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1978 American League East tie-breaker game

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The 1978 American League East tie-breaker game was played between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on October 2, 1978.

Both the Yankees and Red Sox finished the 1978 season tied for first place in the American League East with identical 99–63 records, necessitating an additional one-game playoff. The Red Sox were the home team by virtue of a coin toss. The playoff was counted as a regular-season game for statistical purposes.

The game is famous for Bucky Dent's unlikely home run in the top of the seventh inning. Trailing 2–0 in the seventh on the strength of a homer by Carl Yastrzemski and an RBI single by Jim Rice, the Yankees' Chris Chambliss and Roy White both singled. Dent then hit a flyball that cleared the Green Monster wall in left field to give the Yankees a 3–2 lead. It was the light-hitting Dent's fifth home run of the season.

Successive doubles by Mickey Rivers and Thurman Munson followed Dent's hme run. In the eighth inning, a home run by Reggie Jackson made it 5–2. The Red Sox cut New York's lead to one run in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles by Fred Lynn and Yastrzemski. But the Yankees would hold off the Red Sox, thanks in part to a head's-up defensive play by Lou Piniella in the ninth, to win 5–4. Ron Guidry gained his 25th win in the game, while Mike Torrez took the loss. Torrez had been a starter on the 1977 World Champion Yankees, before signing with Boston as a free agent.

Line score

October 2, 1978 at Fenway Park, Boston Massachusetts
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 5 8 0
Boston Red Sox 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 4 11 0
WP: Ron Guidry (25-3)   LP: Mike Torrez (16-13)   Sv: Rich Gossage (27)
Home runs:
NYY: Bucky Dent, Reggie Jackson
BOS: Carl Yastrzemski

[1] [2]

Starting lineups

New York Yankees

  1. Mickey Rivers (CF)
  2. Thurman Munson (C)
  3. Lou Piniella (RF)
  4. Reggie Jackson (DH)
  5. Graig Nettles (3B)
  6. Chris Chambliss (1B)
  7. Roy White (LF)
  8. Brian Doyle (2B)
  9. Bucky Dent (SS)

Boston Red Sox

  1. Rick Burleson (SS)
  2. Jerry Remy (2B)
  3. Jim Rice (RF)
  4. Carl Yastrzemski (LF)
  5. Carlton Fisk (C)
  6. Fred Lynn (CF)
  7. Butch Hobson (DH)
  8. George Scott (1B)
  9. Jack Brohamer (3B)

[3]

Aftermath

For the third straight year, the Yankees went on to face the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. The Yankees won the best-of-five series for their third consecutive pennant. New York defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series to win their second championship in a row, and 22nd overall.

Quotes

Deep to left! Yastrzemski will not get it, it's a home run! A three-run home run by Bucky Dent, and the Yankees now lead it by a score of 3-2!

— Bill White, Yankees television announcer, calling Bucky Dent's 7th-inning home run.

Torrez in trouble, got a big out on the pinch-hitter Spencer. Mike is set. Here's the pitch...There's a drive toward left! And Yastrzemski will...watch it go into the screen! And the Yankees lead, 3-2!

— Jim Woods, Red Sox radio announcer, calling Dent's home run.
  1. ^ Game Log Baseball-reference.com
  2. ^ How the Yankees Won the 1978 Play-Off Over the Red Sox Denishorgan.com
  3. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore". Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2009-03-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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