1985 Game 19 - 1985 Fleer #256 Jerry Koosman

Phillies 11, Expos 0
Game 19 - Tuesday Night, April 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 8-11, Tied for 4th Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Jerry Koosman pitched a complete game shutout, Von Hayes tallied a four-hit game and Glenn Wilson drove in four runs in this 11-0 blowout win against the Expos.

What It Means:  Not a great start to the season, but April wasn't a complete disaster.  The Phillies would enter May riding a four-game win streak and within striking distance of fist place in the N.L. East.

What Happened:  Koosman allowed 11 hits in his complete game effort, but the Expos offense went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.  The Phillies offense scored all 11 runs against Expos starter Bill Gullickson and reliever Rick Grapenthin.  First baseman Razor Shines pitched the eighth inning for the Expos, allowing a hit but not giving up any more runs.

The big blow in the game was a bases-clearing double in the first from Wilson.  The Phillies kept piling on with Hayes, Schmidt and Jeltz each enjoying 2-RBI games.

Featured Card:  This was the 33rd and final complete game shutout in Koosman's 19-year big league career.  He must have done something in this game to aggravate his bad left knee, as he'd go on the disabled list shortly after this start and not pitch again until June 8th.

I clipped the Phillies opening day roster from an April 1985 issue of TV Guide and preserved it within my scrapbook (see below). The listing didn't include Darren Daulton or Kent Tekulve, added to the roster after opening day, so I wrote them in with their uniform numbers.  Kiko Garcia and Luis Aguayo were on the opening day roster, but both had been used so sparingly I assumed they were also "New Players."

Looking at the coaching staff, manager John Felske's bench coach was Lee Elia.  Elia would eventually take over for Felske when his time as Phillies manager ran out in the middle of the 1987 season.  The 1985 Phillies media guide lists Elia's job as dugout coach and not bench coach, which is the term used more frequently today.  Claude Osteen was the pitching coach and Del Unser provided double duty as both the hitting coach and the first base coach.  Dave Bristol coached third, Mike Ryan was the bullpen coach and Hank King (pictured on the Tastykake coaching staff card below) was the team's batting practice pitcher.

Bristol, Ryan and Osteen were all holdovers from Paul Owens' coaching staff in 1984.  To start the 1985 season, Elia replaced Felske as the bench coach and Unser replaced Deron Johnson as the Phillies' hitting coach.