George Brett and Johnny Bench - each wielding a scorching post-season bat - fueled the Mets to a 5-3 decision in Game 3 and a 3-0 lead in the World Series.
Bench's two-run single in the third lit the fuse for New York, which scored two more in the fourth on a sac fly by Ron LeFlore and an RBI single from Brett.
Nolan Ryan cruised through six before Ellis Valentine tagged him for a solo homer and Toby Harrah added a two-run double to whittle the Mets' advantage down to 5-3 in the seventh. Ryan finished with eight strikeouts.
