Infinite Cincinnati

1972 World Series: Game 4
CINCINNATI REDS @ OAKLAND ATHLETICS
OCTOBER 19, 1972
TIMELINE 15
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati Reds 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 13 0
Oakland Athletics 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 X 4 11 0
Bando's 420-Foot Blast in Eighth Breaks Tie, Lifts A's in Game 4
Ken Holtzman and Don Gullett matched left arms on a 56-degree evening at the Coliseum, the wind pushing in from left field at nine miles an hour — the kind of night that rewards pitchers who stay low and punishes hitters who try to lift the ball. Cincinnati made Holtzman pay early for wildness in the zone: Morgan fought to a full count in the first at-bat of the game and lashed a triple into the right-field corner, and within minutes Bobby Tolan's single and Denis Menke's two-out double had staked the Reds to a 3-0 lead before Holtzman had recorded six outs. The man scattered thirteen hits over nine innings and 152 pitches. He simply refused to leave.

Oakland answered in fours. Mangual doubled past the center fielder in the bottom of the fourth, Tenace drove him home with another double to right-center, and Dick Green's single through the hole brought Tenace around without a throw. Just like that it was 3-2, and the game settled into a six-inning negotiation between two starters who had no intention of handing the ball to anyone else. Gullett retired the side in order through the fifth, sixth, and seventh. Holtzman kept stranding Reds — Cincinnati would leave ten men on base before the night was through, as if the baserunners knew, in some half-conscious way, that the door home was going to stay shut.

Then Sal Bando ended the negotiation. Joe Rudi singled sharply up the middle to open the eighth, and Bando turned on Gullett's first pitch and drove it 420 feet into the left-center-field bleachers, the ball carrying through the headwind like it had somewhere important to be. Oakland 4, Cincinnati 3. Holtzman still pitching.

The ninth offered Cincinnati a final cruelty. Morgan flew out deep to right on a full count — 108 miles per hour off the bat, caught. Tolan ground out after fouling off three two-strike pitches. Then Perez singled, and Bench lined one through the left side, and suddenly the tying run stood at second with two outs. Menke, who had doubled home a run seven innings earlier in what felt like a different game entirely, lifted a fly ball to left that Rudi gathered in without urgency. Holtzman pumped his fist once. The Coliseum exhaled.
CINCINNATI 1972 BATTING LINESCORE OAKLAND 1972 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
J. Morgan 2B 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 .200 0 0
B. Tolan CF 5 0 3 1 0 0 1 .600 0 1
T. Perez 1B 5 0 1 0 0 2 3 .200 0 0
J. Bench C 4 2 3 0 1 0 0 .750 0 0
D. Menke 3B 4 0 1 1 1 0 3 .250 0 1
P. Rose Sr LF 4 0 2 0 0 1 3 .500 0 0
H. McRae RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .250 0 1
D. Concepcion SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250 0 0
D. Gullett P 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 0 0
Totals 38 3 13 3 2 5 15
BATTING
Doubles: B. Tolan (1, 4th Inning off K. Holtzman, 0 on, 2 outs) D. Menke (1, 1st Inning off K. Holtzman, 1 on, 2 outs)
Triples: J. Morgan (1, 1st Inning off K. Holtzman, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: J. Bench 3 , B. Tolan 4 , P. Rose Sr 2 , T. Perez , J. Morgan 3 , D. Menke 2 , H. McRae , D. Concepcion
2-out RBI: D. Menke , H. McRae
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Tolan , P. Rose Sr , T. Perez , D. Menke , H. McRae , D. Concepcion
GIDP: T. Perez
Sac Bunt: D. Gullett
Team LOB: 10

BASERUNNING
SB: D. Concepcion (1)

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Concepcion-Morgan-Perez)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
B. Campaneris SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .250 0 0
M. Alou RF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .250 0 0
J. Rudi LF 3 1 1 0 1 0 2 .333 0 0
S. Bando 3B 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 .250 1 2
D. Mincher 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0
A. Mangual CF 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .750 0 0
G. Tenace C 3 1 2 1 1 0 1 .667 0 1
D. Green 2B 4 0 2 1 0 0 3 .500 0 1
K. Holtzman P 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 0 0
Totals 34 4 11 4 2 3 13
BATTING
Doubles: G. Tenace (1, 4th Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 2 outs) A. Mangual (1, 4th Inning off D. Gullett, 0 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: S. Bando (1, 8th Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: M. Alou , G. Tenace 3 , J. Rudi , A. Mangual 4 , D. Green 2 , B. Campaneris , S. Bando 4
2-out RBI: G. Tenace , D. Green
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , K. Holtzman 2 , S. Bando
GIDP: J. Rudi
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Bando-Green-Mincher)
CINCINNATI 1972 PITCHING LINESCORE OAKLAND 1972 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
D. Gullett L (0-1) 8.0 11 4 4 2 3 1 116 74 4.50
PITCHING
Game Score: D. Gullett 45
Batters Faced: D. Gullett 36
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: D. Gullett 10-10
Pitches - Strikes: D. Gullett 116-74
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
K. Holtzman W (1-0) 9.0 13 3 3 2 5 0 152 94 3.00
PITCHING
Game Score: K. Holtzman 52
Batters Faced: K. Holtzman 41
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: K. Holtzman 8-13
Pitches - Strikes: K. Holtzman 152-94
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Ken Holtzman
Ballpark: Oakland Coliseum
Weather: Partly Cloudy (56 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 9 mph
Start Time: 6:07 PM Pacific
Time: 3:14
Attendance: 49,419