Greatest American League
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The 1927 Yankees took on their next door neighbor, the 1928 Yankees, and came away with another six game split.
Three of the games were one-run games, including Game One won by the '28 Yankees 3-2. Game Two was the most dramatic contest of the series; the game was either tied or changed leads six times before the '27 Yankees won 5-4 on a Lou Gehrig walk off double. Game Three was an outlier blowout won by the '28 Yankees 14-5 in which every player either scored or drove in a run. The '27 Yankees won the next two games 5-4 and 6-3. In the latter game, Babe Ruth drove in four of the runs with a homerun and a triple. The '28 Yankees forged a split in the series with a 8-6 triumph.
'27 Ruth hit .428 in the series with three homeruns and eight RBI to bring his overall numbers to .372 with five HRs, 14 RBI, 13 runs scored, and a 1.393 OPS. Earle Combs is off to a good start, hitting .321 with 10 runs scored. Bob Meusel’s average dropped to .289, but he still has a .950 OPS and 12 RBI. Lou Gehrig is off to a solid start, hitting .295 with three HR and 11 RBI. Waite Hoyt is off to a dominant beginning; he won his third start to bring his record to 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Bob Shawkey has pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and has earned two wins and two saves.
'28 Combs hit .414 in the series and tied Ruth for the most runs scored with seven. Ruth hit .300 with three homers and a team-leading six RBI along with Gehrig who hit .391 in the series. George Pipgras won both of his starts with a 3.05 ERA. The 1928 Yankees will take on the 1932 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1928 Yankees flexed their muscles by beating the 1932 Yankees five out of six games to boost their record to 8-4.
They won the first two games 6-1 and 6-3 respectively. Lou Gehrig drove in four of the runs in game two with a double and a homerun. The '32 Yankees won their lone contest in game three 9-2; Bill Dickey had five RBI on a two-run double and a three-run homer. After a rain out, the '28 Yankees beat the '32 Yankees in a 10-6 shootout in game four; Bob Meusel hit a grand slam and drove in six runs. George Pipgras introduced pitching in game 5 as he pitched a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win. The '28 Yankees closed out the series with a 7-5 win, a series they averaged seven runs scored a game!
'28 Babe Ruth had a monster series: .550 with three homeruns and eight RBI. He is now hitting .425 overall with six homeruns, 19 runs scored, 14 RBI, and a 1.524 OPS.Ruth is one of five players currently hitting above .320. Tony Lazzeri is hitting .358 with a 1.007 OPS. Earle Combs is hitting .327 with 11 runs scored. Lou Gehrig is hitting .326 with 14 RBI and a .994 OPS. Joe Dugan is also hitting .326.With the shutout, George Pipgras ran his record to 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA.
1932 Ruth and Lazzeri were the only players to hit above .300 in the series. '32 Lazzeri hit .360 with a 1.087 OPS while Ruth hit .350 with a 1.031 OPS. '32 Pipgras won their only game and has a 2.01 ERA with four appearances; overall their pitching struggled mightily with a team 4.75 ERA. The 1932 Yankees will face the 1936 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1932 Yankees rebounded by taking five out of six games from the 1936 Yankees, the first championship team without Babe Ruth and with Joe Dimaggio, to even their record at 6-6.
The '32 Yankees won the first five games of this series: They won Game One 16-7; Ruth hit two homeruns and Bill Dickey drove in five runs with a triple and a homer. They won Game Three 6-5 after trailing 5-0; they scored three in the 7th on a two-run homer by Dickey and a solo blast by Joe Sewell back-to-back. The '36 Yankees avoided a sweep by winning game six 14-4; Bob Seeds came off the bench for an injured George Selkirk and hit two homeruns in that game.
Dickey had a tremendous series for the '32 Yankees; he hit .376 with two homeruns and nine RBI. Overall, he is hitting .304 with four HRs and 18 RBI. Ruth dropped to .289 but has six homeruns, 14 RBI, and a 1.122 OPS. Tony Lazzeri leads the team in hitting at .367 with 10 RBI and a 1.022 OPS. George Pipgras has two complete games in two starts and is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Jumbo Brown has been solid in a mixture of starts and the bullpen, 1-0 with a 2.80 ERA.
