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.
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