Phillies Take Series Opener, 2-1

BALTIMORE--Garry Maddox led off the Philadelphia eighth inning with a home run to break up a World Series pitching duel between John Denny and Baltimore's Scott McGregor last night and give the Phillies a 21 victory in Game One.

The game matched two of the finest pitchers in baseball but it was decided in a battle of home runs. Baltimore's Jim Dwyer, one of the Orioles' platoon players, belted a first inning homer and oldtimer Joe Moral tied in the sixth for the Phillies.

The victory put the Phillies one game ahead in the best-of-seven Series, with rook is right-hander Charles Hudson pitching tonight in Game 2 against another rookie right-hander, Mike Boddicker of Baltimore.

Dearly and McGregor, both of whom failed to go the distance last night, matched three-hitters through the first six innings. In the eighth, Maddox came to bat against McGregor with the score tied 1-1. During the season he had shared center field with Gree 'Gross, Von Hayes and Bob Dernier and had hit only four home runs. He was one of those unhappy Phillie role players.

But all that unhappiness was set aside last night.

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Maddox drilled the first pitch in the eighth over the left-field fencing, arming Denny with the lead for the first time. The Phillies nearly had successive homers when Bo Diaz, the next better, hit a 1-0 pitch that seemed destined to sail over the fence in left field, but John Lowenstein timed his leap perfectly and snared the ball above and beyond the fence.

Right-hander Denny, a 19-game winner during the regular season, retired the first two batters in the eighth but, when Al Bumbry doubled, the Phillies went to their bullpen, bringing on relief ace Al Holland.

Denny had given up five hits, but held one of baseball's most explosive lineups to a single run. He had retired 10 in a row at one point.

The Phillies had the luxury of Holland in the bullpen. He had a club-record 25 saves and an earned run average of 2.26 during the regular season. He retired pinch-hitter Dan Ford on a fly to left on the first pitch, ending the Baltimore threat.

Holland, in the ninth, retired the Orioles in order, getting Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray and pinch hitter Gary Roenicke.

This marked the first time in six World Series that the Orioles had lost the opener.

McGregor, 18-7 during this season and a loser in the 2-1 opening game of the playoffs against Chicago, had retired four straight batters following Morgan's game-tying homer.

McGregor protected the 1-0 lead until two were out in the sixth and Morgan came to the plate. He had hit 16 home runs during the regular season and, at 40 years of age, he was ready to prove there still was some life in those old bones.

The count on Morgan, who had only one hit in the National League playoffs, went to 1-2 before he lined the next pitch over the right-center fence. The huge crowd in Memorial Stadium went silent.

It was in stark contrast to the home run in the first inning, when the fans packed into this old park had more reason to cheer.

Bumbry led off by flying to center field and that brought one of Manager Joe Altobelli's shock troops to the plate. Dwyer, a platoon player in right field with Ford, had only 196 at-bats during the season and eight homers. Denny had given up just nine homers in his 242 2/3 innings work for the Phillies this year.

So it was a most unlikely occurrence that gave McGregor a 1-0 lead. With the count 3-2 on Dwyer, a left-handed hitter, Denny's pitch split the middle of the plate. Dwyer hammered it over the right-center field fence to become the 18th player to homer in his first World Series at bat.