1985 Game 25 - 1985 Topps Glossy All-Stars #10 Pete Rose

Reds 8, Phillies 2
Game 25 - Wednesday Night, May 8th in Philadelphia
Record - 10-15, 5th Place, 7 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  John Denny got knocked around in this game, with the big blow being a three-run home run from Reds catcher Dave Van Gorder in the sixth, as the Phillies lost 8-2.

What It Means:  The Phillies were three losses in to what would ultimately become a seven-game losing streak.  Nothing was going well as the team continued to pitch, hit and field poorly.  It didn't factor into the game's outcome, but there were two more errors in this game from Mike Schmidt (his sixth) and Glenn Wilson.

What Happened:  Denny pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits.  The Phillies held a brief 2-1 lead in the first when Von Hayes doubled home Juan Samuel and Schmidt followed with an RBI ground-out to score Jeff Stone.  That was all the scoring the Phillies would do in this game.

Featured Card:  Player/manager Pete Rose doubled in the third off Denny for his 4,118 career hit and bringing him just 74 hits away from breaking Ty Cobb's all-time record.  He also scored three times.  In his entry for this game in his book, Countdown to Cobb, Rose provides some foreshadowing by mentioning his conversation with Phillies president Bill Giles.  The Reds were looking for catching help and despite Van Gorder's three-run home run in this game, he was still only hitting .218.  Rose's summary mentions both Bo Diaz, on the disabled list for the Phillies, and Alan Knicely, who was tearing it up for the Triple-A Denver Zephyrs at the time.

On August 8th, the Phillies would end up trading Diaz and minor leaguer Greg Simpson to the Reds for Knicely, Tom Foley and player to be named later Freddie Toliver.  Kniceley would appear in seven games for the Phillies in September, going 0 for 7.

Diaz would have to shave his mustache upon joining the mustache-less Reds.  He'd find success in Cincinnati, making the N.L. All-Star team in 1987.

1985 Game 24 - 1984 Topps Glossy All-Stars #1 Pete Rose

Reds 2, Phillies 0
Game 24 - Tuesday Night, May 7th in Philadelphia
Record - 10-14, 5th Place, 6 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  Mario Soto, John Franco and Ted Power combined to shut out the Phillies, holding them to only five hits, in this 2-0 win.

What It Means:  The Reds acquired Pete Rose on August 16, 1984 from the Expos, and Rose stepped in to become the player-manager for the club.  This was his first visit back to Philadelphia since re-joining the Reds and he went 0 for 3 in this game.

What Happened:  The offense couldn't get anything going and went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.  The only real threat came in the sixth inning when Soto walked both Juan Samuel and Von Hayes.  Mike Schmidt hit a ball that seemed destined for the left field corner, but it was stopped by Reds third baseman Nick Esasky, preventing any runs from scoring.  With the bases loaded, Tim Corcoran grounded out to Rose and Glenn Wilson struck out to end the threat.

Featured Card:  On September 11th, Rose would break Ty Cobb's all-time hit record with a single off the Padres' Eric Show.  His season was chronicled in his book, Countdown to Cobb.  I'm pretty sure I received his "diary" of the 1985 season that Christmas, and I enjoyed reading it and getting a behind the scenes look at Rose's march towards the record.

For his May 7th diary entry, Rose, with help from Hal Bodley, notes that coming back to Philadelphia was a homecoming and other than a brief part of the 1983 season, he enjoyed his time with the Phillies.  He then tells the story of trying to pick Mike Schmidt's brain for a scouting report on Dwight Gooden.  Rose notes Schmidt was struggling at the plate, as he was hitting only .219 coming into this game.  Both Larry Shenk, the Phillies long-time publicity director, and Howard Eskin get name checked in Rose's entry for the game.

1985 Game 23 - 1985 Fleer #255 Charles Hudson

Astros 4, Phillies 3
Game 23 - Sunday Afternoon, May 5th in Philadelphia
Record - 10-13, Tied for 4th Place, 5 1/2 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  Joe Niekro bested Shane Rawley as the Astros avoided the series sweep with this 4-3 win.

What It Means:  For the only time this season other than the All-Star break, the Phillies had two scheduled off days during the week.  They'd play a two-game series against Pete Rose and the Reds beginning Tuesday, with off days on Monday and Thursday.

What Happened:  Jose Cruz homered off Rawley in the first to give the Astros a 2-0 lead, and Niekro would help himself with an RBI double in the second to make it 3-1 Astros.  Rawley dropped his second game of the season, lasting six innings and giving up all four Astros runs.  Charles Hudson kept his team in the game with three perfect innings of relief.

