1974 National League Championship Series
Encyclopedia
Game 1
Saturday, October 5, 1974 at Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
The Dodgers had been winless in six games played a Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
during the regular season but they remedied that situation in postseason play. In the opening game, Don Sutton was opposed to Jerry Reuss. The Pirate lefty yielded just one run in seven innings, but left the game in favor of an ineffectual pinch-hitter. Dave Giusti
Dave Giusti
David John Giusti, Jr., is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1962 to 1977....
came on in the eighth inning and gave up two insurance runs. Meanwhile, Sutton set the Pittsburgh club down on four hits and no runs.
Game 2
Sunday, October 6, 1974 at Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
The Pittsburgh string of scoreless innings was extended to 15 before the Bucs finally got on the board in the seventh inning of Game 2. But when they did score, there were no big base hits. One run came in on a groundout and the other on a high bouncer that escaped an infielder's glove and was scored on a single. But those two runs were enough to enable the Pirates to equalize the two runs that Los Angeles had scored earlier off Jim Rooker. With the game tied going into the eighth inning, it was a battle between ace relievers Mike Marshall
Mike Marshall
Mike Marshall may refer to:*Mike Marshall , American Major League Baseball outfielder from 1981-1991*Mike Marshall , American Major League Baseball pitcher from 1967-81...
, of Los Angeles, and Giusti. Marshall retired six straight batters in the last two innings but Giusti couldn't retire even one. He was clubbed for three runs and four hits before getting the hook. An error by his catcher, Manny Sanguillen
Manny Sanguillen
Manuel De Jesus Sanguillen Magan, better known as Manny Sanguillen or "Sangy" , is a former professional baseball player who was a catcher in the Major Leagues. He was named to the All-Star team three times, in , , and . He played primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also for the Oakland...
, didn't help matters.
Game 3
Tuesday, October 8, 1974 at Dodger StadiumDodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
A record crowd for Dodger Stadium—55,953—showed up for Game 3, confidently expecting the local nine to apply the coup de grace. But the home partisans were sorely disappointed.
Dodger starter Doug Rau lingered on the premises for barely 10 minutes, during which time he was bombed for five runs. With Bruce Kison pitching effectively for Pittsburgh and the Dodgers contributing five errors, the game was, for all practical purposes, over early. Kison gave up only two hits in the six and two-thirds innings he worked and his reliever Ramón Hernández, slammed the door on the Dodgers the rest of the way. The big blows for the Bucs were home runs by Willie Stargell and Richie Hebner.
Game 4
Wednesday, October 9, 1974 at Dodger StadiumDodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
Don Sutton and Jerry Reuss, as in the opener, were the opposing pitchers in the fourth game.
Sutton was just as good as he ever was, permitting but one run and three hits and striking out seven in eight innings of work before allowing the ubiquitous Mike Marshall
Mike Marshall
Mike Marshall may refer to:*Mike Marshall , American Major League Baseball outfielder from 1981-1991*Mike Marshall , American Major League Baseball pitcher from 1967-81...
to mop up. Reuss simply didn'y have his best stuff and was kayoed in the third inning. His successors didn't fare much better. The unfortunate Dave Giusti
Dave Giusti
David John Giusti, Jr., is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1962 to 1977....
made his third appearance of the series and was just as ineffective as he had been in the final two, being charged with three runs in an inning and a third on toll.
The biggest thunder came off the bat of Steve Garvey the Dodgers' first baseman. He had four hits, including two homers and drove in four runs as the Dodgers advanced to the 1974 World Series
1974 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 12, 1974 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaReggie Jackson put the A's on the board first with a solo homer in the top of the second off 20-game winner Andy Messersmith...
with the largest margin of victory in a championship series game, 12–1.
Composite box
1974 NLCS (3–1): Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
over Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - 1974 NLCS