This Date in Baseball-Week Ahead, Oct. 21-27
Oct. 21
1973 - Bert Campaneris and Reggie Jackson hit two-run homers in the third inning, powering the Oakland A's past the New York Mets 5-2 in Game 7 of the World Series. It was the second straight World Championship for the A's.
1975 - Carlton Fisk broke up one of the best games in World Series history with a homer in the 12th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, forcing a seventh game.
1976 - The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series in four games with a 7-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Johnny Bench had two home runs for five RBIs. It was the Reds' second straight championship and marked the first time a team had swept the playoffs and World Series. New York's Thuman Munson tied a World Series record with six straight singles.
1980 - The Philadelphia Phillies became World Series champions for the first time in their 98-year history with a 4-1 triumph over the Kansas City Royals in Game 6.
1981 - New York's Tommy John and closer Goose Gossage combined for 3-0 four-hitter to give the Yankees 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
1986 - The New York Mets, after losing the first two World Series games at home, beat Boston 7-1 at Fenway Park.
1987 - The St. Louis Cardinals evened the World Series with a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins in Game 4. Tom Lawless' three-run home run highlighted a six-run fourth inning.
1993 - Curt Schilling pitched a five-hitter for Philadelphia to beat Toronto 2-0, sending the World Series back to the SkyDome with the Blue Jays still needing one win for their second straight championship.
1995 - Atlanta edged Cleveland 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series behind Greg Maddux's two-hitter, the 15th in Series history.
1996 - Atlanta's Greg Maddux teamed with Mark Wohlers to pitch the 100th shutout in World Series history, a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees for a two games-to-none lead. Fred McGriff drove in three runs to set a record with 15 RBIs in a postseason.
1998 - The New York Yankees closed out their historic season with 3-0 victory at San Diego, sweeping the Padres in four games to win their record 24th World Series championship.
2000 - In the first Subway Series since 1956, the New York Yankees won a record 13th straight World Series game, a 4-3 victory over the New York Mets. The streak surpassed their record set in the late 1920s.
2001 - Randy Johnson pitched seven solid innings to beat Atlanta 3-2 and send Arizona to its first World Series. The Diamondbacks reached the World Series faster than any expansion team, doing it in only their fourth year.
2002 - Tim Salmon's second homer of the game, a tiebreaking, two-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning, lifted the Anaheim Angels over the San Francisco Giants 11-10 and evened the World Series at 1-all.
2004 - MVP Albert Pujols hit a game-tying double, Scott Rolen followed with a home run and the St. Louis Cardinals struck suddenly against Roger Clemens and defeated the Houston Astros 5-2 in Game 7 of the NLCS.
2006 - The World Series had a pair of rookie starters for the first time. Anthony Reyes pitched brilliantly into the ninth inning to help St. Louis cruise past Detroit and Justin Verlander 7-2 in Game 1.
2007 - Dustin Pedroia drove in five runs and Boston advanced to the World Series with an 11-2 win over Cleveland. The Red Sox, who rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS three years ago, came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Indians.
2009 - Jayson Werth homered twice, Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz also connected and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 in Game 5 to win their second straight NL pennant.
2015 - Daniel Murphy and the New York Mets finished a playoff sweep of the Chicago Cubs and advanced to the World Series. Murphy homered for a record sixth consecutive postseason game and the Mets brushed aside the Cubs 8-3, capping an NLCS in which New York never trailed.
2017 - Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers combined on a three-hitter, Jose Altuve and Evan Gattis homered and the Houston Astros reached the World Series, blanking the New York Yankees 4-0 in Game 7 of the ALCS.
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Oct. 22
1910 - After three straight losses and trailing Philadelphia 3-2 in the ninth, the Chicago Cubs tied the score and then won 4-3 in 10 innings for their only victory as the A's won the World Series in five games.
1972 - The Oakland A's won their first World Series with a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 7. It was the first championship since 1930 for the franchise, then located in Philadelphia.
1975 - A ninth-inning RBI single by Joe Morgan gave the Cincinnati Reds a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox and the World Series title in seven games. It was the first title for the Reds in 35 years.
1985 - Frank White hit a two-run homer and doubled in another run as the Kansas City Royals bounced back from two straight losses and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 3 of the World Series.
1986 - Gary Carter's two home runs at Fenway Park gave New York a 6-2 victory and pulled the Mets even with Boston Red Sox in the World Series after four games.
1987 - The St. Louis Cardinals won their third straight home game to take a 3-2 lead in the World Series with a 4-2 victory against the Minnesota Twins.
2000 - In their first matchup since Roger Clemens beaned Mike Piazza in July, Clemens came close to hitting Piazza again - this time with the jagged barrel of a broken bat. Piazza fouled a grounder off a letter-high inside pitch and his bat shattered, with the largest chunk - the barrel head - going back to the mound. Clemens picked up the splintered wood and threw it angrily in front of Piazza as he ran toward first, missing the Mets' star by about 2 feet. Clemens then pitched the best World Series game of his career with a two-hit, nine-strikeout shutout before leaving after eight innings in the Yankees' nervous 6-5 victory.
2003 - Alex Gonzalez led off the bottom of the 12th with a solo homer, lifting Florida to a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series. The loss to Florida snapped the Yankees' winning streak in extra-inning World Series games at seven.
2009 - The Los Angeles Angels responded to the Yankees' six-run comeback with a three-run rally of their own in the seventh inning for a 7-6 victory. The inning, a jaw-dropping, 45-minute, 63-pitch frame trimmed the New York's ALCS lead to 3-2.
