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THE "GOLD DUST TWINS" AND
A SEASON TO REMEMBER
...
1975
ALCS, GAME #1
The A's
bobble the first game away while Luis Tiant is magnificent
October 4,
1975 ...
The Red Sox rode the three-hit pitching of
Luis Tiant to a 7 to 1 victory over the favored Oakland Athletics, in
the first game of the American League Championship Series.
Tiant baffled the A's hitters, while the Sox were sharp, ran the
bases with success and got the clutch hits. The A's, on the other
hand, played like a high school team, booting ground balls, making
bad throws and misjudging fly balls. They gave the Sox four unearned
runs and their three errors in the first inning set a playoff record.
The Sox knew that winning the opener with Tiant on the mound, was
very important and they went right after their opponents in the first
inning. An error by Sal Bando and another by Claudell Washington on
the same play and one, a batter later, by secondbaseman Phil Garner,
opened the gates for two Sox runs.
El Tiante struck out two of the first three batters he faced in the
first inning. In the bottom of the first, Ken Holtzman got two outs.
But then Carl Yastrzemski singled up the middle and Carlton Fisk
banged a hard chopper toward Bando. He misplayed it, backing up as
the ball bounced by him into left field. Washington had a late start
getting to the ball, so third base coach, Don Zimmer, waved Yaz
around. Washington threw to Bando and the ball clanged off his glove,
allowing Fisk to get to third. Fred Lynn next hit a grounder to the
left of Phil Garner, who kicked the ball as Fisk slid home, 2-0.
While Tiant was keep the A's bats silent, the Sox broke the game open
with five runs in the seventh inning. After Dwight Evans doubled to
open the inning, he was bunted to third by Cecil Cooper. Rick
Burleson rammed a double inside the bag and through the pulled-in
infield, making it 3-0. Holtzman left and Jim Todd threw three
pitches, the second of which was lined up the middle by Juan
Beniquez.
Now 4-0, Paul Lindblad came in and id his job, but his fielders
didn't. Beniquez stole second and third, and scored on a fly ball
from Denny Doyle, that Billy North dropped. Fisk singled and Lynn
lofted a high double off the wall, that hit only three feet from the
ground and scored two more runs.
After Looie got Bert Campaneris out to end the game, he got a big
bear-hug from Carlton Fisk. It was a good day. |
