Oct. 18
1910 - The Philadelphia Athletics pounded the Chicago Cubs 9-3 for a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Eddie Collins had three hits, including two doubles, and two stolen bases.
1950 - Connie Mack, at age 87, retired as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics after 50 years, and Jimmy Dykes was named to replace him. Mack, together with Ben Shibe, founded the Athletics in 1901.
1973 - The Mets’ Jerry Koosman and Tug McGraw combined to three-hit the Oakland A’s and take 3-2 lead in the World Series.
1977 - Reggie Jackson hit three consecutive home runs to lead New York to an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and give the Yankees the World Series title in six games. Jackson drove in five runs, and all three shots came on the first pitch.
1992 - Backup catcher Ed Sprague’s pinch-hit home run gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves and evened up the World Series at one game apiece. Sprague hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning - the 17th pinch-hit home run in World Series history.
1999 - Orlando Hernandez pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer as the New York Yankees won their record 36th pennant, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-1 in Game 5 of the AL championship series.
2012 - Max Scherzer capped a stupendous stretch for Detroit’s starting rotation, and the Tigers advanced to the World Series by beating the New York Yankees 8-1 for a four-game sweep of the AL championship series.
2013 - Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals stunned Clayton Kershaw with a four-run third inning, rookie Michael Wacha was again magnificent on the mound and St. Louis advanced to its second World Series in three seasons by roughing up the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-0 in Game 6 of the NL championship series. Beltran had three hits and drove in two runs while facing Kershaw and made a spectacular catch in right field. St. Louis handed Kershaw four losses this season, including the two in the NLCS.
2018 - David Price put his postseason woes behind him, pitching the Boston Red Sox back into another World Series with a 4-1 victory over the defending champion Houston Astros. Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer as the Red Sox stunned Justin Verlander and the Astros in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series to win the best-of-seven set 4-1.
Today’s birthdays: Patrick Sandoval 23; Brad Miller 30; Yoenis Cespedes 34.
Oct. 19
1972 - The Oakland A’s rallied for two ninth-inning runs for a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series.
1976 - The Cincinnati Reds took a commanding 3-0 lead over the New York Yankees in the World Series with a 6-2 victory at Yankee Stadium. Cincinnati designated hitter Dan Driessen had a single, double, home run and a walk to lead the attack. Jim Mason had a solo homer in the seventh inning for the only home run by the Yankees in the series.
1981 - Los Angeles’ Rick Monday hit a ninth-inning home run to give the Dodgers a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Expos and the National League pennant.
1999 - Kenny Rogers walked Andruw Jones with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, sending the Atlanta Braves to the World Series with a 10-9 victory over the New York Mets in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series.
2004 - Curt Schilling, pitching on a dislocated ankle tendon held down by three sutures put in the day before, gave up one run over seven innings as the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 4-2 to save their season for the third day in a row and force a winner-take-all Game 7 for the AL pennant and a trip to the World Series. The series was three outs from a sweep on Oct. 17.
2006 - Yadier Molina hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to help St. Louis beat New York 3-1 in Game 7 of the NL championship series. St. Louis overcame Endy Chavez’s astounding grab at the wall to pull back a drive by Scott Rolen that was headed for a tiebreaking, two-run homer.
2008 - The Tampa Bay Rays held off the defending champion Boston Red Sox 3-1 behind Matt Garza’s masterful pitching in Game 7 of the AL championship series.
2013 - Shane Victorino’s seventh-inning grand slam propelled Boston to a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers, clinching the AL championship series in six games.
2016 - Cleveland rookie Ryan Merritt came out of nowhere and coolly delivered a lead to the Andrew Miller-led bullpen, and the Indians won their first pennant since 1997 by blanking Toronto 3-0 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series. Miller, acquired from the New York Yankees in a midseason trade, was selected the ALCS MVP as the Indians took their sixth pennant.
2017 - Kike Hernandez homered three times and drove in seven runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers romped past the Chicago Cubs 11-1 behind Clayton Kershaw to reach the World Series for the first time since 1988.
2018 - Jesus Aguilar and the Milwaukee Brewers forced the NL Championship Series to Game 7 with a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aguilar hit a two-run double in the Brewers’ four-run first inning against Hyun-Jin Ryu and added a late RBI single.
Today’s birthdays: Anthony Santander 25; Sam Tuivailala 27; Jimmy Cordero 28; Jordan Lyles 29; Daniel Descalso 33; Josh Tomlin 35; J.A. Happ 37; Rajai Davis 39.
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