Fred Lynn's opposite field double in the first inning of bonus baseball brought Denny Doyle all the way around from first for the winning run in a 3-2 Game 6 victory. Boston took the ALCS 4-2 and will now move on the face the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
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| Doyle beats relay for game-winning run |
For the second consecutive game, Fred Lynn put the Red Sox on his back coming off a 4-5 performance in Game 5 . The 1975 ROY now leads Boston in batting in the postseason with a .400 mark. Lynn picked up the slack left by a slumping Jim Rice, who is second in playoff batting for Boston at .390 but went 0-13 in the last three games of the series. Just as Boston used in back to back homers to get the offense rolling in Game 5, they also used back to back jacks once again in the seventh inning to get back into this one after trailing 2-0.
Kansas City starter Paul Splittorff redeemed himself from a poor outing in Game 2, holding the Red Sox offense to five hits while keeping the scoresheet clean for 6 complete innings. Carlton Fisk would be the last batter Splittorff faced as he back-footed a blast to right field to start the seventh. It was the fourth round tripper of the playoffs for Fisk, tying him for the team lead with Rice. "Pudge" also is batting .353 which places him third overall on the Sawx.
Royals' manager Whitey Herzog elected to go to the pen and get Steve Mingori, but he was victimized by a prodigious shot to left by Dwight Evans to tie the game at two apiece. Splittorff had danced out of danger on three other occasions as Boston put runners on third base three times previously but could not capitalize.
Even though he would not factor into the decision, Rick Wise gave Boston another solid outing. Wise allowed only 2 runs on 7 hits with 6 of those being singles. His post season resume to date reads (2-0) with a 2.95 ERA in 3 quality starts. Boston leaned on closer Dick Drago for the final 2.1 innings as he earned his first win of the playoffs to go along with 5 saves and a 1.80 ERA. The Boston bullpen has been terrific in these playoffs authoring a dazzling 1.80 ERA in 24.2 innings.
After Herzog called on Larry Gura to get the final out in the seventh, he set down the next 7 Red Sox batters in order. Doyle broke Gura's string in the tenth lashing a single to left. Cecil Cooper then flew out to center, and Gura was one out away from getting out of the inning. However, Lynn belted his team-leading 7th double over the head of Royals' left fielder Tom Poquette, and Doyle narrowly beat the relay to bounce Kansas City from the postseason picture.
Below the scorecard and Game 6 highlights are the pitching matchups for the first two games of the Fall Classic. The '77 Dodgers have home-field advantage for the series after eliminating the 1976 New York Mets 3-1 in the NLDS and taking care of the 1979 Montreal Expos in five games in the NLCS.
In my Sensational 70s dream season, the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers won 101 games tying them for the second most wins overall with the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. The 1978 New York Yankees were first in wins with 102, but they were sent packing by Boston in a three-game sweep in the ALDS. The Dodgers also led the majors in run scored with a total of 898. Their prolific offense has continued to flourish in the postseason as 5 starters are currently batting over .300. Reggie Smith leads the team batting an astounding .487 and was the regular season leader in OPS in the NL with a 1.077 mark. Dusty Baker leads the Dodgers in postseason homers (3) and RBI (10). Baker led the National League in dingers in my regular season with 48 and runs scored (123). He was tied for second in RBI with 128.
Sensational 70s World Series - Probable Pitchers
Game 1 - Dodger Stadium
Luis Tiant (15-9), 3.47 vs Burt Hooten (15-5), 3.44
Game 2 - Dodger Stadium
Bill Lee (17-8), 2.73 vs Tommy John (18-6), 2.65
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