Many said the Orioles’ stellar pitching record from the 1966 World Series couldn’t be surpassed, and it wasn’t.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who equaled Baltimore’s MLB postseason record of 33 consecutive shutout innings on Sunday in a 9-0 win over the New York Mets in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, had to settle for a share of that mark after Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor launched a leadoff home run in the first inning of Game 2 on Monday.
The buzz surrounding the current streak harked back to the ’66 Series, a four-game sweep for an underdog Orioles team that slammed the door on — who else? — the Dodgers. It was the first of three world championships for Baltimore and one that made history for a staff that pitched three straight complete-game shutouts over the NL champs to close out the Fall Classic.
From the fourth inning of Game 1, when journeyman right-hander Moe Drabowsky relieved struggling starter Dave McNally in a 5-2 victory (and struck out 11), the Orioles blanked Los Angeles the rest of the way. And they did it with two sore-armed pitchers who both managed to go the distance.
In Game 2, a showdown of Hall of Fame-bound hurlers, 20-year-old Jim Palmer shrugged off an aching shoulder he’d hurt while painting his house to outduel Sandy Koufax, 6-0. He’s still the youngest pitcher to throw a shutout in the World Series.
In Game 3, Wally Bunker, who’d had arm woes all season, pitched a 1-0 gem.
“That was the highlight of my baseball life,” Bunker told The Baltimore Sun in 2023. The shoulder, he said, was in constant pain: “Between innings, the trainer wrapped hot pads around my arm, which almost blistered; I didn’t care.”
The next day, McNally made up for his earlier gaffes by holding the Dodgers to four hits. Again, the Orioles won, 1-0, to clinch the title.
All told, Los Angeles managed just 17 hits and batted .142. The Orioles used only four pitchers, who finished with a 0.50 ERA. Their three complete games in the Series were as many as Baltimore has managed in the past four years.
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