1985 Game 21 - 1985 Fleer #268 Glenn Wilson

Phillies 3, Astros 2
Game 21 - Friday Night, May 3rd in Philadelphia
Record - 9-12, Tied for 4th Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs, Expos and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Glenn Wilson delivered a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth as the Phillies defeated the Astros, 3-2.

What It Means:  The Phillies were within three games of the .500 mark after this win, and things were looking up!  Or so I thought as an optimistic 11-year-old at the time.

We also have the first appearance of a box score from The Philadelphia Inquirer in my scrapbook.  We got the Atlantic City Press delivered to our home daily and my guess here is that the game ended too late for inclusion in the Saturday addition of the Press.  My Dad probably dutifully headed off to Wawa to pick up an Inquirer so as not to have a missing game in my scrapbook.

What Happened:  Neither Steve Carlton nor Nolan Ryan factored into the final outcome in the second meeting in 1985 of these two legends.  Carlton lasted five innings and allowed a pair of hits while striking out none.  Ryan went six innings and had runners on the base paths pretty much at all times with five hits and five walks allowed.  He did strike out 10 in his outing.

Tim Corcoran scored Jeff Stone with a sacrifice fly in the first, and that was the end of the scoring until the Astros scored twice off Kent Tekulve in the top of the eighth.  Now trailing, the bottom of the eighth started with Astros reliever Frank DiPino issuing a lead-off walk to John Russell, who was hitting .143 at the time.  That had to drive Astros' manager Bob Lillis nuts.  Wilson then homered off DiPino to give the Phillies the lead and Tekulve pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the win.

Featured Card:  Glennbo gets the card again for this game, and I'd encourage you to watch the Phillies commercial below from 1985.  Richie Ashburn, Wilson, Samuel and Kevin Gross are playing a good-natured game of Trivia Pursuit and Wilson delivers the team's 1985 slogan at the end of the commercial, imploring fans to "Follow Us."

#AtPhillies wasn't around in 1985, but even that Phillies team wanted you to follow us. #TBT pic.twitter.com/WjeV7bUsCL — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 25, 2019