The Dodgers used good pitching and some late-inning luck to sweep the series 3 games to 0.

Oct 1 – Kevin Brown vs Don Sutton
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Dave Lopes reached on an error and scored on Steve Garvey’s double. In the 4th Ron Cey led off with a single, moved to 2nd on a wild pitch, then scored on Steve Yeager’s single, 2-0 Dodgers. LA bumped the lead to 3-0 in the 5th when Cey singled in Dusty Baker, who had doubled with 2 outs. Finally the Padres answered in the 6th when the dangerous Greg Vaughn homered to make it a 3-1 game. Two innnings later Tony Gwynn duplicated Vaughn’s feat with a 2-out HR to make it a 3-2 game. That blast chased Sutton, and when Elias Sosa walked the next batter, Charlie Hough came on to get the final out of the inning. Bottom of the 8th and Steve Garvey led off with a single. Brown departed, Donnie Wall replaced him. A single by Dusty Baker, and a walk to Ron Cey loaded the bases for Rick Monday with nobody out. Scott Sanders took over for San Diego, and Monday delivered the back-breaker, a 2-run single to reclaim a 3-run margin at 5-2. In the 9th Hough surrendered a hit, but no runs. The final was 5-2 Los Angeles.
SD 2 6 2
LA 5 12 1
W – Sutton
L – Brown
S – Hough
HR – Vaughn, Gwynn

Oct 2 – Andy Ashby vs. Tommy John
This time it was the Padres who took the first inning lead when Tony Gwynn quickly turned on a Tommy John fastball for a leadoff HR and a 1-0 lead. From there, John retired 8 in a row, and allowed just 3 more hits through 5 innings. Meanwhile the Dodgers had no answer for Ashby, who allowed a pair of harmless singles and two walks through 5. Top of the 6th the Padres added another run on Greg Vaughn’s solo HR, and like Gwynn his 2nd of the series, to extend the Friar’s lead to 2-0. Ashby ran into some trouble with 2 outs in the 6th when Reggie Smith walked and Steve Garvey singled...but he got Dusty Baker to line out to keep the score at 2-0. Bottom of the 7th, more issues for Ashby, and perhaps the help came too late. Ron Cey led off with a single. Ashby got the next two batters, then gave up a PH single to Manny Mota, putting runners on the corners. Dave Lopes followed with a single to make it 2-1. Up next was Bill Russell, with Ashby still on the mound. Russell doubled down the left field line, scoring both Mota and Lopes and giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Dan Micelli came in to get Reggie Smith, but was it too late? Top of the 8th, Charlie Hough got the first two batters, then allowed a single to Ken Caminitti. He walked Greg Vaughn, bringing Wally Joyner to the plate. Joyner launched one to deep right, but it died right in front of the wall for the final out, still 3-2 Dodgers. Top of the 9th, Hough trying to close it out. He walked the first two batters, Carlos Hernandez and Steve Finley. Mike Garman entered, and Chris Gomez’ bunt attempt resulted in a force out at 2nd. Now with men on the corners, the tie run at 3rd, 1 out, PH Andy Sheets came to the plate. LA played the infield back, and the Padres attempted a squeeze bunt! Sheets missed the ball and Hernandez was tagged out at the plate!   Like Houdini in a locked chest, Mike Garman got Sheets to fly out to end the game. The final was 3-2.
SD   2   7   0
LA   3   7   0
W – John
L – Ashby
S – Garman
HR – Gwynn (2), Vaughn (2)

