IP, 0.77 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 33 K, 14 BB (5.1 K/9, 2.4 K/BB), 1.8 WAR
Chuck Hudson is on something else this season. Essentially he has thrown more junk out of the zone, causing some poor fly balls and pop-ups. Or, to put it another way, the kid has serious poise. Not sure if this’ll last all season, but he knows what works, and he’s leaning hard on it to great success.
SP Kevin Gross - 58 IP, 1.86 ERA, 2.57 FIP, 44 K, 13 BB (6.8 K/9, 3.4 K/BB), 1.8 WAR
And yet, Gross might be the best pitcher on staff this year. He has limited big innings and home runs, mixed in ground balls, and gotten huge strikeouts.
SP Scott Sanderson - 56.2 IP, 2.38 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 40 K, 19 BB (6.4 K/9, 2.1 K/BB), 1.0 WAR
Not bad for a fifth starter and a free agent pickup. I’ll take this all the time.
RP Bill Campbell - 21.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 11 K, 5 BB (4.6 K/9, 2.2 K/BB), 0.2 WAR
Miscast as a closer, but he’s doing the job more often than not.
RP Larry Andersen - 17 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.50 FIP, 12 K, 1 BB (6.4 K/9, 12.0 K/BB), 0.6 WAR
Talk about a start. Andersen doesn't have big-time stuff, but he might be the best setup arm in the game.
RP Donnie Moore - 17 IP, 5.29 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 14 K, 7 BB (7.4 K/9, 2.0 K/BB), 0.3 WAR
Moore has pitched a lot (despite the 17 innings). Some of the hits he’s allowed were dinks and dunks, so I’m hoping he brings that ERA down closer to 3.00 by midseason.
The bench guys and other bullpen guys don’t have enough work to really scrutinize, though I really want more Mike Diaz and Don Carman, especially in the second quarter. Also, I imagine Paul Assenmacher is coming, and maybe to replace Kenneth Walker, whose stuff hasn’t shone quite enough yet.