1975 World Series
Game one pitted Fergie Jenkins vs Ron Guidry and it did not go well for us. The Sox scored 3 times in the top of the first, 2 of which came on a George Hendrick homer. It wouldn't get much better for us as they chased Fergie after just 5 innings and 7 runs. Guidry would go the distance, getting the shutout in a 7-0 White Sox win to give them game one of the series.
We had our backs against the wall in game twos showdown between Tommy John and Tom Griffin as Griffin stymied us through 5 innings and took a 3-1 lead to the bottom of the 6th. With 2 outs and the bases empty, Matthews would single and Hebner would take Griffin deep for a 2 run homer to tie the game at 3-3. Our bullpen was great as they held the Sox until the bottom of the 11th when with 1 out, Carew and Bumbry singled, and Bill Almon delivered the game winning single up the middle to give us a 4-3 win and even the series as we head to Chicago. That was big.
Jim Rice returns for game 3 and we're going to remove Horace Speed from the roster to make room. Horace has played well, I just think we're gonna need Matthews & Luzinskis power more if we want to beat the White Sox.
In game three, Eric Raich squared off against John Tudor and it was all about Tudor today. They would score two runs, one of them unearned, in the bottom of the 1st and that was all they would need. Tudor held us hittless through 7 innings, finally allowing a hit and a run in the 8th but Jack Kucek, in relief, allowed two runs in the 8th. Tudor would close out the 4-1 win as he went the distance and gave them a 2-1 series lead.
We went with Jenkins to face against Guidry with our backs to the wall in game four and Fergie came through with flying colors. A Jim Rice RBI single and a Luzinski two run homer in the top of the first inning gave us a 3-0 lead and that was all Fergie would need. He tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball and we chased Guidry in the 7th as we won it 5-2 to even the series.
Tommy John and Tom Griffin squared off in game five and it was an awesome pitching battle as we took a 2-1 lead into the 8th inning before Mike Caldwell allowed a 2 out George Hendrick homer to tie the game. Undeterred, we would send 8 men to the plate in the top of the 9th inning and score 3 times off of Griffin & Enrique Romo. Champion would shut the door in the 9th and we won a pivotal game 5 by a 5-2 score to take a 3-2 series lead heading back to Philly.
Eric Raich and John Tudor met in game six, a rematch of their game two encounter. Once again Tudor left us baffled. Raich kept it close through 6 innings but in the top of the 7th, a Joe Ferguson grand slam broke the game open. They would add 2 more runs off our pen and won it 7-1 as Tudor went the distance for the 2nd time in the series. It's all even at 3 games each as we head to game 7.
Jenkins & Guidry took the mound for the deciding game seven showdown. It was scoreless into the 5th, when with two outs and a man on 2nd, Jenkins walked Guidry and allowed RBI singles to Amos Otis & Sonny Jackson to give them a 2-0 lead. That would be short lived however, as in the bottom of the inning, Bill Almon & Ed Brinkman each connected off of Guidry for solo shots to tie the game at 2-2.
In the bottom of the 6th we broke it open. With 1 out, Rice doubled, Luzinski singled him home, Bill Almon singled, McCarver delivered an RBI groundout and Brinkman singled in the 3rd run of the inning to give us a 5-2 lead. Hebner would add an RBI single in the 7th to make it 6-2. Jenkins would leave after 8, having given up 3 runs on 8 hits. Bill Champion came on in the 9th with a 6-3 lead and with two out and two men on he got Sonny Jackson to pop up to short, giving us the win and the series. That was effin awesome.
Bill Almon hit .342 and scored 6 times for an offense that was rather anemic in the series. Jenkins was far from his best but he won 2 games, Tommy John had a 2.08 ERA through 13 innings and Bill Champion had a win and 2 saves in the series. I honestly didn't think we had enough to beat Chicago, but i'm glad to have proven myself wrong.