Oct 4 – Burt Hooton vs. Sterling Hitchcock
Los Angeles scored the game’s first run when Dusty Baker homered in the 2nd. The game stayed at 1-0 until the 6th when a single by Burt Hooton and Reggie Smith’s first hit of the series, a 2-run HR, extended the Dodger lead to 3-0. With desperation creeping in, San Diego put together a 2-out threat in the bottom of the 6th. Tony Gwynn singled, Greg Vaughn walked. Ken Camitti send a ball to deep right, but Smith was there to end the inning and maintain a 3-0 score. Hooton pitched a perfect 7th and 8th and the game went to the 9th. Gwynn and Vaughn were retired, but Caminiti singled. Charlie Hough replaced Hooton to face PH Wally Joyner, who walked. Chris Gomez followed, and he walked to load the bases! With 2 outs, Hough stared in a Steve Finley. Finley lined one to first and Garvey grabbed it for the final out. Dodgers win 3-0.
LA 3 6 0
SD 0 6 0
W – Hooton
L – Hitchcock
S – Hough
HR – Baker, Smith

--submitted by Jesse Elicker--

Oct 1, 1953 Playoff Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1998 San Diego 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 6 2 1977 Los Angeles 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 - 5 12 1 98 San Diego AB R H BI W K 2B 3B HR Ave 77 Los Angeles AB R H BI W K 2B 3B HR Ave Veras 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .250 Lopes 2B 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .200 Finley CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Russell, B SS 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 Gwynn RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .250 Smith,R RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .000 Vaughn LF 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 1.000 Garvey 1B 4 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .750 Wall P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Baker, D LF 4 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 .500 Sanders, S P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Cey 3B 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .667 Caminiti 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 Monday CF 4 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 .500 Joyner 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 Yeager C 4 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 .250 Hernandez C 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Sutton P 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .000 Gomez SS 4 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 .250 Sosa P 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Brown P 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hough P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Rivera LF 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 35 5 12 5 1 13 2 0 0 .343 33 2 6 2 3 6 1 0 2 .182 98 San Diego IP H R ER HR W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf Brown L(0-1) 7.0 10 4 3 0 0 12 139 96 43 3.86 31 115 128 Wall 0.0 1 1 1 0 1 0 8 -9 17 0.00 2 70 75 + Sanders, S 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 19 5 14 0.00 4 35 34 8.0 12 5 4 0 1 13 166 92 74 4.50 37 77 Los Angeles IP H R ER HR W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf Sutton W(1-0) 7.2 5 2 2 2 2 4 105 74 31 2.35 30 115 121 Sosa 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 1 6 0.00 1 35 33 Hough S(1) 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 2 26 16 10 0.00 5 70 75 9.0 6 2 2 2 3 6 138 91 47 2.00 36 SD: Rivera moved to LF in the 8th E-Joyner(1) Finley(1) Cey(1) 2B-Veras(1) Garvey(1) Baker, D(1) HR- SD Vaughn(1) off Sutton(1) in the 6th with bases empty Gwynn(1) off Sutton(2) in the 8th with bases empty SB- LA Russell(0) off Brown(1) and Hernandez(1) in the 3rd RBI-SD Vaughn(1) Gwynn(1) LA Yeager(1) Garvey(1) Baker, D(1) Monday 2(2) SH-Russell, B OfA-Finley(1) LOB-98 San Diego 7 77 Los Angeles 7 DP-77 Los Angeles 1 GWRBI-Garvey Game MVP:Charlie Hough Injury: Vaughn(Oct 2) Dodger Stadium, Time 3:23, 76ų Oct 1, 1953 Playoff Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1998 San Diego 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 6 2 1977 Los Angeles 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 - 5 12 1 1998 98 San Diego Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4 1 Veras 2B 1>D 3>B54 G43 8>L8 2 Finley CF B26 F7 6>P3 Fs8 3 Gwynn RF G43,12 F9 Fd9 HR 4 Vaughn LF W 4>W HR W Wall P Sanders, S P 5 Caminiti 3B K L3 G43 F9 6 Joyner 1B 2>F9 K 7>G43 9>L3 7 Hernandez C S G43 E5,B1 S 8 Gomez SS S,12 5>K23 K K 9 Brown P G463/dp F8 G43 Rivera LF K 1977 77 Los Angeles Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4 Ab5 1 Lopes 2B 1>G3/e3,B2 3>S+e8,B2 K 7>K G13 2 Russell, B SS B14,23 S,23 5>G31 K 3 Smith,R RF K SB2 K L4 G3u 4 Garvey 1B D,3H P6 S 8>S 5 Baker, D LF G53 K D,1H S,12 6 Cey 3B 2>G53 4>S S,23/82 WP,23,12 W 7 Monday CF S K 6>K S,3H,2H,13 8 Yeager C K WP,12 S,23,3 K K 9 Sutton P K K G53 Sosa P Hough P P2 98 San Diego IN OUT Brown AB1-1 AB4-4 Wall AB4-5 AB4-6 Sanders, S AB4-7 End 77 Los Angeles IN OUT Sutton AB1-1 AB4-3 Sosa AB4-4 AB4-4 Hough AB4-5 End

