'69 O's sweep '77 Bombers

Those O's just keep on rolling and it all comes down to pitching. When you give up only 2 runs in 4 games to a high powered offense like the Yanks have you know you have the arms. New York's pitching was also exceptional, but there is no way you can win when your offens averages a half a run per game.

GAME 1 (Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD): Mike Cuellar and Ed Figueroa hooked up in a classic pitchers duel. For 7 full innings neither team could plate a run. In the bottom of the 8th the O's struck for 2 runs, which was all Cuellar needed. Light hitting shortstop Mark Belanger led off the bottom of the 8th with a single. McNally bunted him over to second and Don Bufford doubled him in. Frank Robinson doubled home Bufford to supply the insurance run. McNally went the distance to earn the complete game shutout. The Yanks threatened to score in the 9th, but both Nettles and Chambliss could not knock in either Randolph (single) or Jackson (walk).

GAME 2: Amost a repeat of game1. Sub in Dave Leonhard (BAL) and Don Gullet (NYY) and you have a similar result (2-0 shutout). In this game the Orioles scored both of their runs on John Wesley (Boog) Powell solo shots. Powell hit one in the 4th to break the scoreless deadlock and one in the 8th to add a much needed insurance run. Leonhard ran out of gas in the 9th after Willie Randolph hit a 2 out triple. Lefty Pete Richert was brought on to face Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss (lefty) who promptly popped out to Frank Robinson in foul territory in right field.



GAME 3 (Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY): Looking to spark his team, Yankee manager Ed Mikhli decided to start Ron Guidry on only 3 days rest. Not knowing how much he could get from Guidry was the wild card here, but New York's manager needed to spark it up. The other spark was inserting "Sweet" Lou Pinella into righfield and removing "Mr. October" Reggie Jackson. Pinella took "the collar" and Jackson eventually wound up pinch hitting for him and striking out in the 9th. Guidry gave his team 4 innings and 1 run ball, so did his relief, Dick Tidrow, but it would not be enough since the Yanks only managed to score 1 run and the O's plated 3. Dave McNally lasted until 1 out in the 8th and gave up only 1 run. Ed Watt came on in the 9th to nail down his 4th save. Brooks Robinson hit a solo shot in the 6th for his first of the season.

GAME 4: Orioles ace, Jim Palmer went the distance and gave up 1 unearned run to move his record to 4-0. Powell again provided the offense by clouting a 3 run shot in the 3rd inning off of Yankee starter Mike Torrez, who gave up 4 runs but only 1 earned, in 8 innings of work. The key play in the 4th revolved around Willie Randolph booting a Dave May grounder to put runners on 1st and 3rd as Powell stepped to the plate. If Randolph fields this ball cleanly the Yanks get the 3rd out and no damage is done. Palmer fanned 7 and allowed only 3 hits as he went the distance.


New York fell to 5-11 and plumeted into last place, while Baltimore moved to 14-2 as they tightened their grip on 1st.

79-PIT & 61-NYY split 2 at the Stadium

Breaking from tradition of playing the full home and home series all at once the Yankees and Pirates decided to play 2 games and take an off day.

Game 1, Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY): Ralph Terry pitches 6 hitter and has 3 hits himself to almost win gane single handedly defeat the Bucs. Terry has a good memory and he remembers well that in 1960 he was victimized by the Bucs to lose the World Series.

Game 2, Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY): Mickey Mantle almost becomes the man has 3 HR's but Yanks run out of relief help and go down in extra innings. If the '61 Yankees have one shortcoming it's extended relief. Luis Arroyo is a fantastic closer, but the starters must get to him since the rest of the bullpen is mediocre at best.

-contributed by Al Ginglardi-

1986 Mets Dominate 1988 Dodgers

Game 1: at Shea

Fernando Valenzuela opened the series for Los Angeles as he faced Ron Darling. Both pitchers pitched strong games but the Mets got on the board early as they plated 2 runs in the first inning as Strawberry connected for a booming 2 run homerun to left center. Ray Knight led off the second for the Mets and hit a ball into the Dodger bullpen in left to make it a quick 3-0 Met lead. The Dodgers made a late run as they scored a run each in the 6th and 9th innings. Fernando got tagged with the loss but pitched 6 innings of 3 hit ball while surrendering only 1 base on balls. Ron Darling allowed only 1 run in 7.1 innings pitched.

