The Baltimore Orioles are 5-1 lifetime in game one. However, this has not always led to a championship.
The O's first made it to the World Series in 1966. But they were up against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. But the Orioles had some pitching, too.
The Orioles, though, had some pitching of their own. Playing the first game on the road, they sent out Dave McNally to face Drysdale. Don was roughed up.
The Robinsons, Frank and Brooks, went back-to-back in the top of the first after Russ Snyder had walked. The teams then traded runs in the top of the third, as the Dodgers got a home run off from Jim Lefebvre got into the long ball act. The Dodger kept coming at McNally.
Dave lost control in the bottom of the third. After getting the first batter out, he walked three straight to load the bases. That ended his day as Moe Drabowsky came in from the bullpen. Well, he fanned Wes Parker for the second out. But when he walked Jim Gilliam, it was 4-2, Baltimore. He got Johhny Roseboro on a pop up to end the inning. Moe then went on to give up just one hit over 6 2/3 innings, fanning 11. Baltimore, who scored the games' last run, won 5-2. The Dodgers ended up being swept.
Three years later, the Orioles were at home against the upstart New York Mets. New York may have been the underdog, but they trotted out the great Tom Seaver to the hill for game one. Mike Cuellar opposed him.
Cuellar got through the top of the first without a run scoring. The same could not be said of Seaver. The Orioles wasted no time in getting to him. Don Buford, the first batter of the game for Baltimore, took Tommy out of the yard. The Orioles didn't stop there. They added three more in the bottom of the fourth, while all the Mets could do is score once off Cuellar the whole game. Baltimore made it look easy.
The Mets seemed so overmatched. But back they came! The took game two behind Jerry Koosman, 2-1. They went home and closed out Baltimore with three wins at home. The Miracle Mets had done it!
But in 1970, there would be no miracle for the Baltimore Orioles opponents. It was poor Cincinnati that got it. The Orioles were the guests at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, but they were bad company.
The Reds went out there in the opening tilt to defend their turf. And they actually started out quite well. They scored once in the bottom of the second, and two more times in the third as Lee May went yard. The Orioles had no intention of losing this one, however.
Boog Powell hit a two-run home run in the top of the fourth to make it a one-run game, 3-2. The Orioles then tied it at three as Elrod Hendricks hit a solo shot in the top of the fifth. The Reds looked like they might get more as May started the bottom of the second with a grounder that looked like it was heading down the third base line. However, Brooks Robinson snared it with a backhand stab, and threw him out. It was a big play.
Brooksie then hit a home run in the top of the top of the seventh. Jim Palmer made that stand up and the Orioles won a hard-fought opener. The Reds were close in game two, and won game four, 6-5. However, Baltimore won in five games. Brooks Robinson was all over the plate. He also had several key hits.
And the O's looked like they'd repeat in 1971. Not only did they win game one at home, they also won the second contest. Damon Buford hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to break a 3-3 tie in the first game. Their opponents, however, the Pittsburgh Pirates, came storming back. They won games three, four and five at home. Baltimore forced a game seven with a clutch win in game six, only to lose 2-1 in the grand finale.
The Pirates weren't through with the Orioles. The two teams met again in 1979, although the O's started it off on the right foot. Baltimore won game one by a score of 5-4. The Pirates, however, trailed 5-0 after just one inning, so they showed plenty of perseverance. After winning game two, Pittsburgh was all even. The Orioles won games three and four in Three Rivers Stadium, before the Pirates stayed alive with a 7-1 win in game five. Going back home, Baltimore more have felt confidence. However, it was Pittsburgh with a 4-0 shutout victory over Jim Palmer in game six. Trailing 1-0 in game seven, Willie Stargell hit a two-run home run off Scott McGregor in the top of the sixth inning to overcome that. Two more runs in the top of the ninth gave Pirate reliever Kenny Tekulve the cushion he needed to close out the Orioles, 4-1.
Baltimore then faced Philadelphia in the 1983 Fall Classic. Philly had won it all in 1980 and were looking for their second World Series win of the decade. And game one seemed to pave the way for that. Scott McGregor was there on the mound again. Again he seemed to have things all under control for the home team. The Orioles scored first in the bottom of the first.
McGregor had a fine two-hitter going through five, but Philadelphia tied the game on a solo home run by Joe Morgan (Formally of the Cincinnati Reds). Scott had a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, but again was nailed by the long ball in the top of the eighth. Garry Maddox, first pitch swinging, got the big hit to start the top of the of inning. McGregor was removed in favour of a pinch hitter in the bottom of the frame. Baltimore got the tying run to second via a double by Al Bumbry. That was as close as the O's came to winning the game. They were retired in order in the last of the ninth.
Baltimore, however, came back to win the next four games, winning the Fall Classic for the third straight decade.