Offensively, the Phillies couldn't string together a bunch of big hits, going 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position.  Glenn Wilson had a pair of RBI singles in the third and seventh innings.

Featured Card:  With the scheduled off days, the Phillies didn't need a replacement in the rotation for the injured Jerry Koosman right away.  The job would ultimately go to Hudson who would make his first start on May 14th.  Hudson had been used solely as a starter in 1983 and 1984, but had begun the 1985 season in the bullpen.

Roster:  Here's an updated look at the Phillies roster as of May 5th.  I'm moving Tim Corcoran to the infielders section, as he had only played one game in the outfield up until this point.

Starting pitchers (4) - Steve Carlton, John Denny, Kevin Gross, Shane Rawley
Relief pitchers (6) - Larry Andersen, Don Carman, Charles Hudson, Dave Rucker, Kent Tekulve, Pat Zachry
Catchers (3) - Darren Daulton, Ozzie Virgil, John Wockenfuss
Infielders (7) - Luis Aguayo, Tim Corcoran, Kiko Garcia, Steve Jeltz, John Russell, Juan Samuel, Mike Schmidt
Outfielders (5) - Greg Gross, Von Hayes, Garry Maddox, Jeff Stone, Glenn Wilson
Disabled List (3) - Bo Diaz, Jerry Koosman, Joe Lefebvre

1985 Virtual Phillies Wall / 1985 Season Summary Index

1985 Game 22 - 1985 Donruss #503 Luis Aguayo

Phillies 7, Astros 5 (13 Innings)
Game 22 - Saturday Night, May 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 10-12, Tied for 4th Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs and Expos

One Sentence Summary:  Luis Aguayo, an unlikely hero, had a four-hit game and hit a two-run home run in the 13th to give the Phillies a 7-5 walk-off win.

What It Means:  This was the high-water mark for the 1985 Phillies.  They would get to within two games of .500 just one more time in the season, at the beginning of September, but by then they were 18 games out of first place.  On this night, featuring a dramatic win, the Phillies still had hope.

What Happened:  John Denny pitched into the ninth inning for the Phillies, allowing five runs (four earned) on 12 hits while striking out six.  Manager John Felske probably should have lifted Denny after eight innings - see below.  Dave Rucker made his Phillies debut pitching a perfect 12th and 13th innings, and earning the win.

Ozzie Virgil continued to swing a hot bat, hitting a three-run home run in the fourth that put the Phillies ahead 4-2.  Aguayo's first home run of the game in the sixth made it 5-2.  That was the score when Denny allowed a ninth inning, three-run home run to pinch-hitter Harry Spilman to tie the game up.  A costly Juan Samuel error at the start of the inning prolonged the game and led to Spilman's big hit.

Aguayo's walk-off blast came off Astros reliever Bill Dawley with one out and Virgil on first base.

Featured Card:  Aguayo was starting at third base to give the struggling Mike Schmidt a night off, and his big night led to a second start at third the following night.  Through the first 21 games of the season, Schmidt was hitting only .211.  He did get into this game in the ninth, delivering a pinch-hit single but then promptly getting lifted for pinch-runner Kiko Garcia.

This was to be the only four-hit game of Aguayo's career.

Transaction:  Prior to the game, Jerry Koosman landed on the disabled list with an inflamed left knee and Rucker was recalled from Portland.  Rucker had been acquired on April 6th, right before the start of the season, from the Cardinals for reliever Bill Campbell and shortstop Ivan DeJesus.  DeJesus had lost his starting shortstop job to Steve Jeltz and was expendable.

1985 Donruss #260

1985 Donruss #204

1985 Donruss #163

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

1985 Game 20 - 1985 Donruss #326 Von Hayes

Expos 3, Phillies 2
Game 20 - Wednesday Night, May 1st in Philadelphia
Record - 8-12, Tied for 4th Place, 5 1/2 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  A Hubie Brooks home run in the seventh gave the Expos the lead and eventual 3-2 win in a game in which Shane Rawley pitched well again but the Phillies offense couldn't get anything going.

What It Means:  I'll admit I had to look up the word "skein" as I wasn't sure what the word meant.  The dictionary defines skein as "a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled and knotted."  In the context of placing the word in a headline above a boxscore, I'm assuming the Atlantic City Press meant the word to represent the Phillies' modest four-game win streak.  Which begs the question, why not just go with, "Expos End Phils' Streak"?

