The 1978 Yankees and the 1961 Yankees split their six game series. The '78 Yankees remain six games over .500 at 21-15 while the '61 Yankees stay eight games under .500 at 50-58.
After losing the first game 4-3, the '61 Yankees won the next three games. Johnny Blanchard’s eighth inning homerun gave them a 4-3 win in Game Two. Yogi Berra went 3-5 with a double, homer and four RBI to power a 9-3 win in Game Three. In Game Four, they trailed 5-3 in the eighth until Elston Howard’s solo homerun cut the deficit to one in the 8th inning, and Bobby Richardson’s RBI single off Goose Gossage sent the game into extras. Roger Maris then hit a two-run walk-off homerun in the 10th for a thrilling 7-5 win; the loss spoiled Roger Guidry’s brilliant start in which he struck out 14 batters in eight innings. The '78 Yankees won the final two games to even the series. In Game Five, Mickey Mantle made two costly errors in the same inning for the '61 Yankees which led to two runs in a 3-1 defeat. Dick Tidrow pitched a four-hit shutout in the final game, a 6-0 victory. Graig Nettles was a perfect 3-3 at the plate with two doubles and three runs scored.
Mantle leads the '61 Yankees in hitting at .326 with 42 homeruns, 85 RBI, 99 runs scored, and a 1.143 OPS. Howard is right behind at .323 with 27 homeruns, 75 runs scored, and a .922 OPS. Maris is hitting .245 with 45 homeruns, 97 RBI, 93 runs scored, and a .979 OPS. Bill Stafford picked up his 10th win in this series; overall, he is 10-5 with a 3.70 ERA.
Reggie Jackson cooled off in this series for the '78 Yankees as his average dropped to .304 with 11 homeruns 28 RBI, and 32 runs scored. After the shutout, Tidrow is now 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA. Guidry has struck out 73 batters in 64 innings. The player with the next highest strikeout total is 7-0 Ed Figueroa with 19. Gossage blew another save in this series but saved two others to give him 14 for the season. The '78 Yankees will battle the 26-28 1941 Yankees in the next series.