Lou Gehrig had a ridiculous series for the '36 Yankees; he hit .542 with four homeruns, seven RBI, 12 runs scored and a 1.746 OPS! Dimaggio hit .444 with a 1.168 OPS. The '36 pitching staff was woeful with a team ERA of 7.00. They will face the 1937 Yankees in the next series.
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The series between the 1936 and 1937 Yankees had a lot of fireworks; the teams combined for 20 homeruns in the six game series, with the '36 Yankees winning four out of six to improve their record to 5-7.
The '37 Yankees won the first two games; Joe Dimaggio hit a go-ahead two-run homer in game one to give them a 5-3 win and Red Ruffing narrowly missed a no-hitter in game two, a 12-0 blowout. The no no was broken up in the 9th on a Lou Gehrig double. Tony Lazzeri led the offense with two homers, a triple and 5 RBI. The '36 Yankees won the remaining four games of the series. Game four went 14 innings with the '36 Yankees scoring six runs in the 14th to win 11-5. Dimaggio hit two homeruns for the '36 Yankees in a 11-6 win in game five. Game six was the most dramatic one of the series; the lead changed hands four times. Jake Powell gave the '36 Yankees a 5-3 lead in the 6th with a three-run homerun. The '37 Yankees put five runs across in the 7th on a bases-clearing double by Bill Dickey and a two-run dinger by Dimaggio to put them in front 9-6. That lead didn’t last long as George Selkirk hit a two-out three run tater to tie the game. The '36 Yankees went back out in front for good in the 9th when Powell lined a RBI single that led to another run on a throwing error by Selkirk for an 11-9 win.
It’s not often you can say a hitter’s average dropped nearly 100 points and is still hitting well over .400, but that’s what Lou Gehrig is doing for the '36 Yankees. Gehrig is hitting .457 with six homeruns, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored an a 1.500 OPS. Likewise, Dimaggio “dropped” to .364 with four homers, 10 RBI, 10 runs scored, and a 1.084 OPS. Powell hit .348 in the series to boost his overall average to .326 with three homeruns and 10 RBI. Pitching continues to be rough; Johnny Broaca is 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA, but the rest of the staff and it’s 6.15 team ERA has been mostly trash.
The 1937 Yankees hit .271 in the series with 12 homeruns. Dimaggio hit .407 with four dingers, nine RBI, and a 1.374 OPS. Gehrig hit .364 with a 1.412 OPS. Two more starters had a 1.0 or better OPS: Tommy Henrich (.318, 1.263 OPS) and Lazzeri (.292, 1.039 OPS). Ruffing (1-0 1.50 ERA in one start and three appearances ) provided one of the few quality starts for a staff that had a 4.76 team ERA in the series. The '37 Yankees will take on the 1938 Yankees in the next series.
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Pitching made a comeback in the series between the 1937 and 1938 Yankees, a six game split between the two teams.
Red Ruffing kicked things off for the '37 Yankees with a 5-hit shutout in a 2-0 win. They won the second game 2-1, but the '38 Yankees won the next three games. Game Five had a number of dramatic twists: The '37 Yankees took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 9th on back-to-back homeruns by Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio, The '38 Yankees tied the game on a two-run dinger by Dimaggio followed by back-to-back doubles by Red Rolfe and George Silkirk to walk off with a 5-4 win. Ruffing was the hero again for the '37 Yankees in the last game of the series but in a different way; Ruffing not only pitched a complete game, but he hit a two-out solo homerun in the top of the 9th to lead his team to a 4-3 win.
The 1938 Yankees only hit .175 in the series. Tommy Henrich (.304) was the only player to hit above .250 in the series. Spud Chandler won his only start with a 1.13 ERA. Johnny Murphy saved two of their wins in two scoreless innings.
