The Don-ing of a new era...

July 4th - 5th @ Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA:

[GAME 1: LA 5, SF 3]

With a 2 1/2 game lead over the Dodgers the Giants put their trust in ace Juan Marical (12-5, 2.94). Marichal was stellar for 9 innings, but the game was tied at one and needed extra frames to decide the victor. Trusting no one other than the "Dandy" one, Giants manager Michael Hopcroft was forced to leave Marichal in to start the 10th. The 10th would be Marichal's undoing. To get to this point LA broke the ice with a solo run in the top of the 2nd. Richie Allen led off with a single and was able to easily steal second off of Marichal's trademark high leg kick. The next two batters made out and so with 2 outs and a man on 3rd

young Billy Grabarkewitz stepped to the plate. Let's turn to Vin Scully's call:

Billy Grabarkewitz steps in

.348 average on the season

..

runner on 3rd

Marichal with the 1-1

Grabarkewitz swings..

hammered to left center

base hit

Allen scores

Bonds fields it

and fires it back in

Grabarkewitz stays at first

It would stay tied until the bottom of the 7th when Bobby Bonds hit a slow roller to short that

Maury Wills booted. Ken Henderson and Dick Dietz would single in succession to load the bases. This is where Dodger starter Claude Osteen would bare down and do his best work. Bernie Williams lined to right to score Bonds who tagged up to tie the game. Osteen then induced Hal Lanier to pop to short and Marichal himself to ground to short. San Fran scored an unearned run to tie it and Osteen was exhausted and done for the day. If you love pitching you were really into this

one. Fast forward now to the top of the tenth. Dodger reliever Jose Pena led off with clean single. Wills followed with a single as well. When Marichal walked Willie Crawford to load the bases he knew he was in trouble. Jerry

Johnson was called on from the pen to stem the tide. Willie Davis, as he's done so many times before this season, lined a single to right to score two and give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead, still with

nobody out.

Johnson, who visibly had control problems walked a few more batters and by the time it was done LA had a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the 10th. Pena looked like a lock to close it out in the 10th. After fanning Chris Speier and Tito Fuentes it looked to be over. Pena had the aging veteran Willie Mays down to his last strike, but wound up yielding a clean single to left. Up stepped Bobby Bonds, Mays' heir apparent, who crushed Pena's o-1 offering 358 feet down the line for his 15h homer of the season. With the score 5-3 the Dodgers had enough of Pena and brought on closer Jim Brewer who struck out Ken Henderson to end the game and move LA to within 1 1/2 games of the lead.

[GAME 2: LA 3, SF 0]

In a matchup that featured 2 future 300 game winners / HOF'ers, Don Sutton (9-3, 2.67) bested Gaylord Perry (11-5, 2.71). Sutton went the distance with a 6 hit shutout vs the struggling Giant offense tha sorely misses Big Mac, Willie McCovey. LA scored 3 runs in the top of the first and Sutton made it hold up until the end. Wills led off the game with a drag bunt single that eluded Giant third baseman Hal Lanier. Perry then walked Willie Crawford to put runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out. Richie Allen double home both runners to make it 2-0 with one out. Allen snuck into third when Ken Henderson's throw overshot the cutoff man. Allen then scored on Wes Parker's sac fly to Ken Henderson in left. Henderson more than made up for his fielding gaffe in the 3rd when he threw a

strike to the plate to nail Wills. Dick Dietz blocked the plate like the professional that he is and Wills, who was betrayed by his declining speed, was out by a hair. San Fran's best chance to score was in the 4th when they had runners on 1st and second with 1 out. Sutton got out of the jam by fanning Mays and Bonds in succession. Mays would also make out with runners on 1st and 2nd in the 6th as Sutton got him to pop out to Wills as the infield fly rule was called. Jimmy Rosario would triple off of Sutton with 2 outs in the 7th, but Sutton was able to get Lanier to ground out to Wills to end the threat. Sutton seemed to grow stronger as the game progressed. He struck out Mays to open the home half of the 9th and easily got Bonds and Henderson out to end the game and move LA to within 1/2 game of San Fran's divisional lead.