What Happened:  The Phillies offense had six hits and went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position.  David Palmer picked up the win for the Expos and Jeff Reardon recorded a 10-out save.  Rawley pitched seven innings and allowed three runs (two earned) in his outing.  The unearned run was courtesy of Steve Jeltz's eighth error of the season.  Tim Wallach had a four-hit game for the Expos.

The one Phillies hit with runners in scoring position was Von Hayes' two-run double in the sixth scoring Juan Samuel and Jeff Stone.

Featured Card:  As May gets underway, let's take a look at the team's leaders through the first 19 games of the season.  Statistically, both Von Hayes and Rawley were off to fantastic starts for the club.

April 1985 Leaders
Games:  Von Hayes, Juan Samuel, Mike Schmidt and Glenn Wilson - 19
Average:  Von Hayes - .366
Runs:  Juan Samuel - 14
Home Runs:  Ozzie Virgil - 3
RBIs:  Glenn Wilson - 15
Stolen Bases:  Juan Samuel - 8

Games:  Don Carman and Charles Hudson - 9
Wins:  Shane Rawley - 3
Innings Pitched:  John Denny - 29
ERA:  Shane Rawley - 1.82
Strikeouts:  Jerry Koosman - 18
Saves:  Larry Andersen - 2

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.

1985 Game 18 - 1985 Donruss Action All-Stars #56 Juan Samuel

Phillies 3, Expos 2 (10 Innings)
Game 18 - Monday Night, April 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 7-11, Tied for 4th Place, 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs, Expos and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies mounted an impressive come from behind victory capped when Juan Samuel's 10th inning single scored Darren Daulton in this walk-off, 3-2 win.

What It Means:  I'm reminded here that "walk-off" is a relatively new baseball term.  Back in 1985, the sports editor for the Atlantic City Press captioned the boxscore with the mundane "Phils Win in 10th" instead of "Phils Walk-Off in 10th."  Also, I wasn't exactly focused on the straight placement of these boxscores within my scrapbook back in 1985.  This one is particularly crooked.

What Happened:  John Denny and three relievers kept the Phillies in this game, scattering 10 Expos hits and allowing only two runs.  Denny went six innings and earned a no decision, while Kent Tekulve pitched the final 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Phillies and earned his first win with the club.

The Expos took a 2-1 lead in the second on a steal of home by Tim Wallach.  Mike Schmidt tied it up in the seventh with a solo home run off Expos starter Bryn Smith.  In the bottom of the 10th, with Bert Roberge on the mound, Daulton walked to start the inning and was sacrificed over to second by Luis Aguayo.  Tim Corcoran flew out to right with Daulton tagging up to third.  Samuel's single brought Daulton home for the walk-off win.

Featured Card:  I'm guessing the celebration in 1985 following this win doesn't compare to celebrations today following walk-off victories.  I remember game-ending hits being celebrated back then, but in no way to the extent they're celebrated today.  I'll celebrate Samuel's big hit in my own way with an oversized card from the 1985 Donruss Action All-Stars set.

I loved these oversized sets Donruss put out each year between 1983 and 1987.  This is probably the original card I found in a cellophane wrapper back in 1985 as there's a significant scuff mark on the side.

At the end of each month in my scrapbook, I'd look back at the team's roster and note any significant additions or departures.  35 years ago, I had to rely on TV Guide (!) to provide me with an updated numerical roster as we were years away from the internet and we hadn't yet attended a game at The Vet to pick up a program.  I'll take a look at the Phillies coaches from 1985 in tomorrow's game summary post.

2019 and 2020 Chachi Photo Cards - Signed!

In February, before the coronavirus shut everything down, fellow collector Rick made his annual trip to Clearwater with copies of Chachi photo cards in hand.  He was able to get a number of the photos signed and he was gracious enough to get duplicate cards signed for me as well.

The cards for Jay Bruce, Austin Davis, JD Hammer and Cole Irvin are from last year's photo card set, while the Deivy Grullon and Blake Parker cards are from this year's set.  The Parker card is officially an uncorrected error card, as he's currently and has always been #53 with the Phillies.  He even included his correct uniform number within his signature.

Thanks again to Rick for sending these along, as they brightened up what had been an otherwise glum day.  I hope we're all back to trying to obtain player autographs relatively soon.

And I hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy, helping where you can and focusing on staying positive.

1985 Game 17 - 1984 Tastykake Phillies Phillie Phanatic

Phillies 3, Cubs 2
Game 17 - Sunday Afternoon, April 28th in Philadelphia
Record - 6-11, 5th Place, 5 1/2 games behind the Expos

One Sentence Summary:  Kevin Gross and Larry Andersen handled the Cubs offense as the Phillies squeaked by with a 3-2 win.