Gehrig’s average for the '37 Yankees dropped to .341 with five homers, 11 runs scored, and a 1.280 OPS. Dimaggio’s average dropped to .278 with five homers and 10 RBI. Henrich is now hitting .278 with a 1.006 OPS. Ruffing’s two stellar starts now has him 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Bump Hadley is 1-1 in two starts with a 1.80 ERA. The 1937 Yankees will face the 1939 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1937 Yankees split another series, this one with the 1939 Yankees. The '39 Yankees were a remarkable team when you consider that they had to overcome the abrupt retirement of Lou Gehrig when his body was stricken with ALS. As dramatic as his “Luckiest Man” speech was, there were many dramatic games in this series.
The combination of Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio brought the '37 Yankees back from a 5-2 deficit in Game One to win 8-5 on a walk-off grand slam by Dimaggio. Gehrig hit two homers including a two-run blast that closed the gap to 5-4 in the 8th. The two teams traded 4-2 wins in Games Two and Three. The '37 Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the series on the arm and bat of Lefty Gomez. Gomez pitched a complete game in which he gave up one earned run, struck out 10, and went 3-4 at the plate with a double and four RBI in a 12-4 blowout. Bill Dickey brought the '39 Yankees back in the series with two dingers and four RBI including a go-ahead two run shot in the 8th to give them a 6-5 win. Game Six was ridiculous. The '39 Yankees won 10-9 in a game with seven homeruns hit by both teams combined. Dimaggio hit a three-run tater in the first for the '39 Yankees; they led by 8-2 at one point. In the 7th inning, the '37 Yankees roared back with seven runs including a three-run homer by Tommy Henrich, his second of the game, and a two-run goner by '37 Dimaggio to take a 8-7 lead. '39 Dimaggio had the last word with a walk-off two run bomb in the 9th, his second of the game. Playing with these Yankee teams has been even more fun than expected, and I’ve only scratched the surface!
The ‘39 Yankees’ Dimaggio had an amazing series: .478, six HRs, 16 RBI, and a 1.973 OPS. Dickey hit .316 with a pair of homers and a 1.269 OPS. Red Ruffing had a couple of rough (get it?) starts with a 7.87 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.
Gehrig picked up his 10th homerun for the '37 Yankees in this series, while hitting .333 with17 RBI, 18 runs scored, and a 1.334 OPS. Dimaggio is hitting .289 with eight homers and 20 RBI. Ruffing and Gomez continue to deliver quality starts with a combined 5-1 record and ERAs of 2.61 and 2.81 respectively. The '37 Yankees will take on the 1941 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1941 Yankees won three straight games from the 1937 Yankees after dropping two of the first three to win this series 4-2.
The '41 Yankees pounded an 11-4 win in Game One thanks in large part to Charlie Keller who hit two homeruns and drove in five RBI. The '37 Yankees won the next two games 13-3, in which every Yankee starter either scored or drove in a run, and 3-0 on a Lefty Gomez two-hit shutout. Joe Dimaggio took over the rest of the series for the '41 Yankees. In their Game Four 7-4 win, Dimaggio hit three dingers and drove in five RBI. After winning Game Five 7-0 on an Atley Donald three-hit shutout, Dimaggio hit a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th in Game Six, and Phil Rizzuto followed with a go-ahead RBI single for a series-clinching 3-2 win.
'41 Dimaggio was the latest Dimaggio to have a dominant series: He hit .478 with five homeruns, nine RBI, eight runs scored and a 1.729 OPS. Rizzuto hit .364. Keller hit .292 with seven runs scored and six RBI. Besides Donald, the '41 Yankees got solid pitching from ace Marius Russo who was 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA in two starts. Johnny Murphy picked up two saves in two opportunities.
