#222-221 A.L./N.L. Playoffs

Personal recollection of the Championship Series: None....I knew Oakland had ran away with the AL West but their destiny was a 3-0 sweep to the Orioles was the same result as the two prior years since the inception of the Championship Series....Orioles scored 5 runs in each and manhandled to upstart A’s....Most of the O’s staff rested, with Mike Cuellar and Jim Palmer carried most the work load with complete games....National League Playoff pitted SF Giants against the Pirates...The Giants were the only team that was coming off the only real pennant race of the season...San Francisco drew first blood with a Gaylord Perry complete game victory...notable in that it was the first time a team wasn’t swept in  the league championship playoff...Game 2 Pirates comeback with a vengeance shelling Giant starter John Cumberland...Pirates score 9 runs five of which came off of Bob Robertson’s 3 home runs.....pitching ruled in game 3 as Bob Johnson out dueled Juan Marichal 2-1....in the deciding 4^th game neither Gaylord Perry or Steve Blass pitched well but the Pirates out slugged the Giants 9-5 to take the series....a swan song for the Giants whose franchise would be staggered by age, bad trades, and injuries in many coming years.