By Wilbur Miller
John Candelaria and Kent Tekulve combined on a shutout as the Pirates beat Philadelphia, 4-0. The Bucs have now won the first three games of a five-game series at TRS. The teams will finish with a doubleheader tomorrow.
The only trouble the Candy Man faced came in the first, fourth and sixth. He gave up a pair of two-out walks in the first and a pair of two-out singles in the sixth. He got the third out both times.
In the fourth, Mike Schmidt led off with a double, but Candelaria got the next two hitters without Schmidt advancing. Garry Maddox beat out a grounder to short to put runners at the corners, but Mike Anderson popped up. Candelaria came out after seven innings, having allowed five hits and three walks.
The Pirates got the game’s first run in the bottom of the third. Dave Parker doubled and came around on a single by Willie Stargell.
In the fifth, the Bucs knocked out Phillies’ starter Nino Espinosa with three runs. Omar Moreno reached third with two out on an infield hit, a steal and a grounder. The Phillies walked Stargell, but John Milner foiled the strategy with a base hit to plate Moreno. The Phillies then intentionally walked Bill Madlock, but Ed Ott singled in two more, ending Espinosa’s outing.
Chuck Tanner went to Tekulve in the eighth. Teke gave up just a harmless single in his two innings.
The win left Candelaria at 10-7. Moreno stole two bases, giving him 49 on the year. Montreal lost to the Mets, leaving the Pirates just half a game out of first.