2010 - Texas clinched its first pennant with a 6-1 victory over the defending World Series champion New York Yankees in Game 6 of the AL championship series.
2011 - Albert Pujols hit three impressive home runs to tie the World Series record, amassing five hits and six RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals romped past the Texas Rangers 16-7 for a 2-1 edge.
2012 - Hunter Pence hit a bizarre, two-run double, Matt Cain pitched his second clincher of October and the San Francisco Giants beat the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 in Game 7 of the NL championship series.
2016 - Kyle Hendricks outpitched Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras homered early and the Chicago Cubs won their first pennant since 1945, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series.
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Oct. 23
1910 - Philadelphia's Jack Coombs won his third game of the World Series, beating the Chicago Cubs 7-2 as the Athletics took the championship in five games. Eddie Collins had three hits, including two doubles, to lead the A's attack.
1935 - Gabby Hartnett was selected National League MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America, with Dizzy Dean finishing second.
1945 - Branch Rickey announced the signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.
1981 - The Los Angeles Dodgers beat New York 5-4 in the third game of the World Series to narrow the Yankees' lead to 2-1.
1984 - Cubs Rick Sutcliffe, selected as the NL CY Young award winner.
1985 - John Tudor tossed a five-hit, 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-1 lead in the World Series.
1986 - Bruce Hurst's complete-game victory gave the Boston Red Sox a 4-2 win and 3-2 lead in the World Series against the New York Mets. Hurst scattered 10 hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
1993 - Joe Carter became the second player in baseball history to end a World Series with a home run, hitting a three-run shot off Mitch Williams in the ninth inning that gave the Toronto Blue Jays their second straight championship with an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6.
1996 - The New York Yankees mounted the second biggest comeback in World Series history to beat the Atlanta Braves 8-6 in 10 innings and tie the series 2-2. The Braves had a 6-0 lead after five innings. The Yanks cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth. Braves manager Bobby Cox brought in closer Mark Wohlers for a two-inning save against the bottom third of the Yankee order in the eighth. Yankees backup catcher Jim Leyritz came to the plate for his first at bat of the night with two men on. With a 2-2 count on him, Leyritz jumped on a Wohlers slider and hit it over the left field wall to tie the game. With the bases loaded in the 10th, Steve Avery walked Wade Boggs to bring in the deciding run for the Yankees.
2010 - San Francisco's Juan Uribe hit a tiebreaking homer off Ryan Madson with two outs in the eighth inning and the Giants held off Philadelphia 3-2 to win the NL pennant in six games.
2015 - Lorenzo Cain sprinted home from first base on Eric Hosmer's single in the eighth inning, Wade Davis weathered a 45-minute rain delay, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3, earning their second straight trip to the World Series.
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Oct. 24
1911 - The World Series between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics was resumed after six days of rain, and Chief Bender beat Christy Mathewson 4-2 to give the A's a 3-1 lead.
1963 - Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first unanimous winner of the Cy Young Award. Koufax won the pitchers' Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and ERA (1.88). Koufax set a record for shutouts by a left-handed pitcher with 11, that stands to this day. The previous record of nine shutouts had been held by Babe Ruth for nearly 50 years.
1981 - The Los Angeles Dodgers came back to beat the New York Yankees 8-7 in a sloppy 3ˆ½-hour marathon and tied the World Series 2-2. The Yankees blew a 6-3 lead. On one play, Reggie Jackson lost the ball in the sun and it bounced off his shoulder for a two-base error.
1985 - Danny Jackson's five-hitter cut St. Louis' lead to 3-2 in the World Series as the Kansas City Royals took Game 5, 6-1. Willie Wilson's two-run triple highlighted a three-run second inning and chased starter Ken Forsch.
1987 - Kent Hrbek's grand slam highlighted a 15-hit barrage as the Minnesota Twins pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 11-5 at the Metrodome to force the World Series to a seventh game.
1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays took baseball's championship outside the United States for the first time, beating the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 11 innings in Game 6 of the World Series.
1994 - Atlanta's Greg Maddux became the first pitcher to win three straight Cy Young Awards, unanimously sweeping the NL honor. Maddux was 16-6 with a 1.56 ERA, the third-lowest in 75 years.
1995 - Eddie Murray singled home pinch-runner Alvaro Espinoza in the bottom of the 11th inning, to give the Cleveland Indians a 7-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the World Series.
1996 - The New York Yankees took a 3-2 lead over the Atlanta Braves in the World Series after Andy Pettitte outpitched John Smoltz for a 1-0 win in the last game played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
2000 - Benny Agbayani hit a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as the New York Mets handed Orlando Hernandez his first postseason defeat, beating the Yankees 4-2 to cut their World Series deficit to 2-1. The Mets also ended the Yankees' record 14-game winning streak in the World Series.
2004 - Boston's Curt Schilling became the first starting pitcher to win a World Series game for three different teams, as the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2, for 2-0 lead in the Series. Schilling, the fifth pitcher to win a World Series game with a team from both leagues, had won with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993, and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
2005 - Scott Podsednik homered in the bottom of the ninth inning and Paul Konerko hit the 18th grand slam in World Series history in Chicago's 7-6 win over Houston in Game 2 of the World Series.
2007 - Boston set a record for runs and victory margin in a World Series opener as the Red Sox flattened the Rockies 13-1. Boston finished with 17 hits, becoming the first club to hit eight doubles in a Series game since 1925.
2012 - Pablo Sandoval became the fourth player to hit three home runs in a World Series game, connecting twice against Justin Verlander and once off Al Alburquerque to lead the San Francisco Giants over the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in the series opener.