The Yankees, a slightly below .500 team in real life and two years away from returning to the World Series for the first time in more than a decade, prevailed in this series. The '73 roster had foundational pieces of the team that repeatedly won AL titles in the last half of the decade.
Game One: Yankees 9, Padres 4: The Yankees scored four runs in the second inning; the Padres put up a four-spot of their own in the fifth. But the Yankees scored in three other innings, and the Padres got only goose eggs in eight innings. Gene Michael had a two-run double for New York; Erick Aybar homered for the Padres, and Austin Hedges had a two-run double.
Game Two: Yankees 11, Padres 1: The Yankees blasted Clayton Richard for seven runs in the second inning, then plated four more runs off Jordan Lyles (two unearned) in the third and fourth innings. Doc Medich went 7.1 innings for the win. Thurman Munson hit a three-run homer; Bobby Murcer and Felipe Alou each homered as well.
Game Three: Yankees 5, Padres 4 (10 innings): There was no big inning for the Yanks in the first game in San Diego, but one run at a time was good enough for a 3-0 series advantage. Roy White, Ron Bloomberg and Murcer all hit homers for the Yankees. New York starter Fritz Peterson went just four innings, and Lindy McDaniel and Sparky Lyle each worked three innings, depleting the Yankee bullpen for the new two games.
Game Four: Padres 10, Yankees 2: Dinelson Lamet aloowed two runs in six innings, and Yankee reliever Jim Magnuson surrended five runs while retiring one man. Hedges hit a three-run homer off losing pitcher Pat Dobson in the second inning.
Game Five: Padres 4, Yankees 3 (15 innings): Hedges homered for the second consecutive game to give Padres a 3-2 lead after six innings, but the Yankees tied it on Felipe Alou's single with two outs in the ninth. Horace Clarke was cut down at the plate by left fielder Jose Priela; it was the second straight inning Priela ended by nailing a Yankee runner at the plate. With McDaniel and Lyle still out of action, Sam McDowell and Steve Kline combined for 6.1 innings, ending when Hunter Renfroe homered off Kline.
Game Six: Yankees 7, Padres 4: Medich held San Diego to one run in seven innings, while Graig Nettles and Murcer each drove in a pair to build a 5-1 lead. The Padres scored four runs in the eighth off Medich and Fred Beene, but Matty Alou doubled home two runs in the bottom of the imning, and McDaniel retired all three men he faced in the ninth to send the series.
Projected rotation: Stottlemyre-Peterson-Medich-Dobson-(Stottlemyre)-(Peterson)-(Medich). McDowell and Kline should not be used in relief in the first game.