Game 2:

Another strong pitching performance by both clubs as the Mets and Dodgers combined to surrender only 5 hits in this game. Tim Leary was no hitting the Mets until the 8th inning and was protecting a 1-run lead when his defense let him down. Wally Backman led off the bottom of the 8th inning hitting the ball to first basemen Mickey Hatcher, who booted it. Rafael Santana then plated Backman as Rick Dempsey fielded his bunt and promptly threw the ball down the right field line to tie the game. Lenny Dykstra then shot a single to right field to score Santana with the go-ahead run. Roger McDowell came in the 9th inning to nail down the victory as he struck out the side. Noteables for the game. The Dodgers only run came on a homerun by Pedro Guerrero. Dykstra's RBI single was the only hit by the Mets all game.

Game 3: at Dodger Stadium

The Mets got on the board early when Keith Hernandez doubled to center then scored on a single by Ray Knight. Keith Hernandez was the star of the game as he went 3 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. All three of Hernandez's hits were doubles. Ray Knight also had three hits for the night as the Mets pounded out 10 hits to support starting lefty Bobby Ojeda. Ojeda went 6.1 surrendering no runs on 5 hits to improve to 4-0 on the season. The Met lefty has a good shot at the Cy Young this year with his strong pitching. Orel Hershiser is a disappointing 1-2 but he pitched well with 7 innings of 5 hit ball. Hershiser has started 4 games this year throwing 34 innings with a 2.38 ERA!! Baseball is a funny game but Orel is not laughing.

Game 4:

Another good pitching game but for the 3rd time in this series, the Mets struck in the first inning as Darryl Strawberry belted a 2-run homerun. The Dodgers came back in the bottom of the first with 1 run. Dwight Gooden and Tim Belcher matched zeros until the top of the 5th when the Mets added another run on a Wally Backman RBI double. It looked like the Amazins were cruising to another victory and a clean 4-game sweep until the eighth inning. The score was 3-1 and a runner on for the Dodgers and light hitting shortstop, Alfredo Griffin coming to the plate. The Dodger skipper had an ace to play; so he lifted Griffin for pinch hitter Pedro Guerrero. Guerrero hit a game tying homerun to left centerfield to shock the Mets and give life to the smoldering Dodger offense. Gooden was lifted for veteran reliever Jesse Orosco who got the side out without any other damage. In the bottom half of the 9th inning, Mike Marshall led off with a single. Mike Scioscia then bunted him over. Mickey Hatcher pinch hit for Stubbs and Orosco was lifted for Anderson. Hatcher singled sharply but not deep enough to score Marshall. One batter later, struggling veteran Mike Davis singled in Marshall to preserve a win for the Dodgers. The victory went to Alejandro Pena and the Defeat went to Jesse Orosco.

All the games were close and exciting. It seemed like a playoff series.

-Contributed by Joey Scigliano-

Boys of Summer Return as 81-LA Clobbers 79-PIT

The long wait is over – and the boys of Summer take the field once again to ensue the ultimate race to the fall classic. There is electricity in the air, as the 1979 Pitt Pirates face the 1981 LA Dodgers for bragging rights in the National League, as these 2 teams, tied for first place, slug it out.

Game 1:
The long rest proved to be key for Bob Welch and the LA Dodgers, who were at Home for Game 1. LA pounced on Blyleven right away, beginning with a Double from Landreaux – who was Singled home by Guerrero and Garvey then added another Single. With 2 on, Ron “The Penguin” Cey belted a 3-run shot (his 3rd) off Blyleven. LA led 4-0 after 1, and grabbed another run in the 2nd for a quick 5-0 lead. Welch held his own and kept the Pirates scoreless giving up only 3 hits and 1 Walk thru 5 innings of work. “The Penguin” added another Homer to his resume (his 4th – and 2nd of the game) with a solo shot in the 4th – and Guerrero, feeling left out, contributed a solo shot of his own (his 1st) in the 5th. LA now led 7-0 after 5. In the 6th, Sanguillen pinch-hit for Blyleven – and his Double led the way for 2 quick runs for the Pirates. But, that did not rattle Welch, as he settled down and pitched a scoreless 7th & 8th. LA did manage another run in the 8th – and with an 8-2 lead going into the ninth, LA relaxed just enough to surrender a Double to Milner for another Pirates score. LA fans gave the players a standing ovation as they left the field. Final score: 8-3.

