Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 9

Pittsburgh JJost-iOascltc 9 Moreno's .295 BA Positive Factor for Bucs pull the ball when I have to and I can go to left field." PIRATES NOTES John Candelaria, winless in three starts despite a 2.37 earned-run average, will face Ken Forsch tonight as the Houston Astros open a three-game series at Three Rivers Stadium. The Astros, leading the NL West, have been executing superbly on offense, scoring runs with a minimum amount of hits. They steal bases, advance runners with bunts, make the most of the fundamentals The Atlanta Braves follow the Astros into Three Rivers, playing next Tuesday and Wednesday nights and next Thursday afternoon. Hitting is part confidence, and Moreno appears to have it now. He has struck out only five times in his first 61 at-bats and has hit safely in nine of the last 10 games.

Moreno's bat progress has been overshadowed by the inability of his teammates to play over .500 ball in the early weeks of the season. When and if the Pirates make their big push to the top, Moreno will be a factor. He is a rally-starter, and his speed makes things happen on the bases. "I'm more relaxed now," the 26-year-old left-handed hitter from Panama said. "I'm seeing the ball better and I'm able to adjust to different type pitches.

I can On the Air 7:35 p.m. Pirates vs. Houston, KDKA Radio (1020). harder trying to learn about hitting. He has pride and he wants to excel and he will." With a puny average last season, Moreno got on base enough to lead the majors with 71 steals.

He has eight now, and, if he continues to bat near .300, he will steal 100 bases. In center field, Moreno gives the Pirates A-plus defense. -it- ar wrrT TRY Spectacular Bid Is Blue Grass Champ tilWli Jt till 1 By CHARLEY FEENEY Post-Gzette Sports Writer It has been a struggle for Omar Moreno. Now, after two frustrating seasons, Moreno's dedication and hard work appear to be paying dividends. Moreno has become a hitter.

He's not in Dave Parker's class. He won't hit the ball with the power of Willie Stargell. He will just be Omar Moreno, effective, efficient, steady, productive. Give some of the credit to Harry Walker, who gave Moreno batting instructions last October. Give some of the credit to Bob Skinner, the Pirates' batting coach who constantly reminds 5 6 sk few Speclarular Bid, ith Bonnie ilSfe) IT it LEXINGTON, Ky.

(AP) Trainer Bud Delp had wanted yesterday's Blue Grass Stakes to be a hard workout for Kentucky Derby candidate Spectacular Bid. But it was anything but work for the coll. Delp said after the race he asked jockey Ronnie Franklin what he thought. "He laughed and said he (Spectacular Bid) was playing," Delp said. "He's smart and getting smarter every day," the trainer said.

"He was playing out there. He got the lead and he knew that's all he had to do." But Delp said he is not worried that Spectacular Bid's tendency to loaf on the lead will hurt him in the Derby May 5 at Churchill Downs. "He won't loaf," Delp said. "If there's a horse to beat, that's what he's gonna do." Playing or not, Spectacular Bid was just too much for three rivals in the Blue Grass, winning his 10th consecutive race. He galloped home seven lengths in front of Lot o' Gold, who also is headed for the Derby.

Bishop's Choice was another eight lengths back and 104 lengths in front of Pianist. Spectacular Bid ran the V8 miles on a fast track in 1:50 and paid $2.10 with win betting only as the overwhelming favorite of a crowd of 19,235 on a cold, windy day. Bishop's Choice broke on top but was quickly replaced in the lead by Pianist, who led the field around the tum and into the backstretch. Bishop's Choice was second, Lot o' Gold third and Spectacular Bid fourth, but there was little distance separating the four. Lot o' Gold, ridden by Darrel McHar-gue, shot into the lead on the inside midway down the backstretch, but Spectacular Bid.

moving on the outside, immediately took the lead away and kept it. With Franklin tapping him three r. Sk, acw victory in yesterday's Blue OMAR MORENO Flirting with .300 BA. Trainer Bml Delp ennfers wi'lfc joekey Bonnie Franklin after he puided Spi-etarular Bid to easy win in Blue Grass Stakes yesterday afternoon. or four times down the stretch, he drew off easily.

The victory was worth $79,657 and boosted Spectacular Bid career bankroll to $729,637. He has earned $345,153 for his five victories this year. The winning payoff equaled the smallest Blue Grass payoff established in 1940 by Dimelech and matched in 1976 by Honest Pleasure and in 1978 by Alydar. Only the three-horse fields in 1940, 1942 and 1956 were smaller than this year's Blue Grass. top tables included.

The Bistro Dinette: Charming glass-topped Dinette Table with pedestal base, set of two upholstered chairs. 3pcs. $99.87 usm icfmtai rrv IfTv rfefl Avwcuted Prm Moreno to be a patient hitter. Give most of the credit to Moreno, who is hitting .295 and is no longer a big out for left-handed pitchers. Moreno, who batted .145 against southpaws last season, is 7 for 24 for .292 this year.

