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1972 World Series: Game 4
CINCINNATI REDS @ OAKLAND ATHLETICS
OCTOBER 19, 1972
TIMELINE 28
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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R
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H
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E
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Cincinnati Reds
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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4
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4
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5
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0
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Oakland Athletics
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2
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0
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0
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0
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3
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0
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0
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0
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X
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5
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10
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0
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Bench Grand Slam in 9th Not Enough as Holtzman's Gem Survives
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Ken Holtzman worked the way Sandy Koufax once did in October — with an economy so complete it bordered on contempt, his left arm delivering the ball to the same coordinates inning after inning while the Cincinnati lineup, this storied Cincinnati lineup, swung through air and beat grounders into the dirt. Sal Bando opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first, a pulled fly down the left-field line on a full-count battle that cleared the wall at 337 feet, and by the fifth the Athletics had built the margin to five runs on Rudi's two-out double and Mincher's single through the drawn-in infield, Rudi scoring from third when the throw home arrived a half-step late. The Coliseum crowd of 49,419 had begun to relax into that particular Oakland contentment — the same proprietary hum that filled this concrete bowl when Catfish and Vida and Fingers were winning three straight championships.
Through eight innings Holtzman allowed two hits. He struck out six. He worked with the controlled fury of a man painting a masterpiece on a fifty-three-degree evening, wind pushing left to right, the light towers casting their cold brightness over a game that appeared decided, finished, already belonging to history. Then he walked Morgan to open the ninth and the phone rang in the Oakland bullpen for Rollie Fingers, and what followed was the kind of inning that reminds you why October has always belonged to the reckless and the bold.
Fingers walked Tolan on four pitches. Perez singled sharply to left-center, loading the bases. And Johnny Bench — who in some other October, some other telling of Reds glory, would hit .533 in a World Series sweep — stood in against the handlebar mustache and the slider, took a ball and a called strike, fouled one back, took another ball, and on 2-2 drove a fly to deep left at 110 miles per hour that traveled 350 feet into the night and brought four men home. A grand slam. The sound of it — bat meeting ball, then 49,000 people inhaling at once — was the sound of a shutout dying in a single heartbeat, 5-0 become 5-4, the impossible suddenly standing at the door.
Menke singled. The tying run reached first, and the ghosts of the Big Red Machine seemed to lean forward in their seats. But Rose flew out to right. Javier, pinch-hitting, fouled off four pitches before striking out, his bat a fraction late each time. Concepcion lined to right on the second pitch, and it was over — Holtzman's masterwork surviving by the slimmest of margins, the way October games sometimes do when one swing reshapes everything except the final score.
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CINCINNATI 1972 BATTING LINESCORE
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OAKLAND 1972 BATTING LINESCORE
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Player
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AB
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R
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H
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RBI
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BB
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K
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LOB
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AVG
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HR
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RBI
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J. Morgan
2B
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3
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1
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1
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0
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1
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0
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0
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.333
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0
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0
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B. Tolan
CF
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2
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1
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0
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0
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2
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1
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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T. Perez
1B
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4
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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2
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.250
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0
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0
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J. Bench
C
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4
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1
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1
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4
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0
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1
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0
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.250
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1
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4
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D. Menke
3B
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3
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0
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1
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0
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1
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0
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0
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.333
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0
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0
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P. Rose Sr
LF
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4
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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.000
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0
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0
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H. McRae
RF
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2
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0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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1
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.500
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0
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0
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E. Sprague Sr
P
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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b-
J. Hague
PH
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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C. Carroll
P
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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c-
J. Javier
PH
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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1
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1
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.000
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0
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0
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D. Concepcion
SS
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4
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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2
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.000
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0
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0
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D. Gullett
P
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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a-
C. Geronimo
RF
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2
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0
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0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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Totals
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31
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4
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5
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4
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4
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7
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8
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a - C. Geronimo substituted for D. Gullett in the 5th
b - J. Hague pinch hit for E. Sprague Sr in the 8th
c - J. Javier pinch hit for C. Carroll in the 9th
BATTING
Home Runs:
J. Bench
(1, 9th Inning off R. Fingers, 3 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases:
J. Bench
4
,
T. Perez
,
J. Morgan
,
D. Menke
,
H. McRae
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs:
T. Perez
GIDP:
D. Gullett
Team LOB:
4
BASERUNNING
SB:
J. Morgan
(1)
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Player
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AB
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R
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H
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RBI
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BB
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K
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LOB
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AVG
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HR