References
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
Retrosheet. Web. 12 Mar. 2016. <www.retrosheet.org>
The O's first made it to the World Series in 1966. But they were up against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. But the Orioles had some pitching, too.
The Orioles, though, had some pitching of their own. Playing the first game on the road, they sent out Dave McNally to face Drysdale. Don was roughed up.
The Robinsons, Frank and Brooks, went back-to-back in the top of the first after Russ Snyder had walked. The teams then traded runs in the top of the third, as the Dodgers got a home run off from Jim Lefebvre got into the long ball act. The Dodger kept coming at McNally.
Dave lost control in the bottom of the third. After getting the first batter out, he walked three straight to load the bases. That ended his day as Moe Drabowsky came in from the bullpen. Well, he fanned Wes Parker for the second out. But when he walked Jim Gilliam, it was 4-2, Baltimore. He got Johhny Roseboro on a pop up to end the inning. Moe then went on to give up just one hit over 6 2/3 innings, fanning 11. Baltimore, who scored the games' last run, won 5-2. The Dodgers ended up being swept.
Three years later, the Orioles were at home against the upstart New York Mets. New York may have been the underdog, but they trotted out the great Tom Seaver to the hill for game one. Mike Cuellar opposed him.
Cuellar got through the top of the first without a run scoring. The same could not be said of Seaver. The Orioles wasted no time in getting to him. Don Buford, the first batter of the game for Baltimore, took Tommy out of the yard. The Orioles didn't stop there. They added three more in the bottom of the fourth, while all the Mets could do is score once off Cuellar the whole game. Baltimore made it look easy.
The Mets seemed so overmatched. But back they came! The took game two behind Jerry Koosman, 2-1. They went home and closed out Baltimore with three wins at home. The Miracle Mets had done it!
But in 1970, there would be no miracle for the Baltimore Orioles opponents. It was poor Cincinnati that got it. The Orioles were the guests at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, but they were bad company.
The Reds went out there in the opening tilt to defend their turf. And they actually started out quite well. They scored once in the bottom of the second, and two more times in the third as Lee May went yard. The Orioles had no intention of losing this one, however.
Boog Powell hit a two-run home run in the top of the fourth to make it a one-run game, 3-2. The Orioles then tied it at three as Elrod Hendricks hit a solo shot in the top of the fifth. The Reds looked like they might get more as May started the bottom of the second with a grounder that looked like it was heading down the third base line. However, Brooks Robinson snared it with a backhand stab, and threw him out. It was a big play.
Brooksie then hit a home run in the top of the top of the seventh. Jim Palmer made that stand up and the Orioles won a hard-fought opener. The Reds were close in game two, and won game four, 6-5. However, Baltimore won in five games. Brooks Robinson was all over the plate. He also had several key hits.
And the O's looked like they'd repeat in 1971. Not only did they win game one at home, they also won the second contest. Damon Buford hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to break a 3-3 tie in the first game. Their opponents, however, the Pittsburgh Pirates, came storming back. They won games three, four and five at home. Baltimore forced a game seven with a clutch win in game six, only to lose 2-1 in the grand finale.
The Pirates weren't through with the Orioles. The two teams met again in 1979, although the O's started it off on the right foot. Baltimore won game one by a score of 5-4. The Pirates, however, trailed 5-0 after just one inning, so they showed plenty of perseverance. After winning game two, Pittsburgh was all even. The Orioles won games three and four in Three Rivers Stadium, before the Pirates stayed alive with a 7-1 win in game five. Going back home, Baltimore more have felt confidence. However, it was Pittsburgh with a 4-0 shutout victory over Jim Palmer in game six. Trailing 1-0 in game seven, Willie Stargell hit a two-run home run off Scott McGregor in the top of the sixth inning to overcome that. Two more runs in the top of the ninth gave Pirate reliever Kenny Tekulve the cushion he needed to close out the Orioles, 4-1.
Baltimore then faced Philadelphia in the 1983 Fall Classic. Philly had won it all in 1980 and were looking for their second World Series win of the decade. And game one seemed to pave the way for that. Scott McGregor was there on the mound again. Again he seemed to have things all under control for the home team. The Orioles scored first in the bottom of the first.
McGregor had a fine two-hitter going through five, but Philadelphia tied the game on a solo home run by Joe Morgan (Formally of the Cincinnati Reds). Scott had a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, but again was nailed by the long ball in the top of the eighth. Garry Maddox, first pitch swinging, got the big hit to start the top of the of inning. McGregor was removed in favour of a pinch hitter in the bottom of the frame. Baltimore got the tying run to second via a double by Al Bumbry. That was as close as the O's came to winning the game. They were retired in order in the last of the ninth.
Baltimore, however, came back to win the next four games, winning the Fall Classic for the third straight decade.
References
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
Retrosheet. Web. 12 Mar. 2016. <www.retrosheet.org>
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