Oct 2, 1953 Playoff Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1998 San Diego 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 0 1977 Los Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 - 3 7 0 98 San Diego AB R H BI W K 2B 3B HR Ave 77 Los Angeles AB R H BI W K 2B 3B HR Ave Gwynn RF 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .375 Lopes 2B 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 .222 Veras 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 Russell, B SS 3 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 .333 Caminiti 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .125 Smith,R RF 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .000 Vaughn LF 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 .500 Garvey 1B 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .750 Joyner 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 Baker, D LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Hernandez C 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .286 Cey 3B 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 Finley CF 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .000 Monday CF 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .286 Gomez SS 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 .375 Yeager C 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .167 Ashby P 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .000 John P 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Miceli P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Mota PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 Sheets PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hough P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 32 2 7 2 3 5 0 0 2 .200 Garman P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 30 3 7 3 3 6 1 0 0 .292 98 San Diego IP H R ER HR W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf Ashby L(0-1) 6.2 7 3 3 0 3 5 106 66 40 4.05 29 115 124 Miceli 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 14 9 5 0.00 4 30 29 8.0 7 3 3 0 3 6 120 75 45 3.94 33 77 Los Angeles IP H R ER HR W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf John W(1-0) 7.0 6 2 2 2 0 5 73 56 17 2.57 27 120 128 Hough H(1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 30 3 27 0.00 7 80 75 Garman S(1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 -1 6 0.00 2 35 38 9.0 7 2 2 2 3 5 108 58 50 2.00 36 SD: Sheets hit for Miceli in the 9th LA: Mota hit for John in the 7th 2B-Russell, B(1) HR- SD Gwynn(2) off John(1) in the 1st with bases empty Vaughn(2) off John(2) in the 6th with bases empty CS- SD Hernandez(0) by Garman(1) and Yeager(1) in the 9th LA Russell(0) by Ashby(1) and Hernandez(1) in the 4th RBI-SD Vaughn(2) Gwynn(2) LA Lopes(1) Russell, B 2(2) SH-Ashby LOB-98 San Diego 7 77 Los Angeles 6 GWRBI-Russell, B Game MVP:Steve Garvey Dodger Stadium, Time 2:32, 74ų, 5mph Right to Left Oct 2, 1953 Playoff Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1998 San Diego 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 0 1977 Los Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 - 3 7 0 1998 98 San Diego Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4 1 Gwynn RF 1>HR S G13 8>P4 2 Veras 2B G53 G43 6>B34 G13 3 Caminiti 3B Fs8 4>K Fs8 S 4 Vaughn LF F7 F7 HR W,12 5 Joyner 1B 2>G43 S G41 Fd9 6 Hernandez C G43 G63 7>G63 9>W 7 Finley CF K2u 5>G43 G43 W,12 8 Gomez SS 3>K S S B54/fo,23,B1 9 Ashby P K23 B24,12 K Miceli P Sheets PH CSh(2u)F7 1977 77 Los Angeles Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4 1 Lopes 2B 1>G63 L9 6>K S,3H,12 2 Russell, B SS G63 4>W L7 D,2H,1H 3 Smith,R RF F9 Fvd9 W K 4 Garvey 1B 2>S CS2(24)S S,13 8>G63 5 Baker, D LF P6 WP,12 F8 L7 L6 6 Cey 3B F7 5>G53 7>S F9 7 Monday CF K K K 8 Yeager C 3>K W L8 9 John P G53 P3 Mota PH S,13 Hough P Garman P 98 San Diego IN OUT Ashby AB1-1 AB4-2 Miceli AB4-3 End 77 Los Angeles IN OUT John AB1-1 AB3-9 Hough AB4-1 AB4-7 Garman AB4-8 End