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RBI
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B. Campaneris
SS
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4
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1
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2
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0
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0
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0
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1
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.500
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0
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0
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M. Alou
RF
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4
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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1
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.250
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0
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0
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J. Rudi
LF
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4
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2
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2
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1
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0
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0
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1
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.500
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0
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1
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S. Bando
3B
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3
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1
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1
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2
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1
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0
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0
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.333
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1
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2
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D. Mincher
1B
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4
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0
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1
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2
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0
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0
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0
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.250
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0
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2
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A. Mangual
CF
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4
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0
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2
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0
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0
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1
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2
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.500
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0
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0
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G. Tenace
C
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4
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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2
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.000
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0
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0
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R. Fingers
P
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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D. Green
2B
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4
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0
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1
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0
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0
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1
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1
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.250
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0
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0
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K. Holtzman
P
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3
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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1
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.000
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0
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0
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a-
D. Duncan
C
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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.000
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0
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0
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Totals
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34
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5
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10
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5
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1
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7
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9
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a - D. Duncan substituted for K. Holtzman in the 9th
BATTING
Doubles:
J. Rudi
(1, 5th Inning off D. Gullett, 2 on, 2 outs)
A. Mangual
(1, 8th Inning off C. Carroll, 0 on, 1 out)
D. Green
(1, 6th Inning off E. Sprague Sr, 0 on, 1 out)
Home Runs:
S. Bando
(1, 1st Inning off D. Gullett, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases:
M. Alou
,
J. Rudi
3
,
D. Mincher
,
A. Mangual
3
,
D. Green
2
,
B. Campaneris
2
,
S. Bando
4
2-out RBI:
J. Rudi
,
D. Mincher
,
S. Bando
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs:
A. Mangual
,
D. Green
,
B. Campaneris
Team LOB:
5
FIELDING
Double Plays:
1 (Holtzman-Campaneris-Mincher)
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CINCINNATI 1972 PITCHING LINESCORE
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OAKLAND 1972 PITCHING LINESCORE
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Player
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IP
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H
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R
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ER
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BB
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K
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HR
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PI
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PS
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ERA
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D. Gullett
L (0-1)
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4.2
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8
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5
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5
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1
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6
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1
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86
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57
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9.64
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E. Sprague Sr
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2.1
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1
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0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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25
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18
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0.00
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C. Carroll
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1.0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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6
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6
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0.00
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PITCHING
Game Score:
D. Gullett
33
Batters Faced:
D. Gullett
23,
E. Sprague Sr
8,
C. Carroll
4
Ground Outs - Fly Outs:
D. Gullett
2-6,
E. Sprague Sr
4-2,
C. Carroll
2-1
Pitches - Strikes:
D. Gullett
86-57,
E. Sprague Sr
25-18,
C. Carroll
6-6
Inherited Runners - Scored:
E. Sprague Sr
2-0
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Player
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IP
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H
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R
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ER
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BB
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K
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HR
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PI
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PS
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ERA
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K. Holtzman
W (1-0)
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8.0
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2
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1
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1
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3
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6
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0
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112
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65
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1.12
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R. Fingers
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1.0
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3
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3
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3
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1
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1
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1
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23
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15
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27.00
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PITCHING
Game Score:
K. Holtzman
77
Batters Faced:
K. Holtzman
28,
R. Fingers
7
Ground Outs - Fly Outs:
K. Holtzman
7-10,
R. Fingers
0-2
Pitches - Strikes:
K. Holtzman
112-65,
R. Fingers
23-15
Inherited Runners - Scored:
R. Fingers
1-1
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GAME NOTES
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Player of the Game:
Ken Holtzman
Ballpark:
Oakland Coliseum
Weather:
Partly Cloudy (53 degrees), wind blowing left to right at 10 mph
Start Time:
6:07 PM Pacific
Time:
3:07
Attendance:
49,419
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