1985 Game 31 - 1985 Donruss Action All-Stars #55 Steve Carlton

Braves 3, Phillies 2 (10 Innings)
Game 31 - Wednesday Night, May 15th in Atlanta
Record - 11-20, 5th Place, 10 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Braves tied the game in the ninth and walked it off in the 10th on a Terry Harper home run given up by Kent Tekulve.

What It Means:  This is one of those brutal losses that must have stung for a few days.  The Phillies had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth thanks in part to a great outing from Steve Carlton.  Carlton had pitched six shutout innings before yielding to the bullpen.

What Happened:  The downfall happened quickly.  Larry Andersen allowed a lead-off single in the ninth to Ken Oberkfell and Gerald Perry then promptly hit a two-run home run to tie the game.  Harper led off the 10th with his game-winning home run off Tekulve.

The offense had plenty of opportunities to score more, but went 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position.  The game was scoreless until the seventh thanks to the pitching duel between Carlton and Braves starting pitcher Steve Bedrosian.  In the top of the seventh, Tim Corcoran doubled home Von Hayes for the first run of the game.  Mike Schmidt would single home Luis Aguayo an inning later.

Featured Card:  This was to be Carlton's last outing of pitching at least six innings of shutout baseball for the rest of the season.  In mid-June, Lefty landed on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury and he'd return in September to make three rough starts.  He'd attempt a comeback in 1986, with a few starts showing promise, but the Phillies would ultimately release the greatest pitcher in the franchise's history on June 24, 1986.

That began a season and a half odyssey that saw Carlton pitch for the Giants, White Sox, Indians and Twins between mid-1986 and early 1988.  His longest stint during that period came with the Indians, with whom he made 23 appearances (14 starts) in the first half of 1987.

1985 Topps #763

1985 Fleer #314

Transaction:  Also on this day, the Phillies designated infielder Kiko Garcia for assignment and signed utility player Derrel Thomas as a free agent.  Thomas would make his Phillies debut on Thursday against the Braves and Garcia would be released by the club on May 23rd (according to the team's 1986 Media Guide).

Garcia had been released by the club once already, prior to the start of the regular season, but was quickly re-signed when the Phillies dealt Ivan DeJesus to the Cardinals.  Garcia had only appeared in four games for the Phillies in 1985, going 0 for 3 to end his 10-year big league career.

Derrel Thomas was a veteran of 14 seasons in the majors, having last appeared in 122 games with the Expos and Angels in 1984.  When the Phillies signed him, he had been playing for the Miami Marlins, an unaffiliated team in the Class A Florida State League.  Thomas took over Garcia's uniform number too - #18.

1985 Virtual Phillies Wall / 1985 Season Summary Index