Pale Hose eliminate A’s in 4

ALDS:  ‘74 CHW (2) vs ‘68 Oak (3)
GAME 1 - Comiskey Park
A's 9, White Sox 6 (15 inn)
The Battle of the "Jim's" saw both starters battle it out for 8 innings with Kaat clinging to a 1 run lead over Hunter.  In the top of the 9th A's catcher Jim Pagliaroni singled to right and went to second when Pat Kelly booted the ball.  Bert Campaneris and Dick Green walked to load the bases and Danny Cater hit a slow dribbler to short and beat out the relay to first to avoid the double play and tie the game.  Chicago did nothing in the home half of the 9th and we headed to extra innings.  Oakland scored 2 in the top of the 10th and it looked about over as Cy Acosta and Skip Pitlock combined with faulty defense to allow Oakland to take the lead. Diego Segui came on to close it out and did what he's done all year...blow the save.  After allowing a clean single to Dick Allen Segui served up a gopher ball to Ken Henderson who hit it deep into the night to tie it.  A similar scenario happened in the 11th when Oakland scored a run on a Rick Monday single only to see Segui give it back in the bottom of the inning on a Pat Kelly double. There was no further scoring until the top of the 15th when Oakland scored 3.  Danny Cater singled home Campaneris who led off the inning with a double.  Mike Hershberger supplied the final blow with a 2 out doubled to score Reggie Jackson and Sal Bando.  Jack Aker, who had already pitched 2 scoreless innings was tasked with getting 3 outs for the win.  He was able to get 2 quick outs, but then gave up a single to Jorge Orta and a walk to Dick Allen to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Ken Henderson.  Aker was tired and the Oakland pen was empty, so Blue Moon Odom was forced to come in to get the final out, which he did.  Henderson grounded weakly to second and the A's took a 1-0 series lead in the 15 inning / 6 hour marathon playoff game.

GAME 2 - Comiskey Park
White Sox 4, A's 3
Thanks to the 15 inning marathon in game 1 Oakland was forced to go with journeyman reliever Lew Krausse as their game 2 starter.  Wilbur Wood toed the hill for the Pale Hose, who spotted Oakland a 2-0 lead in the 4th, when Rick Monday doubled home Jackson and Bando.  Jorge Orta led off the bottom of the 4th with a homer to cut Oakland's lead in half.  Krausse was doing fine until the fateful 6th, when Ken Henderson struck again with a big homer.  This time the Chisox centerfielder launched a 1 out 3 run shot that scored Orta and Allen and gave Chicago a 4-2 lead.  Krausse was done for the day and lefty Paul Lindblad came on in relief.  Oakland made it real interesting when Jim Pagliaroni homered to lead off the 7th.  With the score 4-3 the onus was on Wood.  Oakland loaded the bases with 2 outs in the 8th and had Wood on the ropes with Pagliaroni up once more.  Wood floated a knuckler that jammed "Pags" who just missed the sweet spot and took the ball on a ride to the warning track where it died in Carlos May's glove.  A collective sigh of relief was let loose by the capacity crowd in the old ballpark on 35th street.  Wood had no such trouble in the 9th as he set the A's down in order and evened the series up a 1 game apiece.

GAME 3 - Oakland Coliseum
White Sox 4, Oakland 2
Bart Johnson threw 8 innings of shutout ball until the bottom of the 9th, when he began to tire.  Oakland started the inning with 3 consecutive hits.  Rick Monday Doubled home Reggie Jackson and Sal Bando scored easily on a weak grounder to short by Floyd Robinson.  Johnson by this point was pitching on fumes, but managed to gut it out and get the final two outs to end the game and give the South Siders a 2-1 series edge.  Chicago broke the ice in the 4th when Dick Allen hit a 2 run homer that cleared the centerfield scoreboard  They scored again in the 6th when  Bill Melton hit a clutch 2 out single off of Blue Moon Odom, who inexplicably decided to pitch to the slugging 3rd baseman and not take his luck at the pitcher (Johnson) who was on deck.

GAME 4 - Oakland Coliseum
White Sox 4, A's 0
Oakland starter Jim Nash gave up 4 runs over the first 3 innings to put his team firmly behind the 8 ball.  Chicago posted a 3 spot in the top of the first to take the life out of the Bay area crowd that came to cheer on the Green and Gold in hopes of them evening the series.  After Pat Kelly led off with a single Jorge Orta came through once again with a double off the right field wall to make it 1-0.  With 2 outs Bill Melton came through for the second day in a row with a 2 run  single.  Jim Kaat was baffling the free swinging Oakland hitters and was more than thankful to see Orta hit a solo shot in the 3rd.  Jim Nash was done after 5 innings and Ed Sprague came on and threw 3 shutout innings in hopes that his offense would come to life.  Sadly for the home town fans, that offense went from life support to flatline.  Kaat tossed a 5 hit complete game shutout to clinch the series for the Pale Hose.

The White Sox will head to Cleveland to face the '58 Indians in the ALCS.