1978 World Series, Game 6: Yankees @ Dodgers

New York Yankees 7 at Los Angeles Dodgers 2, F — Game 6 turned out to be grand finale for the unlikely heroic duo of Bucky Dent and Brian Doyle. Davey Lopes gave the Dodger home crowd a ray of hope with a leadoff home run off Catfish Hunter. Dent and Doyle put the Yankees ahead in the second; Doyle with a two-run double, Dent with an RBI single. Lopes had an RBI single in the third to cut it to 3-2, but that would be it for the Dodgers. Dent and Doyle pushed the score to 5-2 in the sixth with RBI singles and Reggie Jackson put the final nail in the coffin with a tremendous two-run blast in the seventh off his Game 2 nemesis, Bob Welch. Dent would be named World Series MVP, batting .417 with 10 hits, 7 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Doyle would make a claim for the MVP himself with a .438 average, 7 hits, 2 RBI, and 4 runs. While Lopes had a monster series with three homers and seven RBIs and Bill Russell had 11 hits, the Dodgers’ power hitters and their lack of production was their downfall. Steve Garvey (5-for-24, no RBIs) was no factor, and neither were Dusty Baker (5 for 21, one RBI) or Ron Cey (no RBIs after Game 2). Closer Rich “Goose” Gossage blanked the Dodgers for the final two innings, as Captain Thurman Munson caught the final out of the game on a foul pop by Ron Cey. Sadly, this would be the final post-season game of Munson’s career before his death during the 1979 season.