Game 2:
Fatigue was setting in for LA, so the Manager decided that he would rest his starters to keep them fresh for the long stretch ahead. Goltz was in for a ride, as LA had weak bats and a weak team in the field. As such, a nervous Goltz surrendered a monster 2-run blast by Stargell (his 2nd) in the 1st. The Pirates were trying making a statement. But, LA was not backing down – and Reggie Smith smacked a 2-run shot of his own (his 1st) in the bottom of the 1st. However, the weak D proved to be too much for LA – and they committed 3 errors, which led to 4 unearned runs from Goltz thru 6. The error committed by Frias in this game would go on to prove to be an important factor later in this series. LA did manage a couple more runs, and did manage to out hit the Pirates 11-8 – but the Offense lacked power and ran out of gas. The Pirates did exact revenge in this game to
recover a shared lead in the National League. Final score: 6-4.

Game 3:
LA took a different approach to this game – and decided to add a couple of starters to inject some needed power and Defense to back up their ace Fernando Valenzuela. The game started off slow – but “The Penguin” struck again with a 2-run blast (his 5th overall – and 3rd of this series) in the 2nd off Don Robinson. In the 4th, LA grabbed another run provided by Doubles from Garvey and Russell. Pittsburgh countered in the bottom half of the 4th with a blast from Bill Robinson (his 2nd). Leading 3-1, LA squeaked another run in the 7th off a couple of hits. Pittsburgh had a time of it and simply could not figure out Mr. Valenzuela and his screwball, who went on to pitch 8 solid innings giving up just 4 hits and that 1 run – while striking out 7. Stewart came in relief and shut the door on the Pirates. Final score: 4-1.

Game 4:
Looking for answers, Pittsburgh put Bibby on the mound – who had his work cut out for him facing Reuss….another LA ace. Can a ball club have 2 ace pitchers – it would seem this LA team has that luxury. Pittsburgh was also going to rely on the fact that LA once again was fielding a weak Defensive team – but Defense would play a big part in this game for LA. Pittsburgh and LA traded runs – with Pitt getting a couple of key hits off Reuss in the 2nd and
Johnstone hitting a solo shot (his 1st) off Bibby in the 3rd. The score was tied 1-1 going into the wild 5th inning. LA scored 3 runs in the 5th by way of back-to-back Doubles from Johnstone and Yeager. Not to be outdone, Pittsburgh countered with 2 runs of their own – with help from another Frias (LA) error and Bibby helping himself by hitting a 2-run shot (his 1st). LA led 4-3 after 5 – and would soon add to that when Monday hit a solo shot (his 1st) in the 6th. In
the 7th inning and leading 5-3, Reuss got into a serious jam – Stennett Doubled and Foli Singled leaving runners on 1st & 3rd with only 1 out – and Bill Madlock stepping to the plate. Sensing a big inning from Pittsburgh, the LA Manager called “time” to make a Defensive switch. Ron Cey (The Penguin) would replace the error-prone Frias at 3rd Base. That was a key move, as Madlock hit the ball right to Cey – who ended the threat with a double play. LA would go on to turn 4 double plays this game – and hold Pittsburgh scoreless the rest of the way. Final score: 5-3.

LA took the series 3 games to 1 by pounding on Pittsburgh’s starting pitchers – Blyleven gave up 7 runs, Kison gave up 4, Robinson gave up 4, and Bibby gave up 5 – while LA gave up a total of just 7 Earned Runs for the series (3 from Welch alone in Game 1) – and LA now holds the
lead (temporarily) in the National League.

-Contributed by George Bserani-