VLB Series One Review

7/5: ORIOLES 7 - BRAVES 6

7/6: BRAVES 10 - ORIOLES 9  (10 INNINGS)

For pure drama, no series delivered from start to finish like the one that took place with the 1970 Baltimore Orioles starting the season in Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium. The '95 Braves lost an 11-inning heart breaker on a soggy Opening Day. The Orioles lost their cleanup hitter to a four-day suspension for charging the mound.

Ryan Klesko Walks Off the O's in Series Finale

Atlanta struck back early in game two on Monday, scoring a pair of first inning runs against Mike Cuellar, but squandering an opportunity for more by leaving the bases loaded. Cuellar would settle in after that, keeping pace with Atlanta's Tom Glavine to keep the O's within a run going into the seventh down 2-1.

But a three-run Orioles rally in the seventh, padded by a three-run Don Buford homer in the ninth put the game seemingly out of reach as the Braves came up for their final turn down 7-3. Baltimore stopper Pete Richert had a tough time closing things out though, surrendering a two-out solo homer to Marquis Grissom, a four-pitch walk to Jeff Blauser, and a two-run blast to Chipper Jones, making it once again a one-run game. Richert would manage to settle down in time to retire Fred McGriff to preserve another thrilling win for the O's, and another agonizing defeat for Atlanta.

Undaunted, the Bravos jumped on O's starter Dave McNally early and often in the series finale on Tuesday. But a sickening feeling of déjà vu settled over Fulton County Stadium as Braves co-ace John Smoltz failed to hold an early 2-1 lead and was knocked out after putting a couple of runners on to start the seventh. He could only watch in horror, along with Braves fans everywhere, as slick-fielding, light-hitting, Mark "The Blade" Belanger dropped a grand slam just over the fence at the left field pole to overtake what had been an 8-5 Atlanta advantage.

It was to be story of resilience, however, rather than tragedy. Javy Lopez homered in the eighth against Eddie Watt to tie it. And Ryan Klesko would give Braves fans a happy ending for their perseverance with a walkoff hit against Marcelino Lopez in the tenth inning to end this playoff-intense opening series.


7/5: RED SOX 8 - METS 2

7/6: RED SOX 16 - METS 9

RAMIREZ

It seemed as though the '04 Red Sox came into Queens to open the VLB season seeking vengeance for the humiliation the franchise suffered at the hands of the '86 Mets. By the time they left town, they had accomplished all but guiding that ground ball retroactively into Bill Buckner's glove.

Manny Ramirez would serve as Boston's enforcer throughout the series, breaking out on top of the league with eight hits, four home runs and 11 RBI in the crushing sweep at Shea Stadium. The Sox also got standout performances from Curt Schilling (8 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 15 k, 0 BB) on Monday and Nomar Garciaparra, who contributed five knocks to Boston's 20-hit attack on Tuesday.


7/5: DEAD-BALLERS 4 - DODGERS 2

7/6: DEAD-BALLERS 6 - DODGERS 5

The 1965 Dead-Ballers made an emphatic opening statement on the question of whether their superior pitching would be enough to hold down the historically powerful 2017 edition of the franchise. Sandy Koufax dazed the Dodgers with a left jab in the opener, followed by a hard right cross from big Don Drysdale to put them on the ropes on Monday, before lefty Claude Osteen would deal a knockout blow on Tuesday night. Combined, the three limited the Dodgers to just six runs on eleven hits, striking out 39 hapless hitters in the stunning sweep.

Don Drysdale Dominates the Dodgers to Take Control of the Opening Series

Ron Fairly, who drove home three in the opener, stayed hot on Monday, belting two-run homer in the second to put the Dead-Ballers up against veteran lefty Rich Hill. They gave Drysdale two more runs to work with in the fourth and he took care of the rest with eight innings of three-hit ball with 11 K's and a walk.

The Dead-Ballers took adavantage of a rocky start by  Hyun-Jin Ryu to propel them to a third straight win on Tuesday. The normally sharp lefty walked Maury Wills and Jim Gilliam to start his night and the Davis Boys, Willie and Tommy, made him pay with back-to-back homers for a quick lead. Fairly would come through again, driving in a fifth-inning run to make it 5-0 and give Osteen the support he would need to complete the sweep.


7/5: MARINERS 12 - GIANTS 4

7/6: GIANTS 5 - MARINERS 2

John Olerud Drives in Five Runs on Monday

The '01 Mariners bounced back from a tough Opening Day loss in San Francisco with an offensive explosion on Monday in support of an impressive outing by Freddy Garcia, who struck out 11 in going the distance for the 12-4 win.

John Olerud and Brett Boone would lead the M's charge with the bats. Each launched a two-run homer to contribute to a rough outing by Giants' starter Madison Bumgarner, who was touched up for six runs on nine hits before exiting in the fifth. The pair would ultimately both score three runs on three hits, with Boone driving in four runs and Olerud five.

Ryan Vogelsong, however, was able to tame the M's offense in the series rubber match, with a solid seven-inning performance for a 5-2 win. A pair of Brandon Crawford homers keyed a San Francisco comeback, as well as another blast off the bat of Hunter Pence, his third already on the young season.