What It Means:  The good news was this win allowed the Phillies to crawl out of the N.L. East cellar and they wouldn't spend another day in last place for the rest of the season.  The bad news is the Phillies would pretty much park themselves in fifth place for the rest of the season.  The Pirates were now behind the Phillies in the division and this win helped the Expos overtake the Cubs for the top spot.

What Happened:  With the frequent off days in April, this was the first time the services of the team's fifth starter, Kevin Gross, were needed.  Gross pitched six solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits.  Andersen pitched the final three scoreless innings to record his second save of the season.

There wasn't much offense in the game as two of the Phillies runs were unearned.  In the first, Juan Samuel reached on an erroneous throw from Cubs shortstop Larry Bowa.  Samuel stole second and third and came home when Von Hayes grounded out to short.  In the fourth, Mike Schmidt reached on an error from third baseman Richie Hebner, scoring Hayes who had doubled to lead off the inning.  Ozzie Virgil then singled Schmidt home.  The badly slumping John Russell went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts, dropping his average to .120.

Featured Card:  Many years later, as one of the team's broadcasters, Andersen would comment it seemed to be a strange coincidence how the Phillie Phanatic's birthday always fell on a Sunday with a home game.  The Phanatic's birthday was celebrated before this game with all kids receiving a free Phanatic undershirt.  The Phanatic was left out of the 1985 and 1986 team-issued photo card sets, so here's his card from the 1984 set.

Below is a look at the team's promotional give-aways for the 1985 season.  There's a typo with the Phanatic undershirt, as the giveaway happened on the 28th and not the 23rd.  How many of these did you get?

1985 Game 16 - 1985 Donruss #609 Glenn Wilson

Phillies 6, Cubs 1
Game 16 - Saturday Night, April 27th in Philadelphia
Record - 5-11, Tied for 5th Place, 6 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  Shane Rawley won his third game, Von Hayes had three hits and Glenn Wilson drove in three in this 6-1 win over the first place Cubs.

What It Means:  This was the start of a modest four-game win streak and again I was convinced manager John Felske was about to steer the Phillies' ship back on track and back into the pennant race.  He was not.

What Happened:  Rawley went 7 1/3 innings, allowing a run on four hits but also walking four.  Larry Andersen relieved him in the eighth and set up Kent Tekulve for a smooth ninth.  The Cubs scored their only run in the eighth when Gary Matthews had an RBI groundout.

Wilson started the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and added a two-run triple in the sixth.  Hayes' big day raised his average to a team-leading .328.  Mike Schmidt had a single to raise his average to .167 and John Russell continued to scuffle, going 0 for 3 and seeing his average drop to .136.  Luis Aguayo got the start at shortstop to give Steve Jeltz a day off.  Aguayo was on his way to going 0 for April, going hitless in 7 April at-bats.

Featured Card:  Wilson was on his way to his one and only 100-RBI season and the Phillies were about to introduce the world to Glennbo via its TV commercials.  Glennbo was Wilson dressed as a Rambo-inspired character complete with eye black and criss-crossing belts of baseballs across his chest. Sadly, I wasn't able to find any of the original Glennbo commercials on the internet, but I did find the image below.  You're all welcome.

1985 Game 15 - 1985 Fleer #653 John Russell / Steve Jeltz

Cubs 7, Phillies 3
Game 15 - Friday Night, April 26th in Philadelphia
Record - 4-11, Tied for 5th Place, 7 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  Jerry Koosman was hammered in his latest outing and didn't make it out of the second inning as the Cubs cruised to a 7-2 win.

What It Means:  This was the second straight rough outing for Koosman after he had shut down the Cubs earlier in April.  He'd make one more start on April 30th before missing the month of May with a bad left knee.

What Happened:  The Cubs scored five runs off Koosman in the first two innings.  Dennis Eckersley was in control for the Cubs from the outset, pitching a complete game and holding the Phillies to three runs (two earned).  Ryne Sandberg and Davey Lopes both had three-hit games for the Cubs with Lopes hitting a three-run home run in the first before the Veterans Stadium crowd of over 27,000 fans had even settled in for the night.

Glenn Wilson prolonged Eckerlsley's outing with an RBI triple in the ninth.  Steve Jeltz had a pair of errors at shortstop and went 0 for 3 to drop his season average to .186.  Mike Schmidt went 0 for 4 and was hitting .157 through the first 15 games of 1985.

Featured Card:  At this point in the season, Juan Samuel had started every game at second, Schmidt had started every game at third and Jeltz had started every game at shortstop.  The slumping Jeltz was about to get his first day off on Saturday night in game 16, and Schmidt would get a few days off a week later.  John Russell and Tim Corcoran had split first base duties with Russell hitting just .158.

