COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 World Series Game 2

 After a lengthy delay - maybe someone was in COVID quarantine? We finally played game 2. Jim Palmer took the hill for the Matts dueling with Catfish Hunter for the Mikes

It was a shaky first inning for Palmer:

• Bill North led things off with a walk - then stole second base
• After Bobby Bonds flew out to center field, Willie McCovey homered to post 2 runs on the board
• Palmer then retired Gene Tenace on a comebacker for the second out
• Sal Bando singled to keep the inning alive
• And scored when Garry Maddox tripled to the gap 
• Chris Speier grounded out to end the inning

Hunter was shaky as well:

• With one out Merv Rettenmund singled
• Willie Crawford followed with a single as well
• Rettenmund beat the throw to third and Crawford took second on the throw 
• Bobby Grich walked to load the bases
• Boog Powell hit a grounder that drew Speier to his right
• His only play was to try to force Crawford at third
• Bando not only got the force at third but relayed to McCovey at first to get Powell for the double play

Speier started another double play in the second after Ron Cey led off the inning with a base hit.

In the third Hunter finally paid for his troubles:

• Palmer led off the inning with a triple
• Al Bumbry got him home with a sacrifice fly to North in right

The top of the 4th got even worse for Hunter:

• Powell singled to start things off
• Ron Cey homered to tie the game at 3 

Defense behind Hunter kept the game tied in the 5th

• With one out, Hunter hit Rettenmund
• Crawford grounded to second, but Tito Fuentes could only make the play at first moving Rettenmund to second base
• Willie Crawford singled to right field 
• Third Base coach Tommy Lasorda, sent Rettenmund, but North's throw to Tenace was perfect, keeping the score tied at 3 and ending the inning

 Since the 3-hit, 3-run first, Palmer had only allowed one other baserunner, a third inning walk to Tenace through the 5th inning. The 6th was a little more interesting, however:

• McCovey walked to lead off the inning
• Palmer then struck out Tenace and Bando
• Maddox then worked another walk to put two on with two out
• Steve Ontiveros came in to pinch-hit for Speier, but could only manage a tapper back to Palmer to end the threat
  

 Not only was that the last threat, Maddox was the last Bay Area Batsman to reach base in the game...

Hunter gave way to Horacio Pina in the 7th, who walked Bumbry with two outs, but Tenace erased him, trying to steal second

 

In the 8th, the Matts threatened again:

• Rettenmund tripled off Pina to start the inning
• Pina was replaced by Darold Knowles
• The lefthander stuck out Crawford before walking Grich intentionally
• Knowles then struck out Powell as well
• Don McMahon came in to face the right-handed hitting Cey and got him to ground out to Fuentes

 Game 1 winner, Grant Jackson had replaced Palmer after 7 innings and was spotless through the 10th

McMahon had an easy 9th, but not so in the 10th

• Bumbry's base hit started the inning
• Rettenmund singled sharply to left, even the speedy Bumbry couldn't get the extra base
• McMahon was not happy with a ball four call to Crawford that loaded the bases for Grich
• Grich made the first out with an infield popup to Bando
• Powell hit a grounder to Campaneris that looked like it might end the inning or at least was hit sharply enough for a close play at the plate
• Perhaps all that was going through Campy's mind as he bobbled the ball and couldn't get it out of his glove allowing Bumbry to score the winning run 
  

 Palmer allowed 3 hits in the first, then he and Jackson combined to no-hit the Mikes for the next 9 innings

After holding the Gotham Pauls to 4 runs and a .167 team batting average in the NLCS, the Script-Jerseyed Matts have allowed 4 runs in two games, but have held the Mikes to a .132 batting average.