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It was the Yankees and Dodgers
again, as both clubs dominated the competition on their way to winning their
respective pennants. Yankee Stadium hosted Game 1, and the Bronx Bombers
opened with four runs in the first inning off Dodger starter Carl
Erskine. Brooklyn battled back, however, and after seven frames the score
was 6-5. But in the bottom of the eighth, Yankee reliever (and eventual
winner) Johnny Sain smashed a two-run double, Joe Collins followed with
an RBI single, and the Yankees took the 9-5 decision.
Game 2 wasn't decided until the eighth, when Mickey Mantle's two-out,
two-run homer provided the margin of victory, Ed Lopat topping Preacher
Roe, 4-2. Erskine, so ineffective in Game 1, came back with a strong effort
in Game 3 in Brooklyn. "Oisk" (as he was called by the Flatbush faithful)
set a new World Series record with 14 strikeouts, though
he was never able to relax.
Just as in Game 2, the score was 2-2 until the bottom of the eighth,
but this time a Dodger home run broke the logjam, as Roy Campanella deposited
a Vic Raschi pitch into the left-field stands. Dodgers 3, Yankees 2. The
Bums made it two straight in Game 4, scoring three times in the first
inning on their way to an easy 7-3 decision. In the third inning of Game
5, Mantle blasted a grand-slam homer into the upper deck of the left-field
stands, giving the Yankees a 6-1 lead which they wouldn't relinquish, the
contest ending at 11-7.
In danger of elimination, the Dodgers trailed the Yankees 3-1 when they
came to bat in the ninth inning of Game 6. But after Duke Snider drew
a one-out walk, Carl Furillo blasted a two-run homer into the right-field
stands, and the contest was tied. In the bottom of the ninth, Hank Bauer
led off with a walk, and moved to second base on Mantle's infield single,
bringing Billy Martin to the plate. Martin, who led the Yankees with eight
RBI and a .500 batting average in the Series, singled to center, scoring
Bauer with the winning run and giving the Yankees their fifth straight
World Series.
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History
