Oakland A's Capture 1973 World Series Title

Game 1 Messersmith vs Holtzman

LA drew first blood in top of 1st as Lopes and Paciorek both reached base and scored. Oakland C Fosse got one of the runs back with a homer in 2nd, Oakland scratched out tying run in 5th, and walks to first 2 A’s batters of 6th led to Oakland taking a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish.

Ace relived Rollie Fingers, fresh off a dominating performance in the ALCS, pitched scoreless baseball in the 6-7-8 innings before Horacio Pina came in to lock down the game for A’s in the 9th.

Oakland 1-0

Game 2 Osteen vs Hunter

Reggie Jackson hit a solo homer in the 2nd to give A’s the lead, and that was all they ultimately would need as Hunter went 8 2/3 of shut out ball before Fingers came on in the 9th to get Steve Garvey on a 2-out groundout with runners on 2nd and 3rd. A’s scored 6 runs total against the goose egg for the Dodgers.

Oakland 2-0

Game 3 Sutton vs Holtzman

Neither team scored until LA broke through in the bottom of the 5th as Buckner and Russell led off the inning with singles and scored. Lead was short lived, as A’s 2B Dick Green cleared the bases with a 2-out double and then scored on Sal Bando’s hit to give the A’s a 4-2 lead. Dodgers clawed back one of the runs in the bottom of the 6th, then the tying run in the 7th as Fingers relived Holtzman with Garvey on 1st but allowed a run-scoring double to Joe Ferguson. Neither team would score again until the 11th, when Charlie Hough’s knuckleball wasn’t working. A’s got 3 runs in the 11th powered by a Reggie Jackson double and singles from Dick Green, Sal Band, and Ray Fosse. Dodgers didn’t go gently, however, as Davey Lopes singled and scored on Garvey’s double to make it 7-5. With their two best relievers already used, Oakland turned to spot starter/long reliever Glenn Abbott to preserve the game. Abbott promptly walked Tom Paciorek and Joe Ferguson to load the bases with no outs, and the A’s were in danger of losing the game. Ron Cey flew out while Garvey held 3rd, and then Willie Davis grounded into a double play to end the game.

Oakland 3-0

Game 4 Messersmith vs Blue

Not much suspense in Game 4, as Oakland got a run on 3 singles in the 2nd, added runs in 5th (Rudi HR), 6th (lead off double, bunt, sac fly), and 7th (Band HR) to take a 4-0 lead. Fingers came in in 6th to squelch an LA rally attempt, and other than a single run in the 8th LA went quietly.

Oakland 4-0

Notable performances:

Several A’s hitters excelled, led by Rudi (.375 avg, 1.037 OPS), Jackson (.632 slug), Fosse (.375 avg, .916 OPS), and Band (.922 OPS). Catfish Hunter went 8 2/3 scoreless in his only start, and Fingers pitched 9 2/3, struck out 10, and allowed only one unearned run as her appeared in all 4 games.

Davey Lopes paced the Dodgers with a .444 OBP, but no other hitter even reached an .800 OPS. Dodgers pitching was subpar throughout, as only relievers registered an ERA below 4.50. 

1973 ALCS - Oakland Advances to World Series After Defeating Baltimore in a 5 Game Slugfest

Game 1- Blue vs Palmer

Oakland started out hot as they scored 3 runs in each of first 2 innings, with Sal Bando hitting a 2-run homer in the 2^nd. The Orioles Got 1 in the 1^st and 2 in the 2^nd, and then loaded the bases with 1 out in the 3^rd. That was enough for the Oakland manager, who sent Vida Blue to an early shower and called on Rollie Fingers to face the ever-dangerous Bobby Grich. Fingers induced a double play ball to quell the threat. Bando homered again in the 5^th, and A’s C Ray Fosse homered in the 7^th as the A’s scored enough to keep this one out of reach despite the Orioles ultimately plating 6 runs. Sal Bando went 3-4 with 4 runs, 2 homers, and 3 RBI and Reggie Jackson went 3-4 with 4 RBI. Fingers went 4 innings in relief, although he gave up 3 runs, and Horacio Pina picked up the save. A’s up 1-0.

Game 2- Hunter vs McNally

This time the Orioles jumped out to an early lead as they scored 5 in the 1^st. Catfish was ^th and 6^th to close the gap to one, as Hunter settled in after the 1^st. A’s got a couple runners on in the 8^th to threaten, but DH Deron Jonson flied out to kill the rally. Johnson would go a horrific 1 for 18 in the series with 9 Ks. Orioles pitcher Bob Reynolds locked down 8^th and 9^th to pick up the save. All tied 1-1.

ridiculously homer prone this year, and he gave up a 2-run blast to O’s second batter Rich Coggins to get things started. The A’s got 2 runs in the 5

Game 3- Holtzman vs Cuellar

Both teams got on board early, as after 2 the game was knotted at 2-2.  Grich and Don ^thas Paul Blair tripled and scored, but the A’s strung together 3 singles to tie the game in the 8^th. The A’s would threaten continuously over the next few innings, but could never plate the elusive winning run. In the top of the 13^th, Orioles C Andy Etchebarren drew a walk from an exhausted Rollie Fingers. Pinch runner Al Bumbry scored on a Bobby Grich single, and while the A’s got a runner to second in the bottom of the 13^th Deron Johnson struck out and Angel Mangual grounded out to finish the game (Johnson and Mangual combined to go 1 for 30 in the series). O’s firemen Grant Jackson pitched shutout ball in the 12^th and 13^th to take the win. Orioles lead 2-1.

Baylor homered for the Orioles, and Bando doubled and scored for the A’s. Orioles got another run in the 6

Game 4- Blue vs Palmer

A’s again hit Palmer hard, as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first as Bando hit a 3-run ^th, as Earl Williams hit a 2-run homer in the 5^th and singled home Grich in the 6^th. In the 7^th, Brooks Robinson blasted a homer to give the Orioles a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the 8^th, PH Jesus Alou hit a 2-out homer to tie the game as the A’s fought valiantly to avoid dropping 3 in a row. In the top of the 9^th,  Earl Williams walked and was replaced by pesky PR Al Bumbry. Brooks Robinson plated Bumbry with the go-ahead run, and the A’s prospects looked dim. In the bottom of the 9^th, 2b Dick Green reached first on an Eddie Watt error and advanced to 2^nd on a Campaneris walk. Joe Rudi struck out, bringing the red hot Sal Bando to the plate with 2 out. Bando hit a 3-run walk off homer to keep the A’s alive. Bando drove in 6 of the 8 A’s runs for the game, as he again hit 2 homers in the game. All tied 2-2.

homer. Orioles tied the game in the 6

Game 5- Hunter vs Alexander

Orioles went with starter Doyle Alexander, who limited the A’s to one run for 3 innings and then was lit up. A’s Gene Tenace and Ray Fosse both homered in the 4-run 4^th, and Tenace homered again in the 5^th as the A’s scored another 3 runs. Orioles scored a run in the 7^th and 2 more in the 8^th to draw within 3, but the A’s lead was too much to overcome. A’s win 3 games to 2.

This series was exciting and evenly matched. Series MVP was Sal Bando (.522 avg with 4 HR and 10 RBI), but Reggie Jackson (.400 avg, 2 HR) and Gene Tenace (.556 avg, 3 HR) were also stellar performers. Rollie Fingers threw 11 innings in relief. Baltimore’s Paul Blair hit .429 and Williams had 2 HR in losing cause.

Congrats to Glenn on a well-played series.