"I'm waiting on the pitches more than I used to," Moreno was saying yesterday. "I used to lunge at too many pitches and I was always off stride." Off stride the figures tell it all. Moreno batted .240 in 1977, and .235 last season. "Moreno deserves to be successful," Skinner said yesterday. "Nobody works Franklin in the saddle.

Baseball Roundup the start of the sixth and earned his third save, although he was touched for Jerry Martin's first homer in the eighth inning. Richard allowed only a leadoff single in the third to Barry Foote before the Cubs reached him for a run in the fifth. After Sizemore singled to score Ontiveros, Richard fanned pinch-batter Larry Biittner, walked Ivan DeJesus to load the bases but got Scot Thompson to hit into an inning-ending force play. Houston's Terry Puhl stretched his hitting streak to 12 games when he singled opening the fifth inning. Puhl went to third on Dave Kingman's error on the hit and scored on Reynolds' double.

Cubs reliever Ray Burris loaded the bases on walks to Art Howe, Richard and Puhl before Reynolds delivered his two-run single in the sixth. 4C JOHN HICKS Pro career ends abruptly. Hicks. The Steelers gambled unsuccessfully that the Giants had mishandled him, and that Hicks could again regain the potential he was supposed to have when he came out of Ohio State. The Hicks case is a puzzle.

In 1974, he was second in the Heisman Trophy balloting and the third player selected in the pro draft. Very few offensive linemen have had that kind of pre-draft billing. Hicks, however, never lived up to it. The Steelers seem to be about ready to close the books on another bad trade the Paul Seymour-Frank Lewis fiasco. Although a spokesman for the league office says the matter is still being studied, the Steelers don't have great hopes that the league will step in and force Buffalo to give them a draft choice.

With breees In easy Astros' Richard Ends Cubs' Win Streak Graceful and elegant Meadowcraft Wrought iron, with a lovely antique green finish warranted for ten years! Create a beautiful setting indoors or out with this classically designed group, in glorious Drint and solid fabric and vinyl upholstery, i By The Associated Press CHICAGO Pitcher J.R. Richard blasted a home run and Craig Reynolds drove in three runs with a double and a single yesterday Co lead the Houston Astros to a 6-2 victory over Chicago, snapping a five-game Cub winning streak. Richard (4-0) hit his first homer of the season and the eighth of his career in the third inning off loser Lynn McGlothen (2-2). Richard allowed only three hits and struck out six, but left the game after five innings when he suffered a slight back strain. The Astros added two runs in the fourth on run-scoring singles by Bobby Warson and Alan Ashby.

Reynolds doubled home a run in the fifth and singled in a pair in the sixth. The Cubs got to Richard for a run in the fifth when Steve Ontiveros singled, took second on a walk to Bobby Murcer and scored on a single by Ted Sizemore. Joe Sambito took over for Richard at Steelers Smash Hit and with handsome glass The Seating Group: Full three-cushion Sofa, Lounge Chair, Spring Based Chair, glass topped Cocktail Table and End Table. 5pcs. compare at $485..

Just $399 r.T i if Grass Stakes at keeneland. The Brewers loaded the bases in the sixth inning of the nightcap on Ben Ogli-vie's fourth straight hit, a walk and a checked-swing pinch single by Larry Hisle. Yount then doubled off Steve Baker (0-2) to score all three runners and give the Brewers a 4-3 lead. A walk and a throwing error by reliever' Bruce Taylor set up Yount's RBI double in the eighth and Gorman Thomas followed with a two-run single. Thomas' hit proved to be decisive when the Tigers scored twice in the ninth on an RBI double by Lance Parrish off winner Reggie Cleveland (1-2) and Jerry Morales' sacrifice fly off Bill Castro.

The Tigers had broken a l-l tie with two runs in the top of the sixth on a bases-empty homer by John Wockenfuss, an error by shortstop Yount and singles by Aurelio Rodriguez and Mark Wagner. Thomas hit his second homer of the day and third of the season in the third inning of the nightcap as the Brewers took a l-O lead. Tigers starter Jack Billingham (1-2) took a two-hitter and a l-O lead into the seventh inning of the first game, but Cooper belted his sixth homer leading off and Don Money was hit by a pitch. Bases-empty homers by Thomas and Oglivie gave the Brewers two insurance runs in the eighth. Detroit scored against ex-Tiger Jim Slaton I l-l I in the second inning when Tim Corcoran walked, stole second and came home on a single by Dan Gonzales.

