Friday Afternoon, October 5th, 1979 @ Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA
After two thrilling extra-inning victories in Cincinnati, the Pirates are headed home on the precipice of another World Series berth. The 'Family', as they are referred to by their loyal fans, have excelled in all facets of the game: great starting pitching (Candelaria and Bibby), tremendous defense (Foli, Madlock, and Ott), timely hitting (Stargell and Parker), and clutch bullpen heroics (Tekulve, Jackson, and unexpectedly Don Robinson!). Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner is confident those trends will continue, sending a veteran righty to the mound, Bert Blyleven (12 - 5 3.60 ERA 237 IP). The Dutch-born hurler will deliver one of the best games of his storied Hall-of-Fame career in his first career postseason start.
Reds manager John McNamara is hoping to keep the Pirates big bats at bay with young righty Mike LaCoss (14 - 8 3.50 ERA 205 IP), a 23 year old All-Star in just his second season in the big leagues. If the youngster runs into early trouble, expect McNamara to turn to veteran lefty Fred Norman (11 - 13 3.64 ERA 195 IP). If things don't go the Reds way, it will likely be the final time that Joe Morgan dons a Cincy uniform, signaling an end to the era of the Big Red Machine.
Tune in to another exciting conclusion of a championship series.
Audio clips from joeydbball Youtube. KDKA-TV broadcast w/ Milo Hamilton (final game as PIT PxP announcer), Lanny Frattare, and Nelson Briles
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.