For the '37 Yankees, Lou Gehrig continues to lead the way at .333 with 11 HRs, 18 RBI, 24 runs scored, and a 1.312 OPS. Dimaggio continues to hover around .290, hitting .286 with nine HRs, 26 RBI, 16 runs scored, and a .982 OPS. On the mound, Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez are a combined 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA. Monte Pearson and Bump Hadley are a combined 2-5 with a 5.18 ERA. The '37 Yankees dropped to 10-14 after this series, and will face the 1943 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1937 Yankees split their six game series with the 1943 Yankees. The '43 Yankees were an unspectacular team on paper; Joe Dimaggio was busy serving in the military during World War II. Yet, they held on despite an unreal series by '37 Dimaggio.
The '37 Yankees won Game One 4-3 after George Selkirk’s three-run homer gave them the lead in the bottom of the 8th. The '43 Yankees won the next two games 7-1 and 7-4. In Game Three, the '43 Yankees scored five runs in the 9th after trailing 4-2. Dimaggio carried the '37 Yankees to a 11-7 win in Game Four with three homeruns, including a grand slam, and NINE RBI! The '43 Yankees came back with a dramatic 5-4 comeback win in Game Five; They scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game 4-4, and Bud Metheny hit a walkoff homer in the 9th. Dimaggio struck again for the '37 Yankees in the final game, a 14-3 blowout. Dimaggio went 4-6 with a double and a homer and seven more RBI.
Metheny had a great series for the '43 Yankees, hitting .346 with three homeruns, seven RBI, and a 1.064 OPS. Charlie Keller hit .364 with a 1.027 OPS. Ace Spud Chandler had two disappointing starts, going 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA.
Dimaggio hit .333 for the '37 Yankees with six homeruns and an insane 19 RBI in six games to boost his overall numbers to .296 with 15 homers, 45 RBI and a 1.066 OPS. Lou Gehrig leads the team in hitting at .333 with 12 homeruns, 23 RBI, 33 runs scored, and a 1.297 OPS. Johnny Murphy has been as much of an opener as a closer. He has four saves and three losses with a 13.50 ERA in eight innings. The '37 Yankees remain four games under .500 at 13-17 after the split. They will face the 1947 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1937 Yankees won five of six games from the 1947 Yankees thanks to their pitching. Lefty Gomez pitched a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 Game One win; Red Rolfe hit a walkoff double scoring Joe Dimaggio. The '47 Yankees were shutout in back-to-back games when Red Ruffing pitched a one-hitter in an 8-0 win in Game Two. After Lou Gehrig crushed two homeruns and drove in four RBI in a 5-2 Game Five win, Ivy Andrews pitched the third shutout of the series, a six-hitter, in a 3-0 win.
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@ncord The 1947 Yankees edged the 1949 Yankees four games to two in their series. After getting shutout in three of their previous six games, they scored 19 runs in their first two games. Billy Johnson went 3-5 with a double, triple, homer and 5 RBI in a 11-8 Game One win. After losing 8-6 in Game Two, the '49 Yankees won the next game 9-3; Eddie Lopat pitched a complete game and hit a two-run homer. The '47 Yankees won two of the final three games to boost their overall record to 5-7.
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@ncord The 1949 Yankees split a six game series with the 1950 Yankees. This was a back-and-forth series. It began with the '49 Yankees scoring four runs in the bottom of the 7th in Game One to win 6-4. The '50 Bronx Bombers won the next three games. Johnny Mize drove in all four runs with a pair of two-run homers for a 4-1 win in Game Two. Tommy Byrne pitched a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 win in Game Three. Game Four was drunk; The '49 Yankees staked a 7-0 lead early only to see the '50 Yankees score seven runs in the 4th and 13 of the last 14 runs scored in the game to win a wild 13-8 slugfest. The '49 Yankees rebounded to win the final two games including a 10-2 blowout in Game Six in which every player either scored or drove in a run.
