KOD 13 - Tier A Playoffs - A's upset Bombers in 4

10/8/1981 - Yankee Stadium
Steve McCatty (5-6) vs Rudy May (5-4)
A's 5, Yankees 2

The Yankees entered the series with the best record in baseball.  They have a formidable lineup with 2 Hall of Famers and a pitching staff, especially their bullpen, that was the class of the American League.  Oakland is a team built around intangibles.  They have a very good rotation, that somewhat overachieved, and maybe the best young outfields in baseball.  In the top of the 1st all 3 parts of Oakland's "best young outfield in baseball" took part in staking starter Steve McCatty to a 3-0 lead.  Rickey Henderson led off with a walk, then moved to second on an infield single by Shooty Babitt.  Centerfielder Dwayne Murphy bunted both runners over and rightfielder Tony Armas delivered them both home with a double that rolled to the fence in Death Valley.  After DH Cliff Johnson popped up to short, former Yankee Mike Heath singled home Armas for the third and final run of the inning.  Heath would lead off the top of the 4th with a double down the left field line.  After moving to third on Jeff Newman's single Heath scored on a single by another former Yankee, Mickey Klutts.  With 2 out Babitt singled home Newman to give McCatty a 5-0 lead.  With 2 out and 2 runners on May was lifted from the game in favor of Doug Bird, who pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of baseball.  The Yanks posted a run in the 4th, when Bucky "F-in" Dent singled home Bobby Murcer.  They also posted a run in the 7th when Willie Randolph singled home Dave Revering.  McCatty had great stuff and was able to go the distance allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits.  Former Yankee farmhand, Klutts was 3 for 3 with one RBI.  Henderson stole his 31st base of he season.
Oakland leads series 1-0

10/9
Rick Langford (6-5) vs Ron Guidry
Yankees 6, A's 4

Oakland jumped out to a 3-1 lead and Rick Langford looked like he was in the same groove that McCatty was in the day before.  Then, like a bolt of lighting in the Bronx sky, the Bombers struck for 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th.  After Cliff Johnson and Rob Picciolo hit solo shots in the top of the inning the hometown fans saw their boys in pinstripes suits in deep trouble looking up from a 4-1 hole.  Dave Winfield led off the bottom of the inning with a walk.  Reggie and Bobby Murcer followed with singles to load the bases.  Craig Nettles, who possesses a lethal lefty bat in Yankee stadium lined a single just inside the chalk on the right field line to score Winny and Reggie to make it 4-3.  Revering doubled off the wall in right to score Murcer to tie the game a 4-4.  Dent singled home Nettles and the Yanks had their first lead of the series.  Tom Underwood was brought on to replace Langford, who couldn't get Ray Oyler out at this point.  Underwood got "the Italian Stallion", Rick Cerone to ground into a 6-4 3 DP, but on the play Revering scored easily to make it 6-4.  Yankee starter Ron Guidry, who was replaced the previous inning by Ron Davis, did not figure into the decision.  Davis would toss 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to get the win.  George Frazier would pitch 2/3 scoreless innings before handing the ball over to "the Goose", who blew away Dave McKay and Rickey Henderson with heat, before Keith Drumright flew out to shallow center to end it.
Series tied 1-1

10/11 - Oakland Coliseum
Dave Righetti (6-2) vs Mike Norris (9-1)
A's 6, Yankees 0

The series moved 3,000 miles to the Bay Area where two native Californians would hook up in the pitching matchup.  21 year old Dave Righetti was pitching before an angry crowd in his hometown.  With many family member in attendance the 1981 AL Rookie of the Year was bound to have some butterflies and feel his nerves jangling.  Mike Norris, who is one cool customer came right out of the starting blocks throwing gas.  Rags gave up a lead off double to Henderson, then recovered to get the next 3 outs.  In the bottom of the 2nd he would again find trouble when he loaded the bases with a walk to Babitt.  Klutts, who for the second straight day was in the lineup vs another Yankee lefty lifted a sac fly to Winfield in left to make it 1-0.  Oakland once again took advantage of young Righetti's nerves in the bottom of the 4th with 3 big runs.  After Armas walked, Health singled to put runners on the corners.  Cliff Johnson's single scored Armas to make it 2-0.  Babitt's single scored Heath to make it 3-0 and Klutts, who is no klutz, singled home Johnson to give Norris a 4-0 lead.  Oakland scored 2 more in the 8th, but by that point it was all academic.  Norris was well on his way to a complete game 3 hit shutout and just like that the Yankees were on the brink of elimination.
Oakland leads series 2-1

10/12
Tommy John (5-5) vs Matt Keough (5-3)
A's 6, Yankees 1

New York's manager John Clingan had an uneasy feeling about this game when he put the ball and his season firmly in the hands of Tommy John.  Clingan was quoted as saying, "TJ has been awful all season".  There wasn't much of a wait needed to see how awful New York's 4th consecutive lefty starter would be.  Oakland bolted right out of the gate with 3 pace setting runs in the bottom of the 1st.  Henderson led off with a double and moved to third on Picciolo's single.  Murphy bunted Picciolo over to second, as Henderson held tight on third not wanting to risk getting thrown out on a ball that didn't roll too far from the plate.  Tony Armas stepped to the plate and with one mighty swing deposited a 2-0 offering from John into the left field pavilion.  Dave Winfield, who has been maligned by his owner as "Mr. May", showed today that he too can perform in the glaring lights of October Baseball.  With 1 out in the top of the 4th "Winny" hit a sinking liner to the opposite field that wound up 6 rows deep to make the score 3-1.  Winny would single in his next two times up, but never find his way back home like he did in the 4th, because Matt Keough was pitching like his career was on the line.  Keough, who entered the game with a gaudy ERA well over 5.00 had his best stuff of the season.  He would scatter 4 hits on the day, 3 of which came off of Winfield's bat, and never really be in danger of losing.  Oakland would finally chase John from the hill in the 6th after New York's embattled lefty gave up another 3 spot the previous inning.  The bottom of the 5th started off with Klutts hitting a humped back liner to center.  He would head to third on another Rickey Henderson double.  Picciolo followed that up with a single to right to score Klutts.  After Dwayne Murphy stuck out for the second time in a row Tony Armas cleared the bases with a double.  Ron Davis and Goose Gossage would come on to stop the bleeding, but by this point the patient had virtually bled out.  By the time pinch hitter Oscar Gambles pop up fell comfortably into the glove of another former Yankee, Fred "Chicken" Stanley A's fans were ready to celebrate their improbable upset of the heavily favored Bronx Bombers in 4 games.
Oakland wins series 3-1