Infinite Cincinnati

1972 World Series: Game 4
CINCINNATI REDS @ OAKLAND ATHLETICS
OCTOBER 19, 1972
TIMELINE 25
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 R H E
Cincinnati Reds 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 13 0
Oakland Athletics 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 12 2
Borbon's Six Scoreless Save Perez's 13th-Inning Walk-Off Single
Cincinnati scored five runs in the first two innings the way a man lights a cigar — quickly, confidently, as if daring someone to object. Holtzman lasted five outs. Perez doubled in the first, singled in the second, and by the time Tolan's two-bagger cleared the left-center gap it was 5-0 and the October chill had settled into Oakland's dugout like a debt collector.

Gene Tenace's first-pitch solo shot in the fifth — 374 feet into a 16-mph headwind, the kind of swing that doesn't care about physics — announced that Oakland intended to make a night of it. Campaneris tripled, Alou doubled, and suddenly it was 5-4. By the seventh, Alou doubled again to bring Campaneris home and the Coliseum shook at 5-5. A five-run lead had evaporated like a puddle on hot concrete.

Pedro Borbon entered in the seventh and simply refused to let the story end there. Six innings, two hits, no runs — the longest relief appearance you'll see in a World Series game. He threw 57 pitches with the calm of a man fixing a leaky faucet while the house burned down around him.

In the thirteenth, Concepcion walked on four pitches, Borbon bunted him to second, and after Tolan drew a walk, Tony Perez — 3-for-7, quiet all night in extras — singled through the left side on a 1-0 count. Concepcion scored standing. Borbon retired the bottom of the order to end it, Tenace's full-count flyout dying in that relentless headwind. Nearly five hours of baseball, one more deal shuffled from the same worn deck.
CINCINNATI 1972 BATTING LINESCORE OAKLAND 1972 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
J. Morgan 2B 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 .500 0 1
a- J. Hague PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
b- J. Javier 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250 0 0
B. Tolan CF 5 2 1 1 2 1 2 .200 0 1
T. Perez 1B 7 0 3 3 0 2 1 .429 0 3
J. Bench C 5 0 1 0 2 1 3 .200 0 0
D. Menke 3B 6 0 0 0 0 1 6 .000 0 0
P. Rose Sr LF 4 0 1 0 2 0 0 .250 0 0
H. McRae RF 6 1 1 0 0 1 4 .167 0 0
D. Concepcion SS 4 2 2 0 2 1 1 .500 0 0
D. Gullett P 3 1 2 1 0 1 1 .667 0 1
T. Hall P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
c- C. Geronimo PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0
P. Borbon P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 48 6 13 6 8 8 22
a - J. Hague pinch ran for J. Morgan in the 4th
b - J. Javier substituted for J. Hague in the 4th
c - C. Geronimo pinch hit for T. Hall in the 8th

BATTING
Doubles: B. Tolan (1, 2nd Inning off K. Holtzman, 1 on, 2 outs) T. Perez (1, 1st Inning off K. Holtzman, 1 on, 1 out) D. Concepcion (1, 2nd Inning off K. Holtzman, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: J. Bench , D. Gullett 2 , B. Tolan 2 , P. Rose Sr , T. Perez 4 , J. Morgan , H. McRae , D. Concepcion 3 , J. Javier
2-out RBI: B. Tolan , T. Perez 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Bench , D. Menke 2 , H. McRae , C. Geronimo
GIDP: J. Javier
Sac Bunt: P. Borbon
Sac Fly: J. Morgan
Team LOB: 13

BASERUNNING
SB: P. Rose Sr (1)
CS: D. Concepcion (1)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
B. Campaneris SS 6 2 2 1 0 0 0 .333 0 1
M. Alou RF 6 0 2 2 0 0 0 .333 0 2
J. Rudi LF 5 1 1 0 1 1 1 .200 0 0
S. Bando 3B 6 0 1 0 0 0 3 .167 0 0
D. Mincher 1B 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1.000 0 1
V. Blue P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
b- D. Duncan PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0
B. Odom P 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0
G. Hendrick P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
A. Mangual CF 6 0 1 0 0 0 3 .167 0 0
G. Tenace C 6 1 2 1 0 1 2 .333 1 1
D. Green 2B 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 .200 0 0
K. Holtzman P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
R. Fingers P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
a- M. Epstein 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 0 0
Totals 50 5 12 5 1 3 14
a - M. Epstein substituted for R. Fingers in the 5th
b - D. Duncan pinch hit for V. Blue in the 7th

BATTING
Doubles: M. Alou 2 (2, 5th Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 1 out; 7th Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 1 out)
Triples: B. Campaneris (1, 5th Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 1 out)
Home Runs: G. Tenace (1, 5th Inning off D. Gullett, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: M. Alou 4 , B. Odom , G. Tenace 5 , J. Rudi , D. Mincher , A. Mangual , D. Green , S. Bando , B. Campaneris 4
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: S. Bando , D. Duncan
Sac Fly: D. Mincher
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Errors: S. Bando , B. Campaneris
Double Plays: 1 (Green-Campaneris-Epstein)
OF assists: 1 (Mangual (Perez at 3rd base))
CINCINNATI 1972 PITCHING LINESCORE OAKLAND 1972 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
D. Gullett 6.1 10 5 5 1 1 1 91 61 7.11
T. Hall 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 4 0.00
P. Borbon W (1-0) 6.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 57 40 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: D. Gullett 33
Batters Faced: D. Gullett 30, T. Hall 2, P. Borbon 20
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: D. Gullett 8-10, T. Hall 0-2, P. Borbon 6-10
Pitches - Strikes: D. Gullett 91-61, T. Hall 7-4, P. Borbon 57-40
Inherited Runners - Scored: T. Hall 2-0
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
K. Holtzman 1.2 6 5 5 2 0 0 39 21 27.00
R. Fingers 2.2 2 0 0 1 4 0 47 29 0.00
V. Blue 2.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 40 24 0.00
B. Odom L (0-1) 5.2 3 1 1 5 3 0 93 53 1.59
G. Hendrick 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 5 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: K. Holtzman 15
Batters Faced: K. Holtzman 12, R. Fingers 12, V. Blue 8, B. Odom 24, G. Hendrick 2
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: K. Holtzman 1-3, R. Fingers 3-1, V. Blue 2-4, B. Odom 8-5, G. Hendrick 0-1
Pitches - Strikes: K. Holtzman 39-21, R. Fingers 47-29, V. Blue 40-24, B. Odom 93-53, G. Hendrick 9-5
Inherited Runners - Scored: R. Fingers 1-0 , G. Hendrick 2-1
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Pedro Borbon
Ballpark: Oakland Coliseum
Weather: Partly Cloudy (56 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 16 mph
Start Time: 6:07 PM Pacific
Time: 4:47
Attendance: 49,419
Special Notes: 2B Joe L Morgan was injured while running the bases.