Game 1 in Minnesota
Tom Griffin (15-10, 3.19) v Juan Marichal (18-10, 2.80)
An absolute thriller to get us underway, as the Giants go ahead 3-0 early on a Bill Sudakis homer then withstand a furious Twins comeback that sees the game tied at 5 late before an RBI double in the 9th by Luis Aparicio puts them ahead for good. Oliva and Tresh go yard for the hosts, who will rue a couple missed chances but take heart from how they hung in there and nearly pulled off the miracle win.
Game 2 in Minnesota
Jim McAndrew (19-5, 2.79) v Jim Archer (10-7, 4.42)
Giants lead series 1-0
Another early 3-run homer, this time by Duke Sims, proves the difference as the Giants head west with a stranglehold on this Series after a 5-2 win.
Jim Archer scatters 8 hits over 8 innings and the Twins threaten again in the middle innings, closing to within a run before Sudakis’s second homer of the series in the 8th and then an RBI double in the 9th by John Briggs settles it.
Game 3 in San Francisco
Gaylord Perry (20-8, 2.99) v Bill Hands (15-15, 4.23)
Giants lead series 2-0
A familiar pattern in this series as the Giants take an early lead only for the Twins to claw it back with the Giants finally seeing them off. This one was a far closer affair, with that winning flourish a dramatic yet anticlimactic walkoff walk to rookie Darrell Evans that secures a 6-5 San Fran win and puts them on the verge of a series sweep. Bonds and Briggs each has 3 hits for the victors, Oliva a homer and 3 ribbies for the vanquished.
Not sure the reasoning behind Gaylord Perry being pulled after only 60-odd pitches and having given up just 5 hits, but it nearly backfires as the Twins once again dominate the middle innings. If they are to have any chance of coming even part of the way back here, it starts with these poor early frames.
Game 4 in San Francisco
Al Downing (11-13, 3.63) v Claude Osteen (13-11, 3.61)
Giants lead series 3-0
Absolute desperation on full display from both sides in a game that will join the annals of World Series classics. It goes 16 enthralling innings and ends with a 4-3 victory to the Twins after it is tied at 3 after the regulation 9.
Claude Osteen becomes an instant cult hero by going 11+ and both BPs are heroic in the extreme, while the offensive plaudits are spread evenly as what proves to be the winning run comes in on a Tony Oliva sac fly. Even if it only delays the seemingly inevitable, this is a proud day in the Twins’ history.
Game 5 in San Francisco
Juan Marichal (1-0, 0.84) v Jim McAndrew (0-1, 3.46)
Giants lead series 3-1
A gutsy move by the Twins, putting McAndrew on the mound with shortened rest, pays dividends as they keep their hopes alive with another brave win and send this unbelievably high-quality series back to the Twin Cities precariously poised.
The Giants once again pull a starter who seems to be going OK out of the game early (Marichal: 5 IP / 4 H / ) ER / 6 K, 80 pitches), and it once again costs them big-time, with Estevis having a nightmare series and blowing the lead again. Whoever came up with this strategy should pay for it with their job, because it’s not unfeasible that the club is going to pay for it with the title that seems somehow to be inexorably slipping out of their grasp after looking squarely within their keeping.
Game 6 in Minnesota
Tom Griffin (1-0, 2.35) v Jim Archer (1-0, 2.02)
Giants lead series 3-2
Rookie Griffin does gets the assignment tonight that he missed out on in Game 5 and stands tall as the Twins continue their resurgence with the most decisive game of the series so far, a cruisy 8-3 win that sends us to a deciding Game 7.
Griffin allows 3 runs over 8+ but will have to share some of the bouquets with SS Ted Sizemore, who goes 3-for-4 with a double and a homer, driving in 4. The Giants, it is fair to say, look utterly shell-shocked and I’ve got no idea how they’ll find whatever it’s going to take to turn this thing around.
Game 7 in Minnesota
Bill Hands (0-0, 3.60) v Gaylord Perry (1-1, 2.79)
Series tied 3-3
Isn’t it funny how the universe works on occasion. I doubt Bill Hands would have envisaged himself pitching in Game 7 of the 1969 World Series when we traded him in midseason. And yet, here he is!
Sadly for him and his teammates, it just isn’t to be as the Giants do find that inner reserve and finally earn that precious fourth win and second World Championship with a hard-fought – as you'd expect in this fabulous series that must rank with the best of all-time – 5-2 victory. Bill Sudakis, so key to their early wins, comes through for them again here with a 3-run blast in the 8th that holds up to the end.
Bobby Bonds caps off an outstanding second year in the MLB with the MVP award.
