Looking to hold off elimination and send the World Series back to Baltimore, the Phillies sent out game two starting pitcher Charles Hudson. While the pitching staff of the National League champions had done a decent job in shutting down the heavy hitters on Baltimore, game five was a different story.

Entering game five having gone 2-for-16, Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray lead off the second inning with a solo home run. The solo shot to right field would wind up being the game winning, and World Series clinching, run as the Phillies failed to score in the deciding game. Murray’s home run was the first of two he would hit on the night.

Rick Dempsey increased the lead to 2-0 with a lead off home run in the third inning. Murray struck again with a two run home run in the fourth inning, following a walk to Cal Ripken Jr. Baltimore tacked on a fourth run in the fifth inning when Dempsey scored on a sacrifice fly.

Down 5-0 the Phillies had a lot of runs to catch up on in a short amount of time. Gary Maddox lead off the bottom of the fifth with a single and Bo Diaz followed with a walk. Ivan DeJesus though grounded into a double play and pinch hitter Juan Samuel flied out to end the inning.

Offensively the Phillies could not muster more than one base runner in the next three innings, stranding each to keep the shut out in tact. In the ninth inning Orioles starting pitcher Scott McGregor went for the complete game shut out and the World Series clincher.

Gary Matthews and Tony Perez each flied out. Gary Maddox lined out. The Phillies had lost the World Series.

For the aging Phillies they had been kept in check by the outstanding pitching from the Orioles staff. Only Joe Morgan had much success against the Orioles. Mike Schmidt went 3-for-18 in the World Series. To their credit though the Phillies did their job against the Baltimore batters for the most part.

Losing in five games can be demoralizing. This team was put together though to try and make one final push with the remaining pieces form the 1980 world championship team, bringing in veterans from the infamous Big Red Machine of the ’70s… It just did not quite work out.

For the Phillies it would be ten years before the franchise won another division title and earned a berth in the World Series. The elusive world championship would come fifteen years later in 2008 when the Phillies knocked off the Tampa Bay Rays in five games themselves, using a formula similar to the Orioles; better pitching.

For Baltimore another trip to the World Series still eludes the Orioles. In 1996 Baltimore fans still contend that they would have won their ALCS match-up against the Yankees if not for a young fan reaching for a live ball, a ball that was called a home run by the umpire despite replays clearly showing fan interference.

The 1997 Orioles seemed destined for an American League championship, but a surprising Cleveland Indians team had World Series plans of their own.

John Denny took the mound for the Phillies in game four. The winner of game one would not repeat his success at Veterans Stadium though. Although he retired the first six batters he faced, so did Baltimore starter Storm Davis.

Baltimore jumped on the score board first in the fourth inning and they did it utilizing small ball. Baltimore hit three straight singles to start the inning and second baseman Rich Dauer’s single, the fourth of the inning for Baltimore, scored two runs to put the Orioles up 2-0 on the home team.

The Phillies got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fourth inning when Joe Lefebvre’s double to right field scored Pete Rose and moved Mike Schmidt to third base with one out. Gary Matthews was walked to set up the double play. Greg Gross then hit a deflating ground ball for a double play to end the inning.

In the fifth inning the Phillies looked to take control of the game. Catcher Bo Diaz started the rally with a double to left field and scored on a single by Denny, helping his own cause. Joe Morgan grounded out but moved Denny to third base and Rose hit a double to bring him home, and give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Schmidt flied out to end the inning.

Denny though was unable to hold on to the lead as he got in to some trouble in the top of the sixth inning.

With the bases loaded Denny walked pinch hitter Ken Singleton. The forced in run tied the game at three runs and Phillies manager Paul Owens took the ball from Denny’s glove and handed it to reliever Willie Hernandez. Hernandez though let one run come in on a sacrifice fly. Baltimore now lead 4-3.

The Orioles tacked one more crucial run in the seventh inning and took the 5-3 lead into the ninth inning. Desperation was settling in within the Phillies dugout, as the thoughts of going down 3-1 in the World Series must have been demoralizing.

