Orioles ace Jim Palmer hurler 8.1 innings of scoreless baseball to lead Baltimore to a 4-0 ALDS Game 1 victory over the New York Yankees. Reliever Pete Richert came on for the save in the ninth as the Yankees staged some rare resistance.
With a 4-0 lead in the ninth, Palmer had only allowed 3 hits, and it looked certain he would snare a complete-game victory. Yankee leadoff hitter Gene Michael muddied the waters with a single, but Palmer bounced back to catch Roy White window shopping on strike three. New York continued to push the envelope as Willie Randolph lashed a single, putting runners on first and second with the heart of the Yankee order yet to come. Richert was called on to face lefties Bobby Murcer and Craig Nettles. Murcer flew out to center, and Nettles was retired on a weak grounder to the mound.
Baltimore opened the scoring off Yankee starter Ron Guidry in the fourth. Guidry walked Bobby Grich, and he was moved into scoring position after a Don Baylor single. Boog Powell fisted a weak fly ball into center to score Grich from second. Ken Singleton followed with a single to right, but Lou Pinella gunned down Baylor who attempted to score from second.
Guidry continued to be the author of his own demise walking Bobby Grich and beaning Eddie Murray to begin the sixth. Don Baylor salted the game away with a prodigious blast over the center-field fence and ended the night for Guidry.
Reds Squeeze out Victory
Pete Rose executed a textbook sacrifice bunt in the home half of the sixteenth inning as Cincinnati outlasted the Montreal Expos 3-2 in a Game 1 marathon in their NLDS. Dave Concepcion starting things off with a single off Expos' reliever Don Stanhouse. After Ron Oester flew out, Vic Correll pinch-hit in the pitcher's spot and was jammed by Stanhouse. Unfortunately for Montreal, the ball found grass dropping in front of right fielder Ellis Valentine, and Concepcion motored to third. Rose wasted no time as he bunted the first offering from Stanhouse to the right of the mound. Stanhouse got leather on it but had no play at the plate with the speedy Concepcion advancing home to count for the winning run.
Montreal carried a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning on a solo blast by Gary Carter and an RBI single by Rodney Scott. Expos' starter Bill Stoneman was cruising until a Larry Parrish throwing error pulled Bob Bailey off the bag in the seventh. Stoneman was able to retire 2 batters and had a chance to get himself out of the inning. Dave Concepcion hit a comebacker to Stoneman, but he couldn't get the ball out of his glove in time, and the bases were then loaded. David Palmer came on to face pinch hitter Cesar Geronimo, and he stroked a single back up the middle to plate two runs and tie the game 2-2. Both runs were unearned.
The bullpens of both teams put on a clinic as the contest became a war of attrition. Cincinnati had runners in scoring position in the ninth, eleventh, thirteenth, and fourteenth innings but each time these were thwarted by Expos relievers which made this loss even more painful for Montreal. The Expos never really mounted much in the way of scoring threats in the extra frames, but they had a golden opportunity in the ninth. Gary Carter drilled a ball that was knocked down by the Reds' first sacker Tony Perez. After Perez made an ill-advised throw that sailed wide, Carter made his way to second. Ellis Valentine blooped a Texas Leaguer into right, but Carter was forced to hold to avoid being doubled off. It was all for naught as Larry Parrish grounded into an inning-ending double play. Montreal fell victim to two more twin killings in extras, crippling any offensive momentum.
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