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@ncord The 1951 Yankees dominated the 1949 Yankees, winning five of their six games. The '51 Yankees won 10-3 in the opener and 5-2 in Game Two when '49 Yankees starter Tommy Byrne walked eight batters in 4 1/3 innings. They won their third in a row 7-2, a game in which starting pitcher Allie Reynolds pitched a complete game and hit a two-run homer. After losing game four, they won the final two games 9-5 and 3-1. The 1949 Yankees will take on the 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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@ncord The 1949 Yankees beat the 1952 Yankees four games to two after winning four of the first five games. The series had many offensive fireworks. In Game Four, the '49 Yankees won 7-6 thanks to a pair of homeruns by Yogi Berra. Joe Dimaggio led the '49 Bronx Bombers to a 10-1 in Game Five on the strength of 5-5 with a homerun and four RBI. The '52 Yankees won the final game of the series 11-4. Joe Collins drove in six runs while going 3-5 with a homerun. Gene Woodling and Gil McDougald combined to go 10-10 with four runs scored and three RBI.
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The 1953 Yankees dominated their series with the 1952 Yankees, winning the first five games before losing the final game 10-1. They scored two runs in the top of the 9th to win Game One 6-4. Every starter scored or drove in a run in their 9-5 win in Game Two. They pulled off the same trick in a 13-1 blowout in Game Four. They scored double figures in runs again in Game Five, a 10-2 win on the strength of Yogi Berra ( a grand slam and 5 RBI) and Joe Collins (two homeruns and 4 RBI).
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After dropping five of six games in their last series, the 1952 Yankees took five of six from the 1956 Yankees. The two teams split the first two games. The '52 Yankees took Game Three 8-4 after a 6th inning Bill Skowron error led to a six run inning, all unearned. Mickey Mantle had a MONSTER Game 5 won by the '52 Yanks 13-4: Mantle hit the cycle while going 5-5, two homeruns, five RBI and five runs scored.
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The 1956 Yankees took four of six games from the 1958 Yankees to improve their record to 5-7. The '56 Yankees won Game One 4-3 on a walkoff single by Yogi Berra with two outs in the 9th. They won in walkoff fashion again in Game Two 3-2 in 10 innings on a single by Enos Slaughter. Slaughter helped the '58 Yankees win Game Three 4-3 when he hit a go-ahead pinch hit two-run homer in the 7th. After the '58 Yankees tied the series in Game Four, the '56 Bombers won the final two games 6-5 and 9-1.
Mickey Mantle leads the '56 Yankees in hitting at .333 with 11 runs scored and a 1.032 OPS in 12 games. Berra has 15 RBI with a .261 average. Whitey Ford has started the play in season with three straight complete games, all wins, and a 2.00 ERA. The rest of the starting pitching has been mostly shaky, as their team 4.54 ERA would suggest.
Hank Bauer had a great series for the '58 Yankees, hitting .417 with a 1.083 OPS. Mantle hit just .200 but had a .500 OBP thanks to nine walks. Bob Turley was terrible in his two starts, going 0-2 with a 6.03 ERA. The '58 Yankees will take on the 1961 Yankees in the next series.
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After dropping the first game, The 1961 Yankees won three in a row against the 1958 Yankees on their way to winning the series 4-2. Tony Kubek had a huge Game Two for the '61 Yankees 10-4 win in which he hit 4-5 with a double, triple and five RBI. Game Three was deadlocked 2-2 until the 13th inning where Johnny Blanchard and Mickey Mantle hit back-to-back homeruns to give the '61 Yankees a 4-2 win. Mantle helped the '58 Yankees close the gap to 3-2 in Game Five when he hit a go-ahead homer in the 9th to beat the '61 Yankees 3-2. The '61 Yankees won the final game convincingly 5-1.
The '61 Yankees averaged five runs a game in the series despite just hitting .225 and shut down the '58 Yankees offense with a team 1.74 ERA. Mantle hit .417 with five homeruns, seven RBI, eight runs scored, and a 1.542 OPS. Whitey Ford had a 0.56 ERA in his two starts. Rollie Sheldon and Bill Stafford each gave up only one run in eight innings for their two starts.
