Page 297 - 1975 BoSox

290 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
Blue induced Juan Beniquez to ground into an inning- ending double play.
e A’s extended the lead in the top of the fourth. After Jackson singled to lead o the inning, Gene Tenace grounded into an around-the-horn double play. With two outs, Joe Rudi doubled to left and Claudell Washington doubled to center to drive in Rudi. Cleveland limited the damage by retiring Phil Garner on a groundout.
e Red Sox bats sprang to life in the bottom of the fourth. Denny Doyle led o with a single and Yastrzemski slammed a rst-pitch home run into the screen above the left- eld wall, his rst of the year to the opposite eld, to cut the lead to 3-2. Fisk followed with a double and Lynn singled him to third. e fourth hit of the inning chased Blue, and Oakland owner Charlie Finley directed manager Alvin Dark to call on relief pitcher Jim Todd, who induced Petrocelli to ground into a double play, but Fisk lum- bered home. Evans grounded out, but the Red Sox had tied the game.
Cleveland set down the A’s in order in the top of the fth. In the bottom half, Cooper led o with a double, and relief ace Rollie Fingers relieved Todd. Rick Burleson sacri ced Cooper to third, but the big rst baseman was gunned down at the plate by Jackson when he attempted to score on Juan Beniquez’s y out.
After pinch-hitter Tommy Harper walked to lead o the Oakland seventh, Johnson turned to relief pitcher Dick Drago, who struck out pinch-hitter Billy Williams and induced Bill North to line to Lynn in center. Harper had been o on a hit-and-run play, and was easily doubled up when Lynn threw to Cooper at rst. Minutes later Petrocelli extended the Boston lead to 5-3 with a home run to left to open the bottom of the seventh.
e Athletics threatened to trim the lead in the top of the eighth when Bando doubled to left with one out. Drago struck out Jackson, but Bando moved to third on a wild pitch. en Drago retired Tenace on a y to left.
e Red Sox salted away the game with an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Beniquez singled and moved up on Doyle’s sacri ce. After Yastrzemski walked, Fingers fanned Fisk, but Lynn singled to score Beniquez.
As the fans serenaded Finley with a chorus of “Goodbye Charlie,” the Oakland owner, wearing a gaudy gold sports coat, rose and waved to the crown. On the eld, Drago closed out the game, inducing pinch-hitter Caesar Tovar to ground into a two-out force play to erase Washington, who had delivered a single.
e Red Sox stood just one win away from the
World Series. When Bando singled to start the Oakland
sixth — another stellar play by Yastrzemski held him at rst—Boston manager Darrell Johnson relieved Cleveland with Rogelio “Roger” Moret, who retired Jackson and Tenace but surrendered a double to Rudi, moving Bando to third. Both runners were stranded when Burleson ranged to his left to retire Washington on a grounder up the middle,
e Red Sox broke the 3-3 tie in the bottom half of the inning. Yastrzemski stroked a one-out double o the wall and Fisk singled him in. Fingers escaped the inning by getting Lynn to ground into a double play, but had given up what proved to be the winning run, and would absorb the loss.
ALCS Game 3 — Boston 5, Oakland 3
Tuesday, October 7, 1975
Oakland Alameda County Coliseum (attendance 49,358)
Oakland’s three-year world-championship run came to an end on the evening of Tuesday, October 7, 1975, when the Boston Red Sox earned a 5-3 win before 49,358 at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum to finish off a sweep of the American League Championship Series.
Ken Holtzman, who had pitched in Saturday’s opener, started Game ree for the Athletics, and pitched