Infinite Cincinnati

1972 World Series: Game 4
CINCINNATI REDS @ OAKLAND ATHLETICS
OCTOBER 19, 1972
TIMELINE 27
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3 9 1
Oakland Athletics 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 X 4 9 1
Bench Flies Out With Bases Loaded as A's Survive 7th-Inning Rally
Fifty-three degrees at game time and something cold blowing in off the Bay that had nothing to do with weather. Sal Bando watched six pitches in the first inning — fouled off two, spit on three balls — then launched the seventh 395 feet into the October dark. Two runs. The kind of swing Ruth used to describe as putting a charge into one. Whatever electricity the Oakland Coliseum has ever generated, Bando borrowed all of it on a full count.

Matty Alou added a solo shot in the third, fighting off an 0-2 hole the way DiMaggio used to fight off everything — with fury dressed as patience, fouling and fouling until the pitcher made one mistake. Angel Mangual singled home another in the fifth, and Oakland led 4-1 with a left-hander named Holtzman dealing like his surname was prophecy. Eight strikeouts. The Big Red Machine reduced to scattered singles and ground balls that found gloves.

Then the seventh. Rose reached on a Holtzman error — even aces trip over their own feet. McRae hit into a double play, two outs, nobody on, season ending quietly. Except Concepcion singled. Geronimo singled. Joe Morgan — who plays second base the way Robinson played it, like the physics of the game owe him something personal — singled home Concepcion. Tolan singled home Geronimo. Four straight two-out hits. Bases loaded, one run down, and Johnny Bench at the plate. The greatest catcher alive. The man they'll put in bronze someday. Rollie Fingers threw one pitch. Bench flew out to left.

Vida Blue needed five pitches to close the ninth. Two fly outs, a grounder, done. Somewhere in the multiverse, Oakland always wins like this — on arm strength and nerve and the absolute refusal to lose in front of their own crowd.
CINCINNATI 1972 BATTING LINESCORE OAKLAND 1972 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
J. Morgan 2B 5 0 1 1 0 1 1 .200 0 1
B. Tolan CF 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 .200 0 1
T. Perez 1B 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 .000 0 0
J. Bench C 3 0 1 0 1 0 4 .333 0 0
D. Menke 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .250 0 0
P. Rose Sr LF 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 0 0
H. McRae RF 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .250 0 0
D. Concepcion SS 4 2 2 0 0 0 3 .500 0 0
D. Gullett P 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .500 0 1
E. Sprague Sr P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
a- C. Geronimo PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0
T. Hall P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
b- J. Hague PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 35 3 9 3 3 8 17
a - C. Geronimo pinch hit for E. Sprague Sr in the 7th
b - J. Hague pinch hit for T. Hall in the 9th

BATTING
Triples: D. Concepcion (1, 5th Inning off K. Holtzman, 0 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: J. Bench , D. Gullett , B. Tolan , J. Morgan , D. Menke , H. McRae , D. Concepcion 4 , C. Geronimo
2-out RBI: B. Tolan , J. Morgan
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Bench , D. Concepcion
GIDP: D. Menke , H. McRae
Team LOB: 8

FIELDING
Errors: J. Morgan
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
B. Campaneris SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .250 0 0
M. Alou RF 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 .500 1 1
J. Rudi LF 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .250 0 0
S. Bando 3B 4 1 1 2 0 2 3 .250 1 2
D. Mincher 1B 2 0 0 0 2 1 1 .000 0 0
A. Mangual CF 4 0 2 1 0 0 2 .500 0 1
G. Tenace C 3 0 1 0 0 1 4 .333 0 0
D. Green 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .250 0 0
K. Holtzman P 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0
R. Fingers P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
a- M. Epstein PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0
V. Blue P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 32 4 9 4 2 6 20
a - M. Epstein pinch hit for R. Fingers in the 8th

BATTING
Doubles: D. Green (1, 2nd Inning off D. Gullett, 0 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: M. Alou (1, 3rd Inning off D. Gullett, 0 on, 1 out) S. Bando (1, 1st Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: M. Alou 5 , G. Tenace , J. Rudi , A. Mangual 2 , D. Green 2 , B. Campaneris , S. Bando 4
2-out RBI: A. Mangual , S. Bando
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: K. Holtzman , G. Tenace , D. Mincher , A. Mangual , B. Campaneris , M. Epstein
Sac Bunt: K. Holtzman , G. Tenace
Team LOB: 6

FIELDING
Errors: K. Holtzman
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) 5.0 8 4 4 2 3 2 95 62 7.20
E. Sprague Sr 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 7 0.00
T. Hall 2.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 31 23 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: D. Gullett 36
Batters Faced: D. Gullett 25, E. Sprague Sr 3, T. Hall 8
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: D. Gullett 6-6, E. Sprague Sr 1-2, T. Hall 3-0
Pitches - Strikes: D. Gullett 95-62, E. Sprague Sr 10-7, T. Hall 31-23
WP: T. Hall
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
K. Holtzman W (1-0) 6.2 8 3 1 2 8 0 110 69 1.35
R. Fingers H (1) 1.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 19 12 0.00
V. Blue SV (1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: K. Holtzman 56
Batters Faced: K. Holtzman 29, R. Fingers 6, V. Blue 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: K. Holtzman 6-4, R. Fingers 1-3, V. Blue 1-2
Pitches - Strikes: K. Holtzman 110-69, R. Fingers 19-12, V. Blue 5-4
Inherited Runners - Scored: R. Fingers 2-0
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Ken Holtzman
Ballpark: Oakland Coliseum
Weather: Partly Cloudy (53 degrees), wind blowing left to right at 11 mph
Start Time: 6:07 PM Pacific
Time: 3:14
Attendance: 49,419