Ozzie Virgil hit an RBI single to score Bob Derrnier, who was pinch running for Bo Diaz. The Phillies had cut the lead to one run but Morgan lined out to end the game on an 0-1 count.

Baltimore took game four and now found themselves one win away from clinching a world championship at Veterans Stadium. While the games to this point had been toss-ups, Baltimore was ready to slam the door shut on their hosts in game five.

The Baltimore Orioles had other plans though.

Steve Carlton took the mound for his first time of the World Series. Carlton became the first 300-game winner to pitch in a World Series game in 55 years. Lefty put on a clinic through the first six innings of the game, shutting down the Orioles offense by getting 1-2-3 innings through the first three.

Gary Matthews gave the Phillies an early lead with a lead off home run in the bottom of the second inning. The Phillies left two runners in scoring position in the inning though with Carlton grounding out to end an early threat.

Joe Morgan increased the Phillies’ lead to 2-0 with a lead off home run in the bottom of the third inning. Morgan took a 3-0 pitch from Orioles starting pitcher Mike Flanagan and delivered it over the right field fence.

Baltimore tried to respond in the top of the fourth but failed to score on a bases loaded situation with one out. The Orioles finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Dan Ford hit a solo home run to left field off of Carlton.

A controversial move was made in the bottom of the sixth inning when Phillies manager Paul Owens decided to let Carlton bat with two outs and two runners on base. In a one run game it may have been the better decision to go with a pinch hitter in that spot.

Carlton was struck out by Orioles reliever Jim Palmer to end the inning. In the top of the seventh inning the decision to leave Carlton in may have hurt the Phillies.

Up 2-1 the Phillies were poised to pick up a victory in game three. Carlton was cruising along and recorded the first two outs of the seventh inning with little trouble. But then Rick Dempsey hit a two out double and Benny Ayala hit a single to left field, scoring Dempsey to tie the game.

Al Holland then came in to relieve Carlton, but Holland’s first pitch was hit for a single by John Shelby. Dan Ford then reached first base safely on an error by shortstop Ivan DeJesus. The play scored Ayala to give Baltimore the 3-2 lead.

The Orioles shut the door of opportunity on the Phillies by coming up big in the late innings with strike outs and catching Morgan stealing. Baltimore held on to win the game by the score of 3-2 and looked to really take control of the World Series heading into game four.

Orioles starter and ALCS MVP Mike Boddicker limited the aging Phillies to just three hits. It was not until the fourth inning that Joe Morgan recorded the Phillies’ first hit, a lead off single.

After Morgan stole second base Pete Rose tried to move Morgan to third with a bunt, but Morgan had to hold at second. Mike Schmidt was then safe on an error and Morgan reached third base with one out. Right fielder Joe Lefebvre’s sacrifice fly to center field brought Morgan home and the Phillies took a 1-0 lead.

Phillies starter Charles Hudson had held off the Orioles offense through four innings, but could not stop them in the fifth inning.

Baltimore left fielder John Lowenstein lead off the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo home run to tie the game at one run a piece. Hudson followed that up by yielding a single to Rich Dauer and a bunt single by Todd Cruz.

Trouble continued for Hudson when Rick Dempsey hit a double to right field, scoring one run. Boddicker then hit a sacrifice to bring home a third run. After the Orioles scored three runs and recorded their first out, Phillies manager Paul Owens relieved Hudson of his pitching duties.

Willie Hernandez came in to relieve Hudson but before getting out of the sixth inning he made it interesting. Hernandez loaded the bases with two outs by hitting a batter and walking Cal Ripken Jr. Eddie Murray left the bases loaded by hitting a fly ball to center fielder Gary Maddox to end the rally.

Baltimore tacked on one more run in the seventh inning when Ripken’s single to right field off of Phillies reliever Larry Anderson scored John Shelby. That would be all of the scoring the rest of the way.

Boddicker finished the complete game by retiring Morgan, Rose and Schmidt in the ninth inning. The Orioles tied up the World Series at one game as the series traveled up I-95 to Philadelphia for the next three games.