Hank Bauer cooled off for the '58 Yankees as his average dropped to .354, while Mantle’s average plummeted below the Mendoza line at .189. Mantle has twice as many walks (14) as hits (7). Ryne Duren is off to a good start as the closer; he has four saves in five appearances and six scoreless innings. The '58 Yankees will take on the 1962 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1958 Yankees won their first series, beating the 1962 Yankees four out of six games, improving their record to 8-10. After dropping the first game 7-4, the '58 Yankees won the next four games. Game Two was a thriller. The '58 Yankees had a 4-1 lead only to give up six unanswered runs to the '62 Yankees to trail 7-4. Yogi Berra tied the game in a three-run 8th inning rally with a pinch hit two-run homer. One inning later, Bill Skowron hit a walkoff two-run homer for a 9-7 win. In their 3-1 Game Four win, Bob Turley pitched a one-hit complete game; the only hit given up was a 9th inning homerun by Johnny Blanchard. Whitey Ford made it back-to-back complete games for the '58 Yankees in Game Five with a 6-2 win in which Ford also went 3-4 at the plate with two RBI. Ralph Terry broke the four game losing streak for the '62 Yankees with a five-hit, seven strikeout shutout in a 1-0 win.
Mickey Mantle hit .348 in the series for the '58 Yankees to raise his average to .250. Hank Bauer continues to lead the team in hitting at .342. After a slow start, Turley evened his record to 2-2 and dropped his ERA to 3.55. Ford boosted his record to 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA.
Roger Maris hit .400 for the '62 Yankees in the series and drove in five RBI but also missed a couple of games due to injury. Mantle hit just .158. Terry carried the team in this series, winning both of his starts with a 1.72 ERA. The '62 Yankees will take on the 1977 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1962 Yankees split their six game series with the 1977 Yankees, the first modern DH-era championship Yankee team. The '62 Yankees remained two games under .500 at 5-7.
The series featured mostly low scoring games. The '62 Yankees won the first two games 4-2 and 6-2. The '77 Yankees won the next three games. They won Game Four in dramatic fashion 3-1 in 12 innings with Graig Nettles hitting a two-run walkoff homer. The '62 Yankees evened the series in the final game 3-1 when Elston Howard hit the go-ahead two run double in the 9th inning.
Reggie Jackson led the '77 Yankees in hitting at .304 for the series with a .993 OPS. Nettles had six RBI in the series. Staff ace Ed Figuerora struggled in his two starts, going 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA. They got great pitching from Ron Guidry, Don Gullett, and Catfish Hunter in their starts. They combined for only three earned runs in 26 innings pitched.
Roger Maris was quieter in this series for the '62 Yankees; his average dropped to .256; he also has yet to hit a homerun. Mickey Mantle raised his average to .220 and has 10 runs scored in 12 games. Ralph Terry lost his first start but still has an ERA below 2 (1.90). Whitey Ford is undefeated (2-0) with a 2.82 ERA. The '62 Yankees will take on the 1978 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1978 Yankees won four of six games from the 1962 Yankees, dropping them to 7-11.
The '62 Yankees won the first game 2-1 when Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit back-to-back homeruns against Ron Guidry in the 7th. The '78 Yankees won the next two games 3-1 and 3-0 in 10 innings. Willie Randolph broke the tie in the 10th with a three-run bomb. After dropping Game Four 3-2, the offense for the '78 Yankees woke up as they won the last two games 9-7 and 9-3.
Randolph hit .375 for the '78 Yankees in the series with a .944 OPS. Reggie Jackson scored six runs in the series while Thurman Munson drove in six runs; both hit .250. Guidry struck out 16 batters in 16 innings pitched. Goose Gossage saved three games in three appearances.
Maris hit his first two homeruns of the play in season and upped his RBI total to 12. Whitey Ford got rocked in his last start, surrendering six runs in one inning to baloon his ERA to 5.32. Meanwhile, Ralph Terry and Bill Stafford continue to baffle hitters with ERAs at 1.99 and 1.84 respectively. The '62 Yankees will battle the 1996 Yankees in the next series.