Angels Beat Orioles, 4-3

Oct. 6, 1979: Hey, Keith! Sister Sledge!

Another first for the Angels. They won their first playoff game in franchise history, a 4-3 ninth-inning nail biter at Anaheim Stadium. The big play was made by Baltimore's Al Bumbry. He dropped a ball hit by Bobby Grich, scoring Rod Carew to tie the score 3-3 in the ninth inning. Then Larry Harlow drove in Brian Downing with a double to keep the Angels from being eliminated. So the Angels had some fight left in them. If the victory wasn't enough, they showed some emotion on the plane ride from Baltimore after Game 2. The Times reported that pitcher Jim Barr, broadcaster Don Drysdale and Manager Jim Fregosi were involved in confrontations aboard the Angels' chartered flight. Barr had a cast on his pitching hand and wasn't pitching in the playoffs. Drysdale thought he should be. "He told me if I was a man, I'd cut it off and pitch. I told him to stop messing with my mind," Barr said. Players and coaches put a stop to things before punches were thrown. Fregosi told Drysdale to leave his players alone, The Times reported. Fregosi called it one of those things. Drysdale said he took "full blame for the whole thing."   -- Keith Thursby