1972 World Series Game 1

 I need to preface the start of my 1972 World Series by pointing out that Reggie Jackson WILL be playing. In real life, Jackson was injured in Game 5 of the ALCS and missed the World Series. While my 1972 regular season was AsPlayed, the League Championships and World Series are not AsPlayed for obvious reasons: the team matchups are not the same. Jackson did not get injured in my ALCS. I still thought about excluding him, but finally decided to let him play. If he does get an injury in the WS, he will miss the rest of the Series.


October 14, 1972

  The Oakland A's defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 in Game 1 of the 1972 World Series in Pittsburgh. The A's jumped into the lead in the 2nd inning on a 2-run homer from Mike Epstein. In the 3rd inning, Oakland chased Pirates starter Steve Blass and by the time the inning ended the A's had a 6-1 lead. Pittsburgh out hit Oakland 13-12 and the A's Ken Holtzman had a mediocre start, but it wasn't enough to stop Oakland from taking Game 1.

BOXSCORE: 1972 Oakland A's At 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates              10/14/1972
 
  A's                AB  R  H RBI AVG     Pirates            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  B.Campaneris SS     4  1  1  1 .250     V.Davalillo LF      3  0  1  0 .333  
  M.Alou RF           5  0  0  0 .000   C-J.Pagan PH          0  0  0  1 ----  
G-G.Hendrick RF       0  0  0  0 ----     B.Miller P          0  0  0  0 ----  
  J.Rudi LF           5  1  2  2 .400   F-B.Mazeroski PH      1  0  0  0 .000  
  R.Jackson CF        4  3  3  2 .750     D.Giusti P          0  0  0  0 ----  
  M.Epstein 1B        5  1  2  2 .400     A.Oliver CF         5  0  0  0 .000  
H-M.Hegan 1B          0  0  0  0 ----     R.Clemente RF       5  0  1  0 .200  
  S.Bando 3B          4  0  1  1 .250     W.Stargell 1B       5  1  2  1 .400  
  D.Duncan C          3  0  0  0 .000     M.Sanguillen C ,LF  4  0  3  0 .750  
  D.Green 2B          4  1  1  0 .250     R.Hebner 3B         4  1  1  0 .250  
  K.Holtzman P        2  1  2  01.000     D.Cash 2B           3  0  1  0 .333  
D-D.Mincher PH        1  0  0  0 .000     G.Alley SS          4  1  1  0 .250  
  B.Locker P          0  0  0  0 ----     S.Blass P           1  0  1  11.000  
  J.Horlen P          0  0  0  0 ----     L.Walker P          0  0  0  0 ----  
                                          B.Kison P           0  0  0  0 ----  
                                        A-R.Stennett PH       1  0  1  01.000  
                                          R.Hernandez P       0  0  0  0 ----  
                                        B-G.Clines PH,LF      1  0  1  01.000  
                                        E-M.May PH,C          1  0  0  0 .000  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      37  8 12  8                 Totals      38  3 13  3
 
A-Pinch Hit For Kison In 4th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Hernandez In 6th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Davalillo In 6th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Holtzman In 8th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Clines In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Miller In 8th Inning
G-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Alou In 9th Inning
H-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Epstein In 9th Inning
 
A's............. 0 2 4  1 0 0  0 0 1  -  8 12  1
Pirates......... 0 1 1  0 0 1  0 0 0  -  3 13  1
 
A's (1-0)                IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
K.Holtzman WIN(1-0)       7      12   3   3   1   4   1   3.86
B.Locker                  1       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
J.Horlen                  1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
Totals                    9      13   3   3   1   5   1
 
Pirates (0-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
S.Blass LOSS(0-1)         2 1/3   5   6   4   0   1   1  15.43
L.Walker                  0 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
B.Kison                   1 1/3   2   1   1   0   1   0   6.75
R.Hernandez               2       3   0   0   1   0   0   0.00
B.Miller                  2       0   0   0   1   0   0   0.00
D.Giusti                  1       1   1   1   0   1   1   9.00
Totals                    9      12   8   6   2   4   2
 
ATTENDANCE- 46,108 DATE- Saturday, October 14th 1972 TIME- Day 
T- 2:50
LEFT ON BASE- A's: 6  Pirates:10
DOUBLE PLAYS- A's: 2  Pirates: 0
ERRORS- M.Epstein, S.Blass
DOUBLES- J.Rudi-2(2nd), S.Bando(1st), V.Davalillo(1st), M.Sanguillen(1st)
HOME RUNS- R.Jackson(1st), M.Epstein(1st), W.Stargell(1st)
SACRIFICE HITS- B.Campaneris, K.Holtzman
SACRIFICE FLIES- J.Pagan
WALKS- R.Jackson, D.Duncan, D.Cash
STRIKE OUTS- B.Campaneris, M.Epstein-2, D.Duncan, A.Oliver-2, W.Stargell,
             R.Hebner, G.Alley
GIDP- M.May
2-out RBI- S.Blass, S.Bando, W.Stargell, R.Jackson
RLISP 2-out- V.Davalillo, D.Duncan-2, D.Green, R.Hebner-2, D.Cash
WEB GEMS- Top 6th: Manny Sanguillen blocked the plate, saving a run!
 
In a lop-sided win the Oakland A's ripped the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 8 to 3
count.
 
Ken Holtzman(1-0) contributed a pedestrian performance to earn the win.  He
was reached for 12 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings.  Oakland had 12 hits for the
afternoon.  
 
Steve Blass(0-1) was the loser.  He was knocked around pretty good, giving up
6 runs in 2 and 1/3 innings.