Royals 5, Indians 4 KANSAS CITY Cleveland relief pitcher Sid Monge threw a bases-loaded wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning and Willie Wilson streaked home to lift the Royals to victory over the Indians. The left-handed Monge was brought in to face George Brett after the Rovals loaded the bases against loser Dan Spillner (0-1). Kansas City reliever Al Hrabosky (2-0) retired the Indians in the top of the ninth after Gary Alexander hit a solo home run off starter Rich Gale to tie the score, 4-4. Brett's triple keyed a three-run rally in the sixth and Dafrell Porter clubbed a solo home run as the Royals won their fourth game in a row. Porter, who drove in four runs and homered Wednesday night, connected off Mike Paxton in the fourth inning.

After the Indians scored a run in the sixth on Bobby Bonds' third home run of the season to take a 3-1 lead, Frank White looped a double leading off the Kansas City sixth. Brett followed with a triple and scored the tying run on a single by Amos Otis. Otis stole second, continued to third on catcher Alexander's throwing error and scored the go-ahead run on a ground-out by Al Cowen'- Bill Buckner extended his hitting streak to 11 games when he greeted Sambito with a single in the sixth. Ontiveros also singled but Sambito got Murcer to foul out, then fanned Foote. Martin's homer was the first run allowed by Sambito this season after 10 innings.

Brewers 5, Tigers 1 Brewers 7, Tigers 5 MILWAUKEE Robin Yount broke a l-for-29 slump with a three-run, sixth-inning double and doubled home another run in a three-run eighth, propelling Milwaukee to a 7-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers yesterday as the Brewers capped a doubicheader sweep. The Brewers won the first game, 5-1, as Cecil Cooper homered and Charlie Moore lined a two-run single in a three-run seventh-inning. in Movies the draft coming up Thursday, time is running out. It looks 36 if the Bills are going to get away free, but it is obvious that it has left relations strained between the two clubs. "I don't think they have clean hands in all of this," Dan Rooney, the Steeler president, says.

You can forget all of this talk about the Steelers giving the Bills Dirt Winston for a No. I pick. Although Rooney says he isn't against dealing with Buffalo in the future, he adds, "I don't think we can believe what they say." That doesn't make it sound as if there'll be many dealings between the clubs in the future. The irony is that the Steelers did the Bills a favor by agreeing to play their opening exhibition game at Buffalo. The Steelers can virtually pick where they want to play their exhibition games because they are a team in demand.

And they won't make much money going to Buffalo. The Steelers don't have their Super Bowl rings yet, although there is a mockup of the ring in their lobby. This year's ring will have a little more "sparkle" than the first two. The players felt the first two were a bit austere (in the club's traditional image) and wanted them a bit flashier this time. Although Chuck Noll lost his third-round pick in the draft for his illegal practice last May, he virtually got it back in the Jimmy Allen deal with Detroit.

The Steelers got a fourth-round pick, which turns out to be Tampa Bay's fourth-round pick through Detroit. That's the fourth pick in the fourth round, which isn't much different from the 28th pick in the third. COMPARE GEE BEE LOW PRICES on the best of the outdoor furniture brands. Genuine John Hancock Redwood, Meadowcraft wrought iron, Homecrest, Typhoon Wicker, Lawnlite, and more. And use our convenient Revolving charge to enjoy it now.

Bv VITO STELLINO Pbst.Gette Seorts Writer Bum Phillips would have figured the rain was a rather appropriate backdrop yesterday. It was the day the Steelers picked to unveil their 1978 highlight film entitled, "The Return of the Champions." It brought back the memories of the 17-2 season, including the rain-splashed victory over Houston in the AFC title game. The film would probably be X-rat-ed jn Houston and Dallas. The familiar voice of John Facenda made it sound as if it were the Battle of Britain instead of the Battle for the Super Bowl, and the Steeler fans had supporting roles. The towel-waving fans were dubbed the "Steeler Nation," and it was pointed out that Dallas had the misfortune of being a single team going against an entire nation.

There was one omission that would be noted in Dallas. The Super Bowl coverage included most of the big plays, including the Jackie Smith drop. But the bad call by Fred Swearingen on the critical Lynn Swann-Benny Barnes play was left out. The film will be shown on television this summer. The Steelers are also working on a project to show the entire three-hour tape of NBC-TV's coverage of the Super Bowl this summer.

But the plans haven't been completed. The Steelers dosed the book on the John Hicks trade yesterday when they announced he has "retired." That's a nice way of saying they don't think he can play even though he is just 28. That means the Steelers were left empty-handed when they dealt Jim Clack and Ernie Pough to the Giants for lw rniture uenrer Brldgevllle, Chor tier Valley Shopping Center, route SO Eastland Mall, uit oH route 30 at Wetlnghoue Bridge Natrona Heights, new Highlands Mall, Freeport Road JOHNSTON UNIONTOWN MU GBHNSSUBO WASHINGTON MONACA Open ever night.