The two best words in baseball: Game Seven. The A's avoided elimination behind outstanding performances of stars Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter, besting fellow future Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver in game six. For the third time in this series, we will see the matchup between lefties Ken Holtzman (21 - 13 2.97 297 IP) and Jon Matlack (14 - 16 3.20 242 IP). Matlack has been brilliant in the postseason so far, allowing zero earned runs in 23 innings pitched across three starts. Can he keep up his dominance, or will the A's bats have an answer for the budding star? Holtzman has been a workhorse all season for Oakland, but he didn't even make it out of the first inning in game four. For the A's to become back-to-back champs, they will need him to make a major adjustment in this winner-take-all game. There have been plenty of distractions in this series, partly due to meddlesome owners (Charlie O. Finley), controversial plays, porous defense (Felix Milland and Mike Andrews), abrupt retirement announcements (Willie Mays), and speculation about managers' next jobs (Dick Williams). But all of that goes to the wayside with a game seven. For all the marbles, for history, for legacy.
Audio Clips from Phenia Films Youtube - NBC Broadcasters - Monte Moore, Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek
As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.
Catch you next time,
P.C.O.