Leading off for the visiting Phillies was Joe Morgan, who reached first base safely on an error to give the Phillies some momentum right from the start. That momentum was quickly taken away when Morgan was caught stealing second base. Pete Rose struck out swinging and Mike Schmidt lined out to end the inning.

Baltimore’s lead off hitter, Al Bumbry, lined out on the first pitch he saw, but Jim Dwyer was much more patient. On a 3-2 count, Dwyer gave the Orioles a quick 1-0 lead with a solo home run to right field. Denny gave up one more hit in the inning before moving things to the second inning. Baltimore would hold that lead until the sixth inning.

Baltimore’s McGregor did an excellent job of keeping the Phillies off the bases and protecting the 1-0 lead. A Morgan single in the fourth inning was all the bats could get off of McGregor as the Baltimore pitcher did not issue a walk in that same time.

With Denny pitching some fantastic baseball of his own and keeping the Phillies in the game, the batters had to do something to reward Denny’s performance. Gary Maddox did just that with a lead-off home run in the eighth inning on the first pitch he saw.

Looking to lock up an important road victory in Game One, Phillies manager Paul Owens handed the game over to the 1983 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year, Al Holland. Holland had taken the closing role from 1980 closer Tug McGraw.

The aging Phillies put up a hard fight in game one to take the important road victory right from the start of the World Series. The Orioles were resilient and tough to put away. They rebounded to give the Phillies some fits before heading back to Philadelphia.

Taking the mound for the Phillies was veteran Danny Jackson, who had shut out the Blue Jays in the 1985 American League Championship Series. It would be a totally different story on this rainy night. The prototypical lead-off hitter, Rickey Henderson, got the Toronto offense started on the right foot with a single to right field on a 2-2 count. Devon White followed with a walk, and Paul Molitor hit a triple to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead before Phillies fans were ordering their first beer and hot dog on the night…or hot chocolate, as I recall.

A Joe Carter sacrifice fly scored Molitor, and the Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead in to the bottom of the first inning. Toronto starting pitcher Pat Hentgen struck out Lenny Dykstra and, after giving up singles to Mariano Duncan and John Kruk, struck out Dave Hollins and Darren Daulton, keeping the Phillies from putting any runs on the board in the first.

Paul Molitor struck again with a solo home run to left field to give the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Toronto added one more run in the sixth inning to take a 5-0 lead, really deflating the Phillies fans in attendance for their first World Series game since 1983. Though a Jim Eisenreich single in the bottom of the sixth brought home Kruk for the Phillies’ first run, the game was still well in hand of the visitors.

In the seventh inning, Toronto once again built on their lead with a three-run frame. Henderson led off with a double off of Ben Rivera, and a Devon White triple pushed the lead to 6-1. Molitor drew a walk, but Carter struck out. Roberto Alomar’s single then scored White to make it 7-1, Toronto. A sacrifice fly by Ed Sprague brought Molitor, and the Toronto lead blossomed to 8-1.

A Mariano Duncan single scored Milt Thompson in the bottom of the inning, but the Phillies were running out of at-bats. In the ninth inning the Blue Jays tacked on two more runs off of Phillies reliever Larry Anderson. Molitor started the final inning with a single, but was out at second on a fielder’s choice ground ball by Carter. Alomar hit another triple for the Blue Jays, which scored Carter from first, and a single by Tony Fernandez scored Alomar to cap off the night of explosive offense by the Blue Jays.

Down by eight runs at 10-2, the Phillies only had three outs to put together an improbable come-from-behind victory. Milt Thompson did what he could with a lead-off home run to make it 10-3, but Toronto reliever Duan Ward retired Dykstra, Duncan, and Kruk in order to end the game.

The Blue Jays had used the power of extra-base hits to bulldoze their way to an important Game-Three victory. The loss left some Phillies fans deflated, but the offense would pick things up a night later to give the Phillies a chance to tie things up in Game Four.