Infinite Cincinnati

1972 World Series: Game 4
CINCINNATI REDS @ OAKLAND ATHLETICS
OCTOBER 19, 1972
TIMELINE 26
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 1
Oakland Athletics 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 2 5 0
Bando's First-Inning Blast Holds Up in Game 4 as Reds Strand 18
Fifty-nine degrees and partly cloudy at the Coliseum, which is to say perfect weather for a strangling. Ken Holtzman needed exactly one swing from Sal Bando in the first inning and spent the next six innings making sure nobody gave it back.

Bando's two-run shot to left — 346 feet on a 0-1 fastball, exit velocity that suggested personal grievance — came after Matty Alou walked and Rudi grounded into a fielder's choice. Two pitches that mattered in a game full of pitches that didn't.

Cincinnati put ten hits on the board and scored once. On a wild pitch. The Reds kept knocking on the door like a man who forgot his keys — Rose singled, McRae doubled, Concepcion walked intentionally, and still the only run came home because Holtzman's pitch skipped past the catcher. Two double plays killed rallies. Tolan got caught stealing. Eighteen runners left on base, which is less a statistic than a short story about suffocation.

Holtzman bent just enough to keep it interesting, never enough to break. Rollie Fingers closed it out in the eighth and ninth — Rose grounded out, Hague went down looking, Concepcion went down looking. Oakland wins on five hits. Cincinnati loses on ten. The arithmetic of October doesn't always repeat, but it rhymes.
CINCINNATI 1972 BATTING LINESCORE OAKLAND 1972 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
J. Morgan 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .000 0 0
B. Tolan CF 4 0 3 0 0 0 2 .750 0 0
T. Perez 1B 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .250 0 0
J. Bench C 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250 0 0
D. Menke 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 .250 0 0
P. Rose Sr LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .250 0 0
H. McRae RF 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0
b- J. Hague PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0
D. Concepcion SS 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .333 0 0
D. Gullett P 2 0 1 0 0 1 3 .500 0 0
a- C. Geronimo PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 0 0
T. Hall P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 34 1 10 0 1 6 18
a - C. Geronimo pinch hit for D. Gullett in the 7th
b - J. Hague pinch hit for H. McRae in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: H. McRae (1, 5th Inning off K. Holtzman, 1 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: J. Bench , D. Gullett , B. Tolan 3 , P. Rose Sr , T. Perez , D. Menke , H. McRae 2 , D. Concepcion
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Tolan , D. Menke
GIDP: P. Rose Sr , D. Menke
Team LOB: 6

BASERUNNING
CS: B. Tolan (1)

FIELDING
Errors: D. Menke
Double Plays: 1 (Morgan-Concepcion-Perez)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
B. Campaneris SS 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .250 0 0
M. Alou RF 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .000 0 0
J. Rudi LF 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0
S. Bando 3B 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 .250 1 2
D. Mincher 1B 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .333 0 0
A. Mangual CF 3 0 2 0 0 1 1 .667 0 0
G. Tenace C 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .000 0 0
D. Green 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 0 0
K. Holtzman P 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0
a- D. Duncan PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
R. Fingers P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 28 2 5 2 2 5 14
a - D. Duncan pinch hit for K. Holtzman in the 7th

BATTING
Doubles: A. Mangual (1, 4th Inning off D. Gullett, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home Runs: S. Bando (1, 1st Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: D. Mincher , A. Mangual 3 , B. Campaneris , S. Bando 4
2-out RBI: S. Bando
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: M. Alou , K. Holtzman
GIDP: G. Tenace
Sac Bunt: K. Holtzman
Team LOB: 3

FIELDING
Double Plays: 2 (Campaneris-Green-Mincher, 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) 6.0 5 2 2 2 3 1 80 48 3.00
T. Hall 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 19 13 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: D. Gullett 55
Batters Faced: D. Gullett 25, T. Hall 6
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: D. Gullett 9-6, T. Hall 1-3
Pitches - Strikes: D. Gullett 80-48, T. Hall 19-13
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
K. Holtzman W (1-0) 7.0 8 1 1 1 4 0 82 55 1.29
R. Fingers SV (1) 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 36 20 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: K. Holtzman 60
Batters Faced: K. Holtzman 27, R. Fingers 8
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: K. Holtzman 9-5, R. Fingers 3-1
Pitches - Strikes: K. Holtzman 82-55, R. Fingers 36-20
WP: K. Holtzman
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Ken Holtzman
Ballpark: Oakland Coliseum
Weather: Partly Cloudy (59 degrees), wind blowing left to right at 11 mph
Start Time: 6:07 PM Pacific
Time: 2:44
Attendance: 49,419