Remember the sizzling, scintillating summer of 1977 when Billy Martin’s Yankees stormed past the Red Sox and went on to capture their first World Championship in 15 years by beating the Dodgers in six games as Reggie Jackson blasted three home runs in the grand finale?
In this series, The Post takes you back 30 years to one of the greatest seasons in Yankee history.
SEPTEMBER 25, 1977
While the Yankees were rained out in Toronto, both the Ori oles and the Red Sox won, cutting into the Bombers’ already slim lead in the AL Eastern Division race.
The Orioles, behind a complete game showing from Jim Palmer, took down Cleveland, 4-1. Palmer allowed one earned run on seven hits to go with three strikeouts and two walks in earning his 19th win of the season.
The game was tied, 1-1, heading into the ninth inning, before Ken Singleton and Eddie Murray hit back-to-back home runs off of Indians starter Dennis Eckersley with one out to make the score 3-1. The blasts were Singleton’s 23rd and Murray’s 24th of the season. The fourth run scored when pinch runner Tom Shopay scored on a balk by Cleveland reliever Jim Bibby.
The Red Sox powered past Detroit, 6-2, on the strength of home runs from Ted Cox, Carl Yastrzemski and Fred Lynn.
After the Tigers took a 1-0 lead on a Phil Mankowski double, the Red Sox tied it up with Cox’s home run in the top of the third, his first in the major leagues. The Red Sox then added four runs in the sixth inning to put the game away, thanks to two-run home runs from Yastrezemski and Lynn.
Boston plated an insurance run in the ninth inning when Lynn scored on a single by Butch Hobson.
Mike Paxton gave up two earned runs over 7 2/3 innings to pick up his 10th win of the season for Boston, while Bill Campbell, back from arm trouble that had plagued him earlier in the week, earned his 29th save by getting the final four outs.
The washout in Toronto means that tonight’s starters will be staff ace Ron Guidry and his 15-6 record, and Ed Figueroa, who comes into tonight’s action with a 15-10 record.