Oct 4, 1953 Playoff Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1977 Los Angeles 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 6 0 1998 San Diego 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 77 Los Angeles AB R H BI W K 2B 3B HR Ave 98 San Diego AB R H BI W K 2B 3B HR Ave Lopes 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .154 Veras 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083 Russell, B SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .300 Leyritz 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Smith,R RF 4 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 1 .091 Gwynn RF 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .417 Garvey 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 Vaughn LF 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .286 Baker, D LF 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 .333 Caminiti 3B 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .273 Cey 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 Hernandez C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 Burke CF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Boehringer P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Yeager C 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 .222 Joyner PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .125 Hooton P 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Gomez SS 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .273 Hough P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Finley CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 31 3 6 3 0 8 1 0 2 .260 Hitchcock P 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 Myers, G C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 31 0 6 0 4 1 0 0 0 .198 77 Los Angeles IP H R ER HR W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf Hooton W(1-0) 8.2 6 0 0 0 2 1 128 90 38 0.00 32 115 121 - Hough S(2) 0.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 12 0 12 0.00 3 75 75 9.0 6 0 0 0 4 1 140 90 50 1.33 35 98 San Diego IP H R ER HR W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf Hitchcock L(0-1) 7.0 5 3 3 2 0 3 111 72 39 3.86 25 105 107 + Boehringer 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 5 35 25 10 0.00 7 60 70 9.0 6 3 3 2 0 8 146 97 49 3.60 32 SD: Myers, G moved to C in the 8th Joyner hit for Boehringer in the 9th 2B-Yeager(1) HR- LA Baker(1) off Hitchcock(1) in the 2nd with bases empty Smith(1) off Hitchcock(2) in the 6th with 1 on base RBI-LA Baker, D(2) Smith,R 2(2) SH-Hooton OfA-Burke(1) LOB-77 Los Angeles 2 98 San Diego 8 DP-77 Los Angeles 2 98 San Diego 1 GWRBI-Baker, D Game MVP:Burt Hooton Qualcomm Stadium, Time 3:11, 75ų, Dome Oct 4, 1953 Playoff Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1977 Los Angeles 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 6 0 1998 San Diego 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1977 77 Los Angeles Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4 1 Lopes 2B 1>L4 F7 Fs7 K 2 Russell, B SS S 4>L7 WP,12 P4 K 3 Smith,R RF G543/dp K HR 9>K 4 Garvey 1B 2>P6 F7 F7 K 5 Baker, D LF HR 5>S 7>P6 K 6 Cey 3B F7 P6 L5 7 Burke CF F9 F7 G63 8 Yeager C 3>K K 8>D 9 Hooton P F9 6>S B54,23 Hough P 1998 98 San Diego Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4 1 Veras 2B 1>G63 G13 6>B34 L5 2 Leyritz 1B G43 4>S G63 G53 3 Gwynn RF G53 S,13 S 9>G63 4 Vaughn LF 2>L5 Fs8/82,12 W,12 F7 5 Caminiti 3B S W Fd9 S 6 Hernandez C G463/dp P6 7>G63 Boehringer P Joyner PH W,12 7 Gomez SS 3>F8 5>G63 G53 W,23,12 8 Finley CF G43 G43 G63 L3 9 Hitchcock P S K Myers, G C 8>G53 77 Los Angeles IN OUT Hooton AB1-1 AB4-5 Hough AB4-6 End 98 San Diego IN OUT Hitchcock AB1-1 AB3-7 Boehringer AB3-8 End

‘77 LA Dodgers sweep ‘98 Padres