Time to finaly finish this “missing 1979 postseason sub-set” thread with Game 6 of the 1978 World Series, a game which saw the New York Yankees repeat as World Champions against the Los Angeles Dodgers:
With Catfish Hunter squaring off against Don Sutton, the Yankees were on
a three-game winning streak after opening the series with two straight
losses to L.A.
Though Los Angeles scored in the bottom of the first to take an early
1-0 lead, the Yanks countered with three runs in the second, followed by
two runs each in the six and seventh inning while Hunter kept the
Dodger bats at bay with two runs on six hits.
Here’s the write-up for the game from Wikipedia:
“Game 6 turned out to be the Bucky Dent –Brian Doyle show.
Davey Lopes gave the Dodgers home crowd a ray of hope with a leadoff
home run off Catfish Hunter. Dent and Doyle put the Yankees ahead in the
second; Doyle with an RBI double, Dent with an RBI single and an
additional run scoring on an error on the play. Lopes had an RBI single
in the third to cut it to 3–2 through the fifth inning, but that would
be it for the Dodgers. Sutton pitched well until the sixth inning.
Dent and Doyle pushed the score to 5–2 in the sixth with RBI singles and
Reggie Jackson put the final nail in the Dodgers coffin with a
tremendous two-run blast in the seventh inning to get revenge against
his Game 2 nemesis, Bob Welch.
Dent would be named World Series MVP, batting .417 with ten hits, seven
RBI, and three runs scored. Doyle would make a claim for the MVP himself
with a .438 average, seven hits, two RBI, and four runs.
While Lopes had a monster series with three homers and seven RBIs and
Bill Russell had 11 hits, the Dodgers power hitters lack of production
and the Dodgers shoddy defense was their downfall. Steve Garvey
(5–for–24, no RBIs) was no factor, and neither were Dusty Baker
(5–for–21, one RBI) or Ron Cey (no RBIs after Game 2) and the Dodgers
defense committed seven errors.
Thurman Munson caught the final out of the game on a foul pop by Cey.
This would be the final post-season game for Thurman Munson before his
death during the 1979 season.”
Of course the Dodgers would get their revenge against the Yankees three
years later when they themselves would be in a 0-2 hole going into Game 3
of the World Series before reeling off four straight to win the
Championship, a series I remember vividly as a 12-year-old in Brooklyn.
Well there you have it, the 1979 “missing” postseason sub-set in the books for posterity!
Hope you enjoyed it!
