Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 40

XT biiiiiwm SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1976 Ms MBS HOffil Mitt By BILL CONLIN They pulled the plug on the Phillies' Bionic Man last night, sent him out against the Cardinals without his transistorized pain reducer. All they gave Garry Maddox in the way or 20th-century medical technology was a Band-Aid on his chewed-up right ring finger and a foam-rubber collar on the handle of the Henry Aaron model bat he borrowed from Mike Schmidt. Now there's a helluva bat for you "It's an Aaron model bat with Mike's name on it," Maddox said. "Schmitty ordered them 1 last year but he never uses them." The Secretary of Defense hammered a two-run homer in the second and the Blitz Kids hung on to beat the Cardinals, 2-1, for their sixth straight victory, Steve Carlton surviving a ninth-inning crucible to ring up his third consecutive complete-game victory. Maddox finished the Carlton I 0 Am til x'-i 'A made," Bowa said.

"That ball bounced off to- ward right field. Jerry went and got it and threw a relay strike to me." Maddox arrived at his locker after a radio interview show and eyed the press surround- ing his locker with mock suspicion. "Why didn't I catch it, huh?" he said. Nah, tell us about the home run you hit off Pete Falcone. "It was a curve ball low and in I just got the head of thebat out there," be said "I've been sitting two days and I wanted to get back in there.

Danny asked me how I felt before the game and I said I wanted to play. (Trainer) Don Seger and I decided to go without that pain reducer Johnson jusl to see if I could play without using it and the muscle pull felt fine. "HE RIGGED UP a sponge on the bat and also a brace. Seeg always comes up with something." Maddox thought he would come up with the ball that flashed off Cruz' bat, "That play spoiled my day," he said. "The ball carried pretty good, but when I got there I timed my jump pretty good also.

But my glove hit the wall and the ball jumped out. If it hadnl been for Martin backing me up we'd probably still be but there playing." It remained for Carlton to pitch out of a hellacious jam one out, lead run on second and the infield up. "It was a go-for-broke thing," Danny Ozark said, backed for once by the security of a four-game lead over the Pirates, who are now six back in the loss column. Don Kessinger hit a high chopper between the mound and first and Carlton threw him out and the infield retreated. Martin made surehanded play on pinch-hitter Ken Rudolph's liner to left and the Blitz Kids were a giddy 22-8, 14 games over .500, 14-2 this month.

NINTH-INNING CRISIS and all, Carlton unfurled his fourth victory in five decisions in a whirlwind 1:42, fastest in the National League so far this season. He walked only one hitter. "He had a good breaking ball," said catcher Tim McCarver, who continues to superbly play all aspects of his limited role. "I thought he was going to be overpowering the first three innings, but he lost some velocity on his fastball the middle innings and we went more to the breaking ball." No, it was not the vintage 72 Carlton. That unhittable 27-year-old vanished Phoenix-like into the ashes of his own excellence, never to rise again.

What he has been four of his last five starts is a solid, winning major-league pitcher. "None of us are capable of doing what we did when we were 27," McCarver said, refer- ring to the over 30 set. "Maybe nobody will ever pitch like Steve did that year again." PHILUPS: Dick Allen swiftly turned a mixture of boos and cheers to cheers with a pair of singles and a stolen base. game mad at himself. He figures he.

should catch anything he can lay a glove on, even if he has to run a mile and bounce his elegantly slender frame off the fence. He is a man determined to live up to his reputation of being the game's best centerfielder Sparky Anderson and Cesar Geronimo notwithstanding. Carlton, a majestic mound presence once again, breezed into the ninth with a four-hit shutout and seven strikeouts. TED SIMMONS BOUNCED out to second to start the inning. The Vet crowd of 32,074 roared.

But Reggie Smith roped a single to left and ex-Phils' outfielder Mike Anderson bounced a ball up the middle that seam-hopped over Larry Bowa. The hitter was rookie third baseman Hector Cruz, 0-for-3 at the time and struggling with a .171 average. Cruz hit a ball to deep left-center, at least a double by normal standards. But Maddox could spot a rabbit 10 yards and run it down. When he breaks from that shallow station and turns his numbers to the infield you anticipate either a home run or a great catch.

Okay, he's coming off a pulled buttocks muscle and isn't running quite 100 percent He got to the fence, the ball and leaped. The ball was in his glove, but jarred out when Garry hit the fence hard and rebounded onto the track. Smith scored, but Anderson, running cautiously due to the Maddox reputation and a super backup retrieve by Greg Luzinski's caddy Jerry Martin, held at third. "WHEN YOU WRITE about Garry, dont forget to mention the great play Martin i i CDS Admits Its a Merger Urger Phil Jasner: Page 39 Blaloch Uses Classic Strategy Joe Greenday: Page 38 Photoraphy by Sam Psoras Garry Maddox spills Mike Tyson in the sixthlutwatcb.es Cards turn the doubleplay ,3.