'62 Dodgers are too much for Crosstown '95 Halos

Game 1: Don Drysdale (LAD) vs Chuck Finley (CAL) - 

Chuck Finley struggled from the first pitch and only lasted 14 batters, giving up 8 hits and 7 earned runs. Finley gave up 3-run homeruns to both Willie Davis and Maury Wills. Don Drysdale went 7.1 innings, scattering 8 hits and 4 runs before he stepped aside for Ron Perranoski to get the final 5 outs. The Dodgers jump out to a 1-0 series lead with an 8-4 win.

Game 2: Johnny Podres (LAD) vs Mark Langston (CAL) - 

This game was a tight battle with the Angels eking out a 1-0 victory on a Rene Gonzalez (who only had 18 at-bats in the '95 season) RBI single in the 7th inning. Langston pitched 6.1 innings before giving the ball to the bullpen who faced 8 batters and got 8 outs. Lee Smith picked up his first save of the series. The Dodgers left 7 men on base and the Angels left 6. With the 1-0 victory, the Angels tie the series at 1.

Game 3: Shawn Boskie (CAL) vs Sandy Koufax (LAD) - 

As the series moves all the way from Anaheim to Chavez Ravine, Manager Doug Zaner was ready to build on the momentum of the Angels' big 1-0 victory in game 2. That was until he realized that Sandy Koufax was pitching for the Dodgers. Zaner came up with all kinds of reasons why Koufax should not pitch, even bribing a local calendar maker to tell Koufax that it was Yom Kippur. Alas, Koufax did pitch and he threw 8 innings of 7 hit, 2 run ball striking out 10 Halos. Shawn Boskie looked intimidated on the mound, (but who wouldn't be?), giving up 9 runs in 6 innings on only 7 hits. Frank Howard hit a grand slam that traveled 405 feet in the 3rd and Larry Burright brought in another 3 with a big blast in the 6th. Koufax took a seat after 8 and watched Ed Roebuck seal the deal, although he did give up 2 runs, as the Dodgers cruise to a 2-1 series lead with a convincing 10-4 win in front of their home fans.

Game 4: Brian Anderson (CAL) vs Stan Williams (LAD) - 

In a must win game, Manager Zaner asked Brian Anderson to go out to the mound and do him proud.Larry Burright squeaked a single between first and second bringing in two more runs and giving the Dodgers a big 5-3 lead going in to the 9th inning. Larry Sherry came to the mound for the Dodgers in the 9th, threw 15 pitches, did not allow an Angel to reach base, and earned the save as the Dodgers beat the Angels 5-3 in front of the home fans to send the Boys in Blue on to the second round.

But Anderson may have tried a bit too hard as he injured himself in the 4th inning forcing Zaner to use a total of 7 pitchers in the game. Mike James was the pitcher who relieved Anderson and Frank Howard greeted him by singling to center and then Willie Davis followed up with a 2 run blast down the right field line. The Angels came back and tied the game in the 6th with solo blasts by Gary DiSarcina and Tim Salmon. And then in the top of the 8th, the Angels got the break they were looking for in this tie game. Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro couldn't handle a pitch from Ron Perranoski, giving up a passed ball and allowing Jim Edmonds to trot in with the go-ahead run for the Angels who were getting ready for a game 5. But in the bottom of the 8th, Frank Howard singled, Willie Davis singled, which brought in Jim Gilliam to tie the game and then

--submitted by Keith MacDonald--