1985 Cramer Hawaii Islanders #244

1985 Cramer Portland Beavers #50

Transaction:  The Phillies and Pirates swapped minor league catchers before this game with the Phillies sending Mike Diaz to Pittsburgh and getting back Steve Herz in return.  Neither would appear with their respective new teams in 1985, so this was a strange trade then and a strange trade now.  Diaz, acquired from the Cubs with Bill Campbell in the awful deal that sent Bob Dernier, Gary Matthews and Porfi Altamirano to Chicago, would go on to appear in 247 games with the Pirates between 1986 and 1988.  Diaz hit 16 home runs and drove in 48 as a back-up catcher, first baseman and corner outfielder with the Pirates in 1987.  He'd also spend four seasons playing in Japan between 1989 and 1992.

Herz appeared in 85 games for the Portland Beavers in 1985, his last year in professional baseball.

1985 Game 14 - 1985 O-Pee-Chee #103 Ozzie Virgil

Expos 7, Phillies 6
Game 14 - Wednesday Afternoon, April 24th in Montreal
Record - 4-10, Tied for 5th Place, 6 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  For the second game in a row, the Phillies fell short again against the Expos, despite three home runs in the 8th and 9th innings.

What It Means:  The good news for John Felske's club is the offense was starting to heat up, but the pitching was still a mess.  Starting pitcher John Denny lasted five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks.  Pat Zachry relieved Denny and allowed three more runs (two earned) in his two innings of work.

Following this game, the Phillies headed back to Philadelphia.  After an off-day on Thursday, they'd open up an 11-game homestand against the Cubs, Expos, Astros and Reds.

What Happened:  Ozzie Virgil hit a pair of home runs - one off Expos starter Bryn Smith in the second and another off reliever Dan Schatzeder in the eighth.  Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt both homered off Schatzeder in the ninth to turn what had been a sure blow-out into a close game.  Tim Burke recorded the final out to earn his first save of the season.  The home run from Schmidt was his first of 1985, and the 426th of his career.

The Expos scored three runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings, led by Tim Raines who had an RBI triple in the fifth and an RBI double in the sixth.

Featured Card:  Virgil was on his way to a default All-Star Game appearance in 1985 as the Phillies sole representative, initially.  Glenn Wilson would later be named to the team too, replacing an injured Pedro Guerrero on the National League roster.

If you had traveled to Montreal with the Phillies for this road trip, perhaps you would have come across this Virgil card in a fresh pack of 1985 O-Pee-Chee cards.

1985 Game 13 - 1985 Donruss #381 Tim Corcoran

Expos 5, Phillies 4 (10 Innings)
Game 13 - Tuesday Afternoon, April 23rd in Montreal
Record - 4-9, Tied for 5th Place, 5 games behind the Cubs and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies battled back to tie this game in the fifth inning, only to lose in the 10th on a bases loaded walk courtesy of Charles Hudson.

What It Means:  This game happened 35 years ago, but seeing the ninth inning sequence still makes me cringe.  Checking my symbol key from the first page of my scrapbook, I got to break out the purple marker for this box score.  The purple circle above the boxscore indicates this was an extra inning game.  Good stuff there.

What Happened:  Hudson relieved Kent Tekulve, who had pitched another two scoreless innings of relief.  Hudson allowed a single to Andre Dawson to start the ninth, and struck out Hubie Brooks with Dawson stealing second.  He intentionally walked Herm Winningham to set up the force at any base, but then proceeded to walk Tim Wallach and Vance Law in succession.  Game over.

Steve Carlton started this game and allowed four runs on nine hits in his seven innings of work.  All four Expos runs allowed by Carlton came in a shaky first inning.

Tim Corcoran tied the game in the fifth with a two-run single to right, scoring Jeff Stone and Von Hayes.  The Phillies offense went 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position.  Kiko Garcia appeared in a game for the first time in 1985, becoming the last player on the roster used by manager John Felske.  He'd appear in only three more games before getting released on May 17th.

Featured Card:  I most likely won't have a lot of chances to post any of Corcoran's cards in these posts, so I'll take advantage of the opportunity now.  First base was a black hole for the Phillies at the beginning of the 1985 season.  Niether John Russell nor Corcoran would prove to be a viable answer at the position and ultimately the Phillies ended up moving Mike Schmidt to first and calling up top prospect Rick Schu to play third.  Corcoran would make 38 starts at first base, serving as Schmidt's back-up between May and the end of the season.