For the third year in a row
the World Series was going to seven games. And for the last two years both
deciding games were won by the away teams so recent history was oddly in the Mets’
favor. For the third time in this Series Ken Holtzman was going up against Jon
Matlack and Matlack hadn’t had a bad post-season game yet. But as this card so
ably points out in both the score and the photo all that was for naught. Here
we have Bert Campaneris, of all people, breaking the Oakland homer drought with his shot in the
third inning and like on the last card Jerry Grote just gets to watch as the
Cinderella season finally slips away from him and his teammates.
Game Seven started late for a
Sunday game – about 4:45 PM – I guess so people on the east coast could tune in
after dinner and football. In the first two-and-a-half innings the two starters
only allowed a base runner between them but things changed dramatically in the
bottom of the third. After a strikeout by Dick Green, Holtzman hit his second
double of the Series, again down the leftfield line. Campaneris followed with
his homer, Oakland’s
first of the Series. After a Joe Rudi single and a Sal Bando pop-up, up came
Reggie Jackson, in no mood to be outshone in the power department by a
shortstop. So Reggie lofted his own two-run shot and all of a sudden Oakland was up 4-0. Harry
Parker came in to replace Matlack and gave up a walk before a pop-up by a
pinch-hitting Vic Davalillo ended the inning.
In the fourth the Mets made
some noise on a Rusty Staub single and a Cleon Jones walk, both on two outs,
but a John Milner groundout ended that. After Parker breezed through the
fourth, Grote led off the fifth with a single but he got stranded also. In the
bottom, Ray Sadecki came in and gave up a Campy single to left that Jones
bobbled, allowing him to get to second. He then scored on a Rudi single to
center and it was 5-0. Ray calmed down the rest of the inning and then it was
NY’s turn. Felix Millan stroked a one-out double and Staub followed with a
double of his own, shades of Oakland’s
scoring in Game Six. Millan scored, chasing Holtzman in favor of Rollie
Fingers. Fingers got Jones on a deep fly to right that moved Rusty to third but
Milner hit another groundout to leave him there. After Sadecki got three quick
ones in the bottom the Mets made some more noise in the seventh. Don Hahn
singled and after Bud Harrelson flied out to center for out two Ken Boswell
pinch hit for Sadecki and got his third successive pinch hit of the Series. But
Wayne Garrett left them both on with a strikeout. In came George Stone,
curiously absent in the Series. He gave up a single to Fingers and a bunt
single to Campy before striking out the side. Both pitchers breezed through the
next half-innings and up came NY for their final licks. Milner walked and Grote
flied out to left. Hahn then singled and Harrelson then moved the two runners
up with a bunt on which Fingers nipped him at first. Ed Kranepool then
pinch-hit for Stone and hit one to first, seemingly ending things. But Gene
Tenace bobbled the ball, Milner scored, and Hahn went to third. Thirteen years
later an error at first would resuscitate a Series for NY but not this time.
Darold Knowles replaced Fingers and with runners on the corners Garrett lofted
a fly to shallow left and Campy caught it. A’s 5-2 and the mini-dynasty was on.
This was Knowles’ seventh
game which set a Series record for a pitcher. He got the save, Holtzman the win,
and Matlack took the loss. Here is the pitching line:
IP
|
H
|
R
|
ER
|
BB
|
SO
|
ERA
|
|
Matlack
|
2.2
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
13.50
|
Parker
|
1.1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Sadecki
|
2.0
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
4.50
|
Stone
|
2.0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
8.0
|
9
|
5
|
5
|
2
|
8
|
5.63
|
|
IP
|
H
|
R
|
ER
|
BB
|
SO
|
ERA
|
|
Holtzman
|
5.1
|
5
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
1.69
|
Fingers
|
3.1
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
-
|
Knowles
|
0.1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
0
|
-
|
9.0
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
6
|
1.13
|
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