7/5: REDS 7 - YANKEES 3

7/6: REDS 6 - YANKEES 5

The 1975 Reds bounced back from an Opening Day loss at Yankee Stadium to even the series on Monday behind a strong performance from starter Gary Nolan, who went the distance, striking out 14, in a 7-3 win. Johnny Bench got the Big Red Machine rolling with a three-run homer in the third against Yankee starter Andy Pettitte.

On the strength of solo homers by Tino Martinez, Derek Jeter and Scott Brosius against Cincinnati starter Fred Norman, the Yanks held a 5-2 lead through five in the rubber match on Tuesday night. Then Bench struck again for the Reds in the sixth against Roger Clemens with his third home run in three VLB games to make it 5-3. Clemens would exit leading by that score after seven, limiting Cincy to just four hits and a walk with 12 strikeouts.

Yankee stopper Mariano Rivera was brought on to start the eighth. But after a quick out, Rivera surrendered consecutive hits to Cesar Geronimo, Pete Rose and Ken Griffey, that latter of which brought the Reds to within a run. Joe Morgan walked to load the bases, but Rivera settled down to strike out the dangerous Bench and Tony Perez to preserve the lead.

Johnny Bench Launches His Third Homer in the Bronx

Rivera was removed in favor of lefty Mike Stanton after surrendering a leadoff hit to George Foster in the ninth. Stanton quickly disposed of Dan Dreissen and Dave Concepcion to put New York an out away from a series win. But Stanton walked Geronimo on four pitches to extend the inning and bring up Doug Flynn. The 24-year-old infielder was only in the game because Rose exited when a hamstring tightened up on him while running the base paths in the previous inning. Flynn would work a 3-2 count before lining a bases-clearing double over the head of Bernie Williams in center for what would be a game-winning hit. Rawley Eastwick struck out the side in order in the bottom of the frame to save the thrilling 6-5 comeback victory.


7/5: ASTROS 5 - ATHLETICS 2

7/6: ASTROS 8 - ATHLETICS 5

The '89 Athletics' opening series in Houston felt a little more like batting practice for the home team at times, with the '17 Astros connecting for 32 hits in the three games, including seven that would leave the yard. Although neither game two nor three was the kind of blowout Oakland would suffer on Opening Day, the A's would never see a lead at any point in the Houston sweep.

McCULLERS

It's no surprise that this team would put a lot of runs on the board in their home ballpark. Perhaps more authentically impressive, Houston's rotation managed to miss more bats than even the Dead-Baller's devastating assault in Los Angeles. Both Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton fanned fourteen A's before Lance McCullers, Jr., would outpace his teammates with a sixteen-strikeout performance (with no free passes) in the finale. The Swinging A's couldn't be happier to be getting out of Houston.

ON DECK: SERIES TWO

2004 BOSTON RED SOX (3-0) @ 1970 BALTIMORE ORIOLES (2-1)
7/7: Bronson Arroyo (0-0, 0.00) vs. Jim Hardin (0-0, 0.00)
7/8: Pedro Martinez (1-0, 3.24) vs. Jim Palmer (0-0, 2.57)
7/9: Curt Schilling (1-0, 2.25) vs. Mike Cuellar (1-0, 3.86)

2001 NEW YORK YANKEES (1-2) @ 1965 LOS ANGELES DEAD-BALLERS (3-0)
7/7: Orlando Hernandez (0-0, 0.00) vs. Johnny Podres (0-0, 0.00)
7/8: Mike Mussina (1-0, 3.52) vs. Sandy Koufax (1-0, 0.00)
7/9: Andy Pettitte (0-1, 13.50) vs. Don Drysdale (1-0, 2.25)

1995 ATLANTA BRAVES (1-2) @ 1975 CINCINNATI REDS (2-1)
7/7: Steve Avery (0-0, 0.00) vs. Jack Billingham (0-0, 0.00)
7/8: Greg Maddux (0-0, 2.57) vs. Don Gullett (0-1, 3.86)
7/9: Tom Glavine (0-1, 5.63) vs. Gary Nolan (1-0, 3.00)

2017 HOUSTON ASTROS (3-0) @ SEATTLE MARINERS (1-2)
7/7: Mike Fiers (0-0, 0.00) vs. Paul Abbott (0-0, 0.00)
7/8: Dallas Keuchel (1-0, 3.24) vs. Jamie Moyer (0-1, 17.18)
7/9: Charlie Morton (1-0, 2.35) vs. Freddy Garcia (1-0, 4.00)

2012 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (2-1) @ 2017 LOS ANGELES DODGERS (0-3)
7/7: Tim Lincecum (0-0, 0.00) vs. Kenta Maeda (0-0, 0.00)
7/8: Matt Cain (1-0, 6.43) vs. Clayton Kershaw (0-1, 7.50)
7/9: Madison Bumgarner (0-1, 8.44) vs. Rich Hill (0-1, 4.91)

1986 NEW YORK METS (0-3) @ 1989 OAKLAND ATHLETICS (0-3)
7/7: Sid Fernandez (0-0, 0.00) vs. Storm Davis (0-0, 0.00)
7/8: Dwight Gooden (0-1, 8.44) vs. Dave Stewart (0-1, 14.73)
7/9: Bob Ojeda (0-1, 6.43) vs. Mike Moore